A Different Kind Of Hero
by JunjouSlashGirl
Summary: After the incident at the graveyard, Harry realised that he was not in the least bit prepared to fight against Voldemort or his Death Eaters. When a curse of the Dark Lord, that was meant for Lucius starts to effect him as well, Harry starts to see many things in a different light and finally finds the bravery to take his faith into his own hands. VampireFiction! Harry/Lucius/Draco
1. Chapter 01: Two Unwanted Guests

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters. All rights belong to J. K.**

 **Rowling. The Party of the Used**

 **Summary: After the incident at the graveyard, Harry realised that he was not in the least bit prepared to fight against Voldemort or his Death Eaters. When a curse of the Dark Lord, that was meant for Lucius starts to effect him as well, Harry starts to see many things in a different light and finally finds the bravery to take his faith into his own hands.**

 **Vampire Fiction! Harry/Lucius/Draco Threesome! Harry/Severus father/son- fiction! (maybe pre-mpreg)**

 **AN: There will be a rough, semi voluntary mating between an adult and a child, who turns out to be even younger than his friends and family had thought! This highly rated lemon will not turn up in the first chapter, but I want to warn all readers first.**

 **Also I want to make clear, that I am clearly against child abuse, but this is a fanfiction a piece of writing and fantasy and nothing more. Further more, the mating couple will be non- human.**

 **This fiction is going to be a threesome, but it takes some time until it gets to that point.**

 **I hope you all have fun :-)**

 **Chapter 1: Two Unwanted Guests:**

 **LV/TMR**

The room was dark and gloomy in the once beautiful Riddle Manor when the Death Eaters apparated in. Lucius Malfoy bowed his head and kneeled down in front of his Lord with the other Death Eaters. Today would be the day, were they finally got rid of one Harry James Potter. His Lord had everything planned to the finest detail and this was his chance to make his failure from Potter's second year right at last.

Back then, he had not known how valuable the little notebook that his Lord had given him was, but now he knew. Sure, he was still his Master's right hand man, but he wanted to try and fix his mistake, and that meant that he would be the one to bring the Potter boy to his master.  
The Dark Lord rose and turned to his loyal followers: "This time nothing will go wrong. Our mission is perfectly planned and to prevent any other surprises, I will cast a spell on you all." Lucius felt his wife shiver next to him, but she was a born Black and did not let it show to anybody else.

"This spell will make sure, that anyone who betrays me today, will pay dearly for it," Lord Voldemort lifted his wand and muttered a curse, too silent for Lucius to hear, but he had no need for it anyway, he would never betray his Master.

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 **HP**

Harry looked out of the train window, without seeing anything. His thoughts were numb, as was his body. Only seven days ago, he had carried Cedric Diggory's dead body from the maze, on the day that Voldemort had returned. Cedric had been a friend, not a close one like Ron or Hermione, but a friend none than less and he had not been able to save him.

Even worse, he had been the reason why Cedric had died in the first place. Why hadn't he been selfish for once? Had he just taken the cup alone, the Hufflepuff would still be alive. As always, he had to be a foolish Gryffindor, bringing everybody around him in danger, and this time, he had even killed a fellow student this way. How many would follow? With Voldemort back to full power, Harry didn't want to imagine it.

Even without the death of his fellow student, the encounter at the graveyard would have been a shock. He had finally seen Voldemort eye to eye and realised, that he was not prepared at all. With his current level of knowledge, he stood no chance against any Death Eater, let alone Lord Voldemort. Once more he asked himself, what was Dumbledore thinking? It certainly looked as if he would be the one, who had to kill Voldemort in the end, so why didn't the headmaster prepare him for the battle? Harry was not sure how he should feel about the old wizard anymore. He knew, Dumbledore only did what he thought best for Harry and his other students, but he never asked if Harry thought it best as well. Harry had started to wish, that the headmaster would include him more in his fight against Voldemort, at least, if he really was the one to kill him in the end.

To be honest, he didn't want to fight at all; he didn't feel like a hero. The only reason why he had yet to hide, run away or simply decline Dumbledore's request, were his friends. He knew Voldemort would not stop killing people, only because he refused to fight him again, but he really didn't know, how long he would be able to stand up against the powerful wizard. The last term had been torture; full of nightmares and hurt, mentally as well as physically.

His scar had hurt nearly every night and the nightmares he suffered from his enemy left him screaming even in his sleep. Neither Ron, nor Hermione had been able to lift his spirits in the last week of school, or even before then and they had finally given up. They had all stayed a bit over a month longer at Hogwarts for the last task of the tournament. That meant, that Harry at least had been able to celebrate his fifteenth birthday with his friends, even though, he had wanted nothing more than to be left alone at that point. They had no classes for the last month of their stay at school. They only spent the first month of their summer holidays at school. Harry had been happy about this little mercy, because he would only have to bear the Dursleys for four weeks this year, maybe even three, if Ron was allowed to fetch him earlier.

But the fact that he had to return to 4 Privet Drive alone was horrible enough. Last summer, they had starved him so thoroughly, that he had not recovered through the entire school year. It was as if his body was unable to gain any weight at all since then. His ribs were clearly visible and he had not grown an inch as well. He had been locked into the cupboard once more, after two years with his own room, he had been locked up again. As shabby as Dudley's spare room had been, it was much better than the cupboard beneath the stairs.

He had felt so lonely that last summer. He had spent the long and dark days and nights wishing and daydreaming about a person, that would take him into his arms, reassure him, listen to him, understand him, and offer him help and a better home. But that person had never arrived. Truth to be told, how should someone like that come? No one knew about his abusive relatives, or at least, not how bad it really was, not even Ron and Hermione. And no guardian angel would suddenly appear in front of him. That thought was ridiculous. Still, sitting in the Hogwarts Express, on his way back to his awful relatives, the loneliness he had not felt during his fourth year crept up on him again, as did the wish for a saviour who would save the saviour.

Sure, he had his two best friends, but he could not ask them to help him more than they already did. Besides, that would mean that he would have to tell them that his relatives not only starved him and locked him into a closet, but also that they hit him on a regular basis. Not very brutally, only with their hands, but it was painful and humiliating enough.

Now, his two best friends sat silently chatting across from him. They were fairly content with each other and Harry was sure, that they would end up together, as soon as Ron matured a bit more. The Hogwarts Express slowed down and finally came to a halt at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Harry rose to his feet and took his trunk in one hand, whilst he grabbed Hedwig's cage with the other. Without waiting for his friends, he shuffled out of the compartment and went towards the next exit.

In that moment he had left the train, several loud cracks echoed in the big hall and over twenty Death Eaters appeared. Chaos erupted on the platform. Students were screaming and running in the direction of the exit, but there too, were Death Eaters, blocking the only way out. The first spells flew and Harry quickly ducked, desperately looking for Ron and Hermione, but could not find them in the panicked crowd. He cursed silently and drew his wand, at least, this way he stood a little chance of leaving Kings Cross alive.

Another loud crack sounded and he saw Voldemort approaching. All memories from the graveyard flooded his mind and he felt his body freeze. His dead parents appeared in front of his inner eye, Voldemort's taunting voice once more echoed in his ears and he closed his eyes for one moment to get rid of their sad faces and to block out Cedric's voice, who asked him to bring his body back to his father. It was too much for him, he was not prepared and he would die here, without saving his friends or the Wizarding World. A tall figure, clad in blue with golden stars on his robes, materialized in front of him. Immediately Voldemort and Dumbledore started to fight.

The Dark Lord was distracted, but Harry saw with fear another Death Eater heading for him, his wand raised. Harry didn't have to look under the white mask to recognise the man. His long white-blond hair was indicator enough: Lucius Malfoy. Panicking, he took a step backwards; this man was probably the most cold-hearted and cruellest of Voldemort's followers.

He had seen him four times in the last years: first, in his Second Year at Flourish and Blotts, where he had smuggled Tom Riddle's diary into Ginny Weasley's book bag, and then after his battle against Voldemort's Memory and the Basilisk; last summer, at the Quidditch World Cup, and then only a few weeks ago, when Voldemort had been resurrected. All times the Malfoy patriarch had been a cruel and arrogant arse, but Harry never doubted his abilities when it came to magic and that made the man so much more frightening.

"Potter!" A voice shouted a few steps away from him and he quickly turned his head to see Snape desperately motioning for him. Harry hesitated just a moment, he had never trusted the Potions Master, but Dumbledore did and he had not many other options right now.  
"Quickly, Potter!" Snape snapped again, and praying for his friends to be safe, Harry started to run. Unfortunately Harry was not the only one, who had noticed Snape's plan to rescue him.

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 **HP**

Harry landed harshly in a pile of limbs. A knee that didn't belong to him was painfully sticking into his abdomen, and something long and heavy had landed on his shoulders. He groaned loudly and tried to get up, but the weight of whatever lay across his back pressed him down.

He heard someone cursing and thought that it was probably his Professor, when a second voice followed. Suddenly panicked once again, he gathered all his strength to push from the ground. The heavy thing slid from his back and he was finally able to stand up, only to freeze immediately. There on the ground, lay not only Snape, who had apparated him away from Voldemort, but also Lucius Malfoy and a big, black snake.

Lucius must have grabbed his or Snape's robes just a moment before their apparition. How Nagini had managed to attach herself so quickly was beyond Harry. Thinking quickly he pulled his wand from his pocket and bound the Malfoy Lord and the devious snake with a spell, even before Snape was back on his feet.

"Well done, Potter. It seems you have some brains after all in this thick scull of yours," his teacher snapped and finally got up. Harry ignored him and turned around, to see where they had actually landed and noticed with horror that they were in front of Number 4 Privet Drive.  
"Snape, what are we doing here?" He asked. "It is Professor Snape to you, even when we are not at Hogwarts, I will not tolerate your ill-mannered behaviour." He glared threateningly at him, before adding: "Quickly, take the snake and pull her into your relatives' pathetic garden. We have to get inside the blood wards."

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, but not asking further, Harry tried to lift the heavy reptile, but only succeeded to pull her on her tail after himself onto the small patch of grass of his aunt's precious garden. Really, they had other problems than him not calling Snape by his title. He struggled with Nagini for a moment, but the reptile hissed threateningly, luckily restricted as she was, she could not do much more. Snape had taken Lucius over his shoulder; who was glaring evilly at them, and dumped him carelessly next to Voldemort's beloved snake. Harry turned his face away from the man, who even bound and helpless succeeded in looking threatening and dignified, giving Harry the feeling he was worth as much as a flubberworm.

"Let's knock and hope that your poor excuse of a family will let us in, at least until we can contact Dumbledore," Snape ordered and motioned for Harry to go over to the neat house. Turning, Harry noticed that the house was illuminated in green light and with a third wave of horror he looked up into the sky.  
"Snape?"

"What have I explained to you not even five minutes ago, Potter? I will not tolerate..." his teacher snapped, but Harry cut him off quickly: "I don't think that my relatives will give us any problems," he said and pointed at the Dark Mark above their heads.  
Harry flinched, when Snape cursed once again and dragged him by his wrist to the front door: "We have to ensure the Blood Wards, pray, that they are not too long dead!" The front door was leaning open slightly and Harry was pushed roughly inside. In the next moment the light in the small hallway light up and his eyes fell on the dead bodies of his uncle, aunt and cousin.

Harry did not know how he should feel about their death. They never had been nice people. In fact, they had been violent and unfair, but nobody deserved death at Voldemort's hands either. At least, it must have gone quickly, there were no outer signs of pain only shock in their dead eyes.  
"Was it the killing curse?" Harry questioned and Snape nodded, still glaring, before crouching down next to them and laying a hand on his uncle's throat. "We are lucky, they are still warm. That means, they couldn't have been dead for a very long." The man stood up and turned to Harry: "I will explain a blood ritual to you that will stop the blood wards around this house from disappearing and after that, I will go and try to contact Dumbledore."

"Would it not be better, if you do the ritual?" Harry asked, chewing his bottom lip nervously. He had never preformed a ritual and was not sure if he would be powerful enough. On top of that, Hermione had once told him, that you had to be very precise in a ritual and he had never been a very precise person. That was the main reason, why he always failed so greatly at potions.  
Snape sneered at him: "As willingly as I would do that, I am not able to. The ritual is a dark one, and only a Parselmouth can perform it."

Harry's eyes widened: "There are spells in Parseltongue?"

"Yes, there are, but we have no time for explanations right now. Where is the kitchen?"  
Harry pointed irritably to a door on his left and Snape disappeared into the room, only to return after a few seconds with a large kitchen knife.  
"Follow me," the man ordered and went back outside. Sighing, Harry followed quickly. He had the feeling, that this would be a long and stressful night. He found Snape at the small front gate that lead onto the street. He pressed the knife in Harry's hand and explained: "Now, you cut yourself and after that you have to write with your blood the name of the person you want to keep out above a line, made from your blood as well. Beneath it, you write the name of the person and creature you want to keep in this house... and Potter?"

Harry turned questioning eyes at his Potions Teacher as sign that he was listening attentively. "It is important, that you think their names in Parseltongue for the ritual to work." Snape explained and pointed at the ground.

Nodding, Harry ground his teeth together and pressed the knife to his left palm. The cut stung, but he ignored the pain and laid the blade down, before kneeling down and starting to write. To his surprise, he was writing in a whole different script; the names of his enemy and his two prisoners.  
Snape, who must have noticed Harry's confused look said: "This is Parselscript, lettering only a Parselmouth possess."

As he wrote, he could feel his magic pouring into the words and his blood started to shimmer faintly. Finishing the last letter of Nagini's name, he then stood back up: "So, now Voldemort isn't able to get in here anymore and Lucius and Nagini can't get out?" He asked to be sure, that he had understood Snape's hasty explanation right.

"Indeed. Voldemort will, again, not be able to find you here and Lucius and Nagini can only leave the house in your company. I will go now, but be careful: Do not use magic under any circumstances. You are still under age and the Ministry will be informed of your doing. It is likely, that the Dark Lord has his spies there and he could find you this way."

"I promise, I will not do any kind of magic," Harry agreed and watched Snape bending down and searching for something in Lucius pocket. When he stood up again, he held the man's wand in his hands: "I will go now and take this with me. You may untie him, he is no threat right now. If he kills you, he will never be able to leave this house and die sooner or later as well."

The blonde mans eyes narrowed threateningly, but Snape only scoffed, before turning to leave.  
Harry watched the man leaving the plot, but when he was on the street he turned around once more: "I will try to be back as soon as possible, but it could take a while. I have to find a way to contact Dumbledore without alerting the Dark Lord." Harry nodded, still not quite comprehending what had just happened.

Only when Snape had disappeared into the darkness and he turned to his two captives, did he realise the whole extent of his very pathetic situation. How could this have happened? He was stuck with none other than Lucius Malfoy at 4 Privet Drive. The next few days would surely be hell. Hopefully Snape, as much as he hated the man and did not wish to see him at all in his holidays, would not need long to return, but at the moment he doubted that he would be so lucky.

With a sigh he decided to deal with Nagini first: _"Hello Nagini. Do you know who I am?"_ he asked in Parseltongue. The reptile glared and hissed: _"You are the Potter boy. My master hates you. He says that you are a filthy Half-blood."_ Ignoring the insult, because what else would you expect from Voldemort's familiar? He explained:

 _"You're currently bound to me and this house, so you will not be able to leave. I will untie you now, but don't try to kill me; it would be your death as well."_ The snake glared fiercely at him, but Harry only cut the ropes that bound her body with the kitchen knife, before turning to Lucius. He really didn't want to bother with the arrogant Pureblood.

"You heard Snape?" he asked shortly and waited for Lucius Malfoy to nod. "Good, then you know that nothing good will come from trying to kill me. This is my house and we will live as I say, I have no problem with starving you otherwise," Harry threatened, even though he could never starve a person, not even Lucius Malfoy. He knew how bad hunger could feel and no one deserved to be treated that way.

Cutting the ropes around Lucius' hands and ankles and waited for the taller man to stand up, which he did with more grace than Harry could ever muster. "Let's go inside," He said, turning back to his dead family's house.

"I will not stay at a muggle house!" Lucius spat and gave the house a nasty look, as if it had offended him personally, before throwing the same look at Harry.  
"Sure, if you want to remain outside, it is fine with me. At least, this way I don't have to deal with you," Harry retorted coldly and stepped inside without giving the Malfoy patriarch another look.

In the hallway he nearly stumbled over Nagini, who sniffed the corpses with interest, her tongue flickering out in what seemed like hunger. _"Don't eat them. I will give you something, but they were my family and even though I didn't like them, they do not deserve to end up as your evening meal,"_ he stopped her quickly and to his surprise the large female reptile stopped immediately.

Sighing, he went into the kitchen; he had to think about where to bury his relatives. He could not call the police, they would ask too many questions and maybe even take him with them and he didn't need that. But he also could not leave them on the floor to rot either, so that meant, that he had to bury them himself.

Opening the refrigerator door, he searched for some meat for Nagini. Luckily it seemed, as if his aunt had planned to make a roast and he took the large piece of raw flesh and threw it over to the snake that had followed him into the kitchen. She gulped it down hungrily and slithered out of the kitchen, leaving Harry alone once again.

Another look into the refrigerator told him, that there was not much left. It was a Sunday and that meant that his aunt had planned to go grocery shopping the next day. After a bit of searching he found some eggs and potatoes and started to fry them. It was not much and he was not sure if Malfoy would spare the meal even a look, but he would not treat his prisoners like Voldemort always did. That would only mean, that Harry was no better than him and he wanted to be.

The cutting of the vegetables calmed him down a bit and he started to think over his immense luck he once more had. What should he do with Lucius? Currently the man was sulking in his aunt's front garden, but he would surely not stay there forever and he didn't trust him one bit. Lucius was the kind of man, who would kill him in his sleep, even though he would die himself, only to have his revenge on Harry and to accomplish a great service for his master. Why didn't all the Death Eaters realize, that Voldemort only used them? They would never be anything more to the evil wizard than useful puppets, regardless of what they did for him?

That meant that he could not let Lucius alone or out of sight. He would have to keep a close eye on the Death Eater.  
Sighing, he retrieved a pan from the cupboard and turned on the stove and continued to think about the matter: Even when he watched Lucius closely, that would not prevent the man from sneaking down in the kitchen and steal a knife, whilst he was sound asleep. Normally an alarm spell would do the job, but he hadn't the option right now. Desperately, he started rummaging in the drawers and finally stopped, when his eyes landed on a small ball of wool. Maybe this would do the trick. He pocketed the wool and checked if the pan was hot enough.

After another minute he dropped the potatoes into the pan and started frying them absentmindedly. Nagini would not make any trouble right now, he was sure of that, after all she had listened to him earlier in the hallway and had stopped to eat his relatives. Furthermore, she really didn't seem very aggressive or murderous towards him.

When the meal was ready, he placed it onto two plates and put it on the small kitchen table, before combing with one hand through his already messy hair and going outside to retrieve Lucius. The man was leaning against the fence, his arms crossed and glaring at everything. Harry could clearly see the distaste for everything muggle written all over his face. Distaste was after all, the one emotion even a Malfoy showed openly. Even then, the man succeeded in looking aristocratic and proud even in his battered Death Eaters robe. His mask lay forgotten on the grass, the moonlight reflected on his pale skin and his hair floated slightly in the soft evening breeze, giving him an unearthly appearance.

"Lucius, dinner is ready," he announced after a moment of watching the man and crossed his arms over his chest. Lucius turned his sneering face to him and hissed: "I will not eat something that has been cooked the muggle way."

"Fine, be hungry, I do not care," Harry replied and added: "You can come in any time you like; I will leave the door open." Lucius didn't grace him with a retort and he went back inside to eat, before his meal could grow cold.

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 **LM**

Lucius Malfoy was glaring at the small house in front of him, rubbing his sore wrist. Pathetic, he thought, this is the place, where the Golden Boy lives? He could not quite believe it and even less could he believe that he was Potter's captive right now. How could he have sunken so low? He had wanted to prevent Potter from apparating with Severus, the traitor, but instead had been pulled along. He would make sure that the Dark Lord learned about this deception as soon as he had managed to free himself.

He knew the ritual Severus had made Potter perform. It was from a collection of parchment he and the dark man had found on some mission for their master two years ago. The notes they had found were clearly very old and written in English and Parselscript and Lucius had immediately seen their value. After they had given their Lord the parchments, he had been generous and let them study the spells and rituals as well, at least the few, they could understand. It had been a great honour for Lucius, to sit by his masters' side and study these ancient spells, which would surely help their cause one day. But currently it seemed as if everything would turn out differently.

When he was free again, he would make sure that nobody ever found out, that he had been stuck at Potter's house. He was a very powerful wizard, skilled in many arts, such as healing, the wizarding rights, potions, the dark arts, and even its defence. To be held prisoner like this by a mere boy was pathetic.  
Sighing, Lucius turned his head up to the clear night sky. He did not know how long he had been standing outside, trying to ignore the muggle surroundings.

A Malfoy should never be forced to stay at a place like this; he was a Pureblood after all and the most noble on top of that. The nerves of that boy to drag him along and even threaten him! Unfortunately Potter had all the power to threaten him right now, thanks to his former best friend Severus Snape, without the intelligent wizard, the boy would have stood no chance against him. Without the man's knowledge, Potter would have never been able to perform this Merlin forsaken ritual. He could have brought this annoying boy to his master, maybe even dead and he would have been highly rewarded, but Potter had once again destroyed everything with his unnaturally huge amount of luck.

But he would get his revenge on Potter and on Severus and it will be painful and torturing. A cold wind penetrated his robes and he shivered slightly. Maybe he should go inside, even though the house was revolting, but he could not stay outside the whole night and getting ill in the end. Merlin knows what methods muggle healers use to cure their patients; he would probably die because of their treatment.  
With a last sneer at the driveway he walked up to the unassuming door and found it still open.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

"Why is the meal cold? Is your house elf so incompetent that it even forgets to cast a stasis charm on this miserable food?"

Harry looked up from the television towards the kitchen and rose with a sigh. It seemed, Lucius had finally decided to grace him with his presence. He went into the kitchen to find the man standing at the small table, glaring down at the fried potatoes and eggs.

"This is a muggle house, you will not find a house elf here," he explained dryly and rolled his eyes in annoyance. Really, did the man know nothing at all about muggles? Sure, Lucius Malfoy was a pureblood, but how could he be so ignorant? After all, muggles lived nearly everywhere.

"And who cooked this meal then? I do not believe that Dumbledore lets his Golden Boy stay each year eight weeks at a house, which does not have the upper most luxury," Lucius scoffed.

"Yeah, but you will noticed that it's true. You will not find an ounce of magic at this place," Harry retorted and took the plate from the desk to carry it over to the microwave. When he turned back around, he noticed that Lucius looked slightly paler than normal.  
"What are you doing?" the man asked and eyed the microwave sceptically, as if the device might actually jump him or blow up in his face.

"Heating up your meal," Harry sighed and stopped the little device. When he put the plate down in front of his grumpy house guest, the man's cold silver eyes grew even colder.

"I will not eat anything that is heated up by this... muggle thing" Lucius glared. Rolling his eyes Harry replied: "There is nothing else, you have to eat it, if you don't want to go to sleep hungry and let me remind you: If you had come to dinner when I had called you, it wouldn't be cold right now."

The man's glare intensified and Harry was sure, he could freeze things with it, but he didn't back down and hold those cold silver eyes.

"Fork," Lucius demanded when he noticed, that Harry would not fall to his feet in fear and Harry went over to the top drawer, to retrieve the utensil for him. He watched Lucius giving the fork a nasty look, before the man started eating. His face contorted into a disgusted expression: "Potter, this tastes awful!"

"It would have tasted better two hours ago," Harry sat down across from him, not knowing what else he should do or how he should behave around the arrogant wizard.  
Lucius ate slowly and elegantly, Harry noticed and thought, that Lucius seemed so out of place in this little muggle kitchen. His posture was perfect, the personification of grace and elegance, as if he was dining in a noble restaurant and not eating with an IKEA-fork.

"When you are finished, you have to help me carrying my relatives to the basement. We can't leave them in the hallway like this, someone could see them and call the police and neither you nor I can obliviate a bunch of officers right now," he announced after a while of watching.

Lucius fixed his cold gaze on him and drawled: "A Malfoy never does physical labour."

"Then that will change now," Harry glared back. The man's attitude started to get on his nerves and he felt a headache approaching.  
They fell silent once more and Harry was glad when the Malfoy patriarch was finally finished with eating.

"Let's get it over with," Harry announced and went into the hallway and waited for Lucius Malfoy to arrive.

"There is no way that we can carry this whale of a man down into your basement without a wand and I will surely not strain my back by trying this hopeless task" Lucius said, sneering down at his dead uncle.

"Oh you will," Harry retorted and crouched down to grab him under his shoulders. When Lucius didn't move and just remained standing he sighed for the hundredth time this evening: "Do I have to threaten you every time I need your help? Let me tell you: my relatives had not taught me much, but they have taught me, how to make someone's life miserable without the use of magic and I will gladly give you a taste of what I mean," he said, thinking for a moment, that it really would be delightful to lock the Malfoy patriarch up in his old cupboard, but quickly shoved the thought to the side when he realized what he was thinking. He was not Lord Voldemort and he was not Vernon Dursley either.

Sighing for the hundredth time this evening he said: "Look, we are alone in this muggle house and as long as I cannot risk using magic, that means, that I need your help. I can remind you of the fact that I could let you starve every time, but I think it would be much easier, if you would just do what I ask of you."

"You will pay for this, be sure of it," Lucius hissed, but bend down to grab Vernon's feet.

His uncle was even heavier than Harry had imagined. The man must weigh over 300 pounds. Groaning and struggling he came to his feet and turned towards the basement door. Lucius was panting heavily and Harry had only to take one look to see that he really had never done any kind of physical labour. The small distance to the basement door seemed far too long and Harry didn't dare to let his uncle down, because he feared, that he would not get him up once again. He opened the door to the basement with his elbow and they started to carry the heavy body down the stairs.

"I hope it is not far anymore, or otherwise I will drop this... man," Lucius panted half way down.

"Just the last few steps and we can put him down in the hallway," Harry panted as heavily at the taller man. As soon as they had reached their destination they laid Vernon's body down unceremoniously. Harry leaned against the cold stone wall and tried to catch his breath, hopefully Dudley would not be as heavy.

Unfortunately, Dudley seemed to have reached not only his father's height by only 16 years of age, but also his weight. They struggled once more and in the end, even the ever perfect Malfoy patriarch looked slightly dishevelled. In contrast to the two men, aunt Petunia was light like a feather and Lucius promptly suggested, that Harry could carry her down alone, which he did, because he had enough of the man's complaining.

When Harry came back into the living room, he saw Lucius sitting on the expensive sofa, with his custom disgusted look on his face once more.

"If you make that face any longer, it might just stay this way, you know?" He commented flopping down into the armchair. He grabbed the remote to turn on the telly and ignored the sneer he received for his comment and started to zap through the channels.

Stopping at a chart show, he leaned back into his chair and closed his eyes to relax for a moment, but Lucius voice pulled him from his peaceful state only moments later:

"Potter, this is horrible! Turn this thing off, before my ears actually bleed and fall off!"

"It's just music. There is nothing else we can do, or do you want to play a game of chess with me?" He snapped without opening his eyes. He waited for an answer, but when none came he relaxed again and slowly drifted away. He was so tired after his horrible day and after carrying the heavy bodies of his late family downstairs. Just a minute, he thought and fell asleep.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius tried to block out the horrible sounds that came from the black box across from him. This was a nightmare. His personal nightmare. He had always known that he hated muggles, but this was even worse than he could have ever imagined. His eyes wandered from the black box to the creamy white sofa and armchair with golden patterns that probably should look luxurious and expensive, but felt like something that came from the garbage dump. This sofa would never make its way into his Manor, even if someone would give it to him as a present.

The whole house was an imposition. It was small and smelled too strongly of cleaning agents and he had yet to find a sign of taste. The way they lived, with all these strange and loud engines were disturbing and insufferable. It all left him wondering, why Muggleborns or Halfbloods didn't hate muggles themselves, when they had to suffer this life every day.

His eyes wandered further and landed on a fireplace, which looked as if it had never been used. Over a dozen pictures of the fat man, his wife and ugly son stood on top of the fireplace, but none of Potter. He frowned slightly, but decided, that it was none of his concern why there were no pictures of the boy.

Finally his eyes settled on said boy, who had fallen asleep in his armchair. He was quite small for his age, far smaller than his own son and had he not known better, he would have guessed that he was even younger than he really was. His face was haggard, but it had yet to develop the sharp angles of an adult. He sneered inwardly, Voldemort's methods might be brutal, but at least he never would let a child fight his war. No matter how much of the Death Eaters sons or daughters wanted to take their places next to their parents, they were not allowed to do so until they had reached the age of seventeen.

The thought only made him hate the light side even more. This was one of these points that had been the reason why he had joined the Dark Lord: The light side did not value family and their children as much as they should anymore. In fact, they valued near to nothing of the old wizarding traditions and instead adopted those from the Muggleborns, which had no place in their old and honourable society. Sometimes he asked himself, how a wizard like Albus Dumbledore from an old and much respected Pureblood family could have become the leader and symbol of the muggle- lovers. It was shameful.

Turning back to the black box, he tried to imagine, how the next few days would work out. He could not imagine, how the life if a muggle was, but he had the suspicion that he would know after tomorrow. Hopefully, his master would find a way to save him from this disgusting place, after all, he was his right-hand man, or otherwise he might be tempted to kill Potter after all. True, that would mean that he would die in this house as well, but at least he would have done a great deed for the Dark Lord.

He watched the pictures moving in the black box for a moment. A scandalous clad woman was singing and dancing hideously right now. No woman should leave her home as naked as her. This brought his thoughts to his own wife and son. He hoped that his Lord would not think of him as a traitor, because that would mean that they probably were dead already. He loved his wife in a sisterly way. He could never see the appeal in the female body, but they had grown up together and she had accepted that he would never be more interested in her and was content with it.

A wave of exhaustion overwhelmed him and he rose from the sofa to wake Potter up. It was already late and the day had been rather tiring, especially the end of it. He went over and glanced down at the child in front of him. He really looked like James Potter; Severus had been right about that. Wrinkling his nose at the boys' messy hair he bent down and shook his shoulder.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry was awoken by the rough shake of his shoulder. He groaned in annoyance and tried to turn around, but something was hindering his movements. "Potter, wake up! I am exhausted; show me my bed for the night!"

His eyes flew open and the events of the evening came crashing down on him. How could he have been so stupid to fall asleep with Lucius Malfoy in the same room and without any safety measure? "I am up," he grumbled and batted the long fingered hand away. A look at the clock told him, that it was already one in the morning; they really should go to bed. His legs had fallen asleep in his curled up position and he swayed slightly when he stood.

"The bedroom is on the second floor," he explained and led the way. In the hallway upstairs he stopped, thinking about his next move. He had a plan to ensure his safety during the night, but that meant that they would have to sleep in close proximity. He cringed inwardly, but decided that a bed for himself was not worth the risk of getting killed in his sleep. Turning left he opened the door to his aunt and uncles bedroom and stepped inside. He saw a flicker of shock in Lucius eyes, but it was so quickly gone, that he couldn't be sure that he really had seen it.

"I will change the covers and then we will sleep here, do you want a nightshirt?" he asked and received yet again a disgusted look from his guest. Shrugging, he opened the cupboard and quickly and changed the covers of the mattress, comforters and pillows, before stripping down to his boxers and t-shirt. Then he retrieved the ball of wool from his trousers pocket and bit a, maybe five foot long, piece off of it.

"Stretch out you arm, it doesn't matter which," he commanded stiffly, but of course, all that Lucius was doing was glaring down at him. It cost all his willpower to hold his cold gaze. The man was so much more powerful and taller than him. In a fight, no matter if magically or physically, he stood no chance to win. Only now did he realize, that the tips of his hair only reached the aristocrat's elbows, he was only five feet tall after all, whilst the noble man looked more like 6 foot 4. That was a really disturbing feeling, he felt like a small boy who tried to threaten his teacher. How had he stood that look earlier? Had he been insane?

An elegant eyebrow lifted and Lucius did as he was told surprisingly. Harry gulped, the single lifted eyebrow reminded him so strongly of the man's son, Draco, who was his rival ever since his first year, and yet, the gesture was completely different. Everybody always said that Draco looked just like his father, that even their gestures were the same, but Harry had noticed in these few hours he had spent with the older Malfoy, that they were completely wrong. Every little movement Lucius made, was far more gracious than his son would ever be able to manage. The stern and elegant demeanour came naturally to Lucius, but Harry had always thought that Draco looked as if he had to work for his reputation as an elegant Malfoy heir. Now he knew that he had been right.

Flushing, he grabbed Lucius wrist and tied one end of the string to his wrist, before fixing the other at his own.

"What are you doing, Potter?"

"This way, I will wake up, if you tried to sneak down to the kitchen to fetch a knife to kill me," Harry answered neutrally and tugged on the cord, to show what he meant.

"I would not be so stupid and kill you in the night, as long as there is a chance that my master will come and find me," Lucius said smoothly.

"Sure, keep believing that. I will tell you, neither side is concerned for his soldiers," Harry retorted and went over to the bed. The man really was deluded. But he himself had been deluded as well until just a week ago, so he probably should not hold it against the man. Anything else he would; his violence, his willingness to torture, his prejudices against muggles and muggleborns, but not that. He climbed into bed slowly, so that Lucius could follow without being yanked by his hand. When they both lay under the covers, he turned the light on his nightstand off and turned away from the man.

It was a strange feeling to share a bed for the first time in his life; he had never done that, not even with a lover, because he had yet to have his first girlfriend. At least, Lucius had scooted over to the other end of the bed and they would most likely not touch accidentally. He only hoped that he would not suffer from nightmares this night, because he could not even cast a silencing spell to save his already little pride.

They laid in uncomfortable silence and all the time Lucius laid perfectly still, his breath even. Even with the cord he felt as if he was laying next to a dangerous lion; or in Lucius' case a poisonous snake, and Harry needed many hours to fall asleep eventually, but that wasn't the best thing to do. As soon as he had drifted off, the pictures started to play in front of his inner eyes. Cedric's lifeless body was falling to the ground, whilst Voldemort rose from a bubbling Cauldron and his uncle beat him up with his black belt. Subconsciously, he knew, that he was just dreaming and that he was tossing and turning but he could not flee from his nightmare.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

When he awoke, he was drenched in sweat and still trembling. He sat up slowly and needed a moment to recognize the room and the covered figure beside him.

Sighing, he turned to the alarm clock and saw, that it was already 10 AM, they had to get up and shopping. Lucius was still sleeping, at least as far as he could tell, because he had his back still turned towards him and Harry could not see his face, but his breathing was even as ever and so Harry guessed, that he had to wake him. Thinking about how to accomplish that, he laid a hand carefully adown on the man's shoulder, but before he could say anything the Death Eater turned around.

"Have you slept well?" Harry asked quickly, to prevent an awkward silence, only to regret his question a second later, when the stern face hardened even further:

"I have to tell you, that you are not a pleasant bed companion. You were quite vocal during the night."

Harry quickly averted his gaze, he knew what that meant: He had at least moaned in his sleep, maybe even screamed or spoken out loud. His pride was now officially gone. If Lucius somehow got free, it would not even take a week, before the Daily Prophet knew about his nightmares and the paper would spread the news all over the country, writing about the boy- who- lives' weak mental state of mind.

"Sorry, about that," he mumbled and untied the cord on his wrist before climbing out of bed. "I will go shower and after that, we have to go grocery shopping, if we want something to eat," he added and searched for a towel in the large cupboard. He pulled two out and handed one over to Lucius. "In case you want to clean yourself up after me," he explained and left the room.

The bathroom was just at the end of the floor. On his way he nearly stumbled over Nagini, who eyed him intensely, before hissing: _"Do you have breakfast? The meat you gave to me yesterday was not much and I am hungry."_

Harry blinked stupidly for a moment, before catching up on the question. Eyeing the reptile more closely, he could imagine why she was still hungry. Nagini was huge, at least ten feet long and her body was thick like a small tree. The piece of beef must have been like a bite of chocolate for her. _"Sure, I will give you something today, but Lucius and I have to go shopping first, so it can take a while,"_ he promised and scratched his head in slight embarrassment, he really should be more considerate about his guests. He refused to call Nagini or even Lucius prisoners or captives; he was no Dark Lord and had only bound himself temporarily to these two to save his life.

Nagini nodded and asked: _"Are you planning to go under the falling water, you humans use to clean yourself?"_

Nodding stupidly, Harry waited for whatever the snake was getting at.

 _"Can I come with you? The moist atmosphere in a bathroom is good for my skin. It will get dry and start to split open otherwise."_

 _"Yeah,"_ Harry allowed baffled, opening the door bathroom door and holding it open, so that the reptile could slither in first. When he stepped in beside her, he noticed that Nagini had curled up under the washbasin. Closing the door, he quickly undressed before stepping into the shower stall, he felt a flush rising up his neck, maybe it was silly, but it was a female after all who was watching him.

As soon as the water washed over his tense body, he forgot that he was not alone in the room. The hot water was soothing and his stressed muscles relaxed slowly but steadily. Sighing contently he grabbed the bottle of shampoo and started to massage it into his hair. It was nice to have a shower without worrying about when his aunt might come up and kick him out off shower, because he supposedly used too much water.

He rinsed off and decided to stay a bit longer under the warm spray, before he would face the day and especially Lucius Malfoy. Shortly, he wondered what the light haired man was doing right now, but dismissed the thought quickly, he would find out when he was finished. Right now he wanted to enjoy this moment of peace.

Ten minutes later he finally stepped out from under the stall and nearly jumped at the sight of Nagini, he had almost forgotten her. She was eyeing him curiously and Harry wanted to squirm under her scrutinizing look, he had no idea why she was eyeing him like this.

 _"You are still a young one aren't you?"_ she inquired finally.

 _"I am fifteen. I will be an adult in two years,"_ he retorted, feeling a bit offended.

 _"Then you are still a hatchling,"_ Nagini hissed.

Harry gaped at her. Was she implying that he was still a child? Sure, he was small and thin for his age, due to the Dursleys abuse and neglect, but he was at least a teenager. _"I am no hatchling! I am a teen!"_ He huffed, now certainly affronted.

 _"Snakes only know hatchlings and adults. As long as you are not an adult or have mated you are a hatchling. I do not know what a teen is,"_ Nagini huffed.

 _"A teen is someone between childhood and adulthood,"_ he tried to explain.

 _"I do not know that, but you do not smell like someone who will be an adult soon,"_ The snake repeated herself.  
Giving up on this particular matter, Harry started to dress in fresh clothes:  
 _"Was it good to lay in the bathroom?"_

 _"Yes, thank you. My skin feels better now. My master doesn't allow me often to accompany him,"_ Nagini thanked him with a curt nod of her heavy head.

Harry had noticed, that she had hissed the word master with a peculiar edge to it, so he asked: _"Do you not like him?"_

 _"I have not bound myself to him and he is the reason, why I suffer horrible pains most of the time,"_ she answered.

 _"Is he hurting you?"_ Harry inquired. He started to worry for the snake, she was not evil in the least and he had the feeling that she would rather choose any other master than Voldemort, something any sane creature would do in his opinion.

 _"He has implanted a piece of his soul inside my body, in order to live forever. It hurts to be close to him and it is worse when he is experiencing especially strong feelings."_

Harry looked down at the reptile in shock. Nagini had to suffer the same headaches he had to suffer so often and she had given him an important piece of information: It was because of a piece of Voldemort's soul inside her body. Does that mean that he had a piece of him inside his body as well? And further more: could he somehow get rid of it? Would that mean that he had found a way to kill Voldemort? But thinking about that, he really didn't want to become a killer, or even be a hero at all.

Focusing back on the matter at hand he told Nagini: _"I suffer the same pains like you do."_ he lifted his bangs from his forehead and showed her his scar. Nagini watched for a moment, before pointing with her nose on a spot in the middle of her back.

Harry bent forwards and saw to his horror, a big lightning bolt scar imprinted in her skin. He drew back with a loud gasp. This was the secret of his suffering and his connection to Voldemort. Did Dumbledore know? He could not answer this question, but for the old man's sake he hoped that he didn't.

 _"I feel for you,"_ he told Nagini with a sad expression and she nodded in acceptance. He finally opened the bathroom door and left the damp room, Nagini slithering out behind him.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Lucius was not in the bedroom anymore, so Harry went downstairs and found the man sitting on the sofa in the living room. He looked up, when he noticed Harry entering and stood up without a word, his perfect icy Malfoy- mask in place and disappeared upstairs.

Sighing, Harry strode over to the big shelf unit and opened the door to the far left. He knew that his uncle had always kept money in a hidden safe there and they would need it for the shopping. Remembering, that he had to fetch the key, he walked down into the cellar and crouched down beside his dead uncle. Luckily, the coldness of the room had stopped the corpses from starting to smell.

Everything in Harry was reluctant to search the man's trousers for his keys, but there was no way getting around it. His uncle felt cold, even through the layers of clothing. A shiver ran through Harry's body and he decided to hurry up. It was unsettling to be so close to Vernon, even though he was dead. When the man had been alive, Harry had always tried to stay as far away from him as he could, in fear of his big fist wanting to hit him. But now the man could do nothing to him anymore.

He finally found the keys in his uncles' chest pocket. Harry retrieved them and went upstairs quickly. To his surprise he found over 500 pounds in the safe and without any bad feelings he pocketed the money and closed the cupboard again. Feeling thirsty he decided to fetch a glass of water. In the kitchen he could hear loud cursing from above. It sounded, as if Lucius had some difficulties with the muggle shower. For a moment he thought about helping the man, but then decided to let him suffer a bit, he surely deserved that and settled on snickering.

Taking the glass of water with him, he returned to the living room and turned on the TV. There was nothing interesting to watch, but it was better than to stare at the wall and wait for Lucius to finally be ready. Harry had never understood what his cousin and uncle had liked about watching TV so much. It was a boring waste of time and he could think of many other things he normally would prefer doing. Nagini came over to him and laid her heavy head in his lap, eyeing him with expecting eyes.

 _"Do you want to be pet?"_ he asked her a bit surprised and when she nodded, he started to softly stroke her scales. It felt entirely different than he would have imagined. Nagini's scales were not rough to the touch, but felt like lukewarm water, not soft in the sense of a fine piece of cloth. It really felt like water. It was a nice and calm feeling and Harry found himself wishing, that the snake would stay with him. She was a nice companion and the only one he knew, who had suffered similar pains to his own.

 _"How have you ended up as Voldemort's familiar?"_ he asked her after a while of content silence.

 _"As I told you before, I am not his familiar. A magical creature can only bind itself out of its free will to a master and I have never done that. But he had captured me and never lest me out of his sight, so I had no chance of getting away from him, until yesterday,"_ she hissed.

 _"If you want, I can try to help you. I have the same goal as you: I want to be free from him as well,"_ He proposed, but Nagini didn't answer. He supposed that she needed time to think about it. It was never an easy decision to betray Voldemort.

Footsteps sounded and Lucius appeared in the doorway. His face was even more mask-like usual and Harry mused that he was downright pissed off. His long silver-blond hair was still damp and darker than in its dry state, making the man look even paler.

"Do you want a hairdryer?" Harry asked and tried to sound friendly.

"What is a hairdryer?" the Malfoy patriarch asked in a flat voice.

"It is a device, to dry someone's hair. It works with warm air," Harry tried to explain.

Lucius wrinkled his nose: "I will not risk my hair by using a muggle device," the wizard answered.

"Then let's go shopping. Nagini is already hungry and I am as well," Harry rolled his eyes at the expected answer and stood up. He checked his pockets for the keys and the money before motioning to Lucius to follow him.

Nagini looked as if she wanted to follow him as well, but he shook his head:

 _"Sorry girl, but you have to wait for us at home. The muggles would only panic, if they saw you. I think even the most wizards and witches would do that."_

The snake looked disappointed but returned to the living room, where she curled up on the armchair, where Harry had previously sat in.

He turned to his guest and eyed his appearance. This wouldn't work. Lucius could not go out like this; he looked too much like a wizard. "Take off your cloak and what are you wearing under this Death Eater-jacket?" Harry commanded and earned himself an offended glare.

"What do you want Potter? I will not undress myself in front of you."

Harry rolled his eyes: "Don't worry; I would not want you to see you undressed either."

This statement seemed to offend the Malfoy patriarch even further: "I can assure you, my body is a pleasant sight, in contrast to the appearance of others." His silver eyes scanned Harry's far too small and scrawny body and he had to fight an embarrassed flush.

"I just want to know, what you are wearing underneath. You can not accompany me like this. Everything about you screams wizard," Harry retorted.

Lucius lifted one of his elegant eyebrows: "A wizard should not be forced to hide what he is. We are superior to muggles."

Harry narrowed his eyes: "Spare me your sick beliefs about Blood Purity. I won't hear them. It doesn't matter anyway right now. We could get problems with the ministry and I won't have that, so just do as I told you."

"No ministry official would dare to arrest a Malfoy," Lucius retorted.

Harry sighed not believing, how thick-headed a man could be: "Do I have to threaten you again?"

"You have bad manners, Potter, but I have never expected anything else," Lucius sneered, but finally unclasped his cloak.  
Lucius was, to Harry's relief, wearing a crisp white button down shirt underneath his death eater jacket. Only the black silk ribbon he used instead of a muggle tie still looked a bit odd, but Harry guessed, that the muggles would only think that Lucius was an eccentric. "That looks better,"

"A Malfoy always looks perfect and up to the highest standards," Lucius drawled, revulsion shining in his cold eyes.

"Yeah, I know, your son has told me often enough," Harry winked at him and started to lead the way out of the house and in the direction to the pavement. When he had reached the little fence, which separated the Dursleys garden from the street, Lucius stopped him:

"Potter, what are you doing?"

"Going to the grocery store," he answered a bit bewildered.

"You do not honestly intend to travel there by foot." Lucius drawled.

"Of course I do. We can't apparate there and I am still too young to drive a car and we can't use a broom, either," he retorted.

"It is undignified for a Malfoy to go anywhere by foot. It should be undignified for every proud wizard, but I imagine, that we cannot count you to this group," the man sneered.

Harry sneered back. "I am so sorry Lord Malfoy, that I am not up to your standards, but do you know what? It is your own fault that you are currently stuck with me, you shouldn't have tried to stop me and Professor Snape," he snapped and started to walk at a quicker pace. After a few steps he could feel the blood ritual starting to work, pulling Lucius after him. Harry could hear an angry growl, but shortly after, the man was by his side, a murderous expression on his aristocratic face.

Harry noticed that they had drawn a bit of attention. The neighbours were looking out of their windows, or even stood openly in their doorways or gardens and watched them. They had probably tried to hear their argument and Harry could not stop thinking about what his aunt would have said if she was still alive. She probably would have fainted or had a nervous breakdown from fear that the neighbours could find out that they were housing freaks right now. In a way, her biggest nightmare had just come true. Somehow, that filled him with a childish sense of joy and he started to snicker.


	2. Chapter 02: Muggle London

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the characters. All rights belong to J. K. Rowling.**

 **A/N: And because I am awesome, a warning for those who need it.**

 **The Mature Warning: Means that you have to be LEGAL in your country to read this story, be that 16, 17, 18, 21, 100... You get the picture. That responsibility lies with YOU the reader. It also means that my story will have SEX scenes or private body parts mentioned. If you don't like it, I recommend searching for stories with NO sex.**

 **The Slash Warning: Means that there is going to be GAY sex (that is man on man sex in this instance). Don't be upset if the main pairing are two or more men that end up together.**

 **Chapter 2: Muggle London**

 **HP**

Harry stood in the grocery store, eyeing the tins and contemplating whether he should really cook for a man every day who does not appreciate it anyway. The way to the store had been long and torturous, with Lucius muttering darkly the whole time. Harry had heard enough of his spiteful words to last him a lifetime. Every time the Malfoy patriarch had seen a garbage bin, he had hissed filthy and the small but neat and often beautiful front gardens were called pitiful by him.

Harry really wanted to know, how the Lord of the Noble Malfoy Family succeeded to have an air of superiority around him, even as a captive in a small muggle town, where he would have surely died soon of starvation without Harry's help. Harry felt totally small and unimportant next to him, even though he knew that he was not. All the way to their destination, women and men alike had followed the tall man with their eyes, whilst giving Harry nasty looks, as if they wanted to tell him that a scrawny boy like him, should not be seen next to a gorgeous man like Lucius Malfoy.

He glanced over to Malfoy and had to admit that the people had been right in one point: Lucius Malfoy was gorgeous. It was really unfair, that an evil bastard like him should have such beautiful looks. His legs were long and powerful, his waist slim and his shoulders broad. His button-down shirt and the tight black trousers hugged his slim but muscled frame perfectly and left absolutely nothing to the imagination and instead of starting to look old, like a man in his early thirties usually did, his age gave only the impression of maturity and wisdom. On top of that all his extraordinary white-blond hair, which reflected the sunlight with every movement and made the man seem as if he had a halo around his head and his piercing silvery eyes. Harry could understand why women would run after a man like him; he looked like an exotic model.

But Lucius Malfoy was still an evil bastard with a sick mind and no looks could ever outweigh this fact.  
"What are these?" Lucius sneered and pointed at a tin.

"Cooked food in tins... you just have to heat it up and eat it," Harry explained.  
"You will not buy even one of them. I will not eat food, which was cooked Merlin knows how many days ago. Muggles cannot do charms to prevent it from wasting, I will not risk my health by eating something like this," the man commanded and Harry sighed heavily. He should have known that he would not get away from cooking. Lucius was too stuck up and spoiled to eat fast food.

"It is perfectly edible. Muggles use vacuum to make their food long lasting," Harry tried to explain, but with no success.  
"This does not sound like a safe method. You will cook, at least for me, feel free to eat this long lasting food yourself, go on and poison yourself but do not endanger me!" Lucius huffed and went in the direction of the vegetables.

Harry followed him quickly suppressing the urge to roll his eyes yet again; he did not trust Lucius Malfoy to behave inconspicuously in a muggle store.

"What would you like to eat then?" Harry made the mistake of asking.

"I would appreciate oysters for dinner," the aristocrat drawled.

Harry gave him an amused look and started to drop some vegetables he would need for a chicken soup with noodles in his trolley and walked over to the meat section. Eyeing the iced meat, he wondered how much he should buy for Nagini; he didn't suppose that he would find a small cow in this store.

"Do you know, how often Voldemort fed Nagini and how much?" he asked, turning to Lucius.

Lucius looked, as if he wouldn't answer him, but then said neutrally: "She normally got one prisoner per week, but sometimes he gave her two or even three, then she only had to eat after two weeks again,"

Harry wanted to cringe at the fact that Voldemort had fed her with humans, but restrained himself, he didn't want to look disgusted or even weak in front of Voldemort's right-hand man.

Sighing, he fetched a couple of rabbits, chickens, ducks, and beef steaks from the freezer and put it with the vegetables. Nagini really was an expensive pet, maybe he should take her to the next meadow with sheep or cows instead of buying rabbits and chickens; she would surely like to hunt again after all these years in Voldemort's captivity. But he would bring her this food first, because he had promised to feed her soon and he would not have time to accompany her until tomorrow night. This night they had to bury his late relatives.

"Where are my oysters?" Lucius pulled him from his thought.

"This is just a small store, they don't sell oysters here," Harry lied and went over to the deserts and yoghurts. He would not buy expensive oysters for Lucius Malfoy; besides, he had no idea how they had to be prepared and he surely would end up food- poisoning the richest aristocrat in the wizarding world. Harry would not risk it. Lucius would only charge him as soon as he was free of Harry.

"Muggles live on a much lower level than even I have imagined," Lucius drawled when he appeared next to Harry.

Harry ignored him and instead said: "Pick something you like."

The Death Eater raised an eyebrow and carefully took a chocolate pudding to eye it critically.

"You don't have to fear it, it is just a desert, it will not try to harm you," Harry scoffed.

"I am not afraid of it, but a good portion of caution is always in order, especially in a muggle store," Lucius explained with a stern voice.

"Yeah, I get it: Constant vigilance!" he retorted dryly. Lucius rewarded him with an evil glare, which only made Harry snicker. "So have you decided?" Harry asked and dropped some of the chocolate puddings into the trolley.

"I will forgo this... offer," Lucius declared in a drawling voice and put the desert back onto its shelf. Harry only shrugged, it was not his problem that Lucius didn't trust anything muggle.

They went to the cash register and Harry laid everything in front of the young woman, who smiled friendly at him. She looked a bit funny, when she noticed all the frozen meat, but began to scan everything without asking any questions.

"This is a slow procedure," Lucius scoffed and the woman looked up to see who had criticize her, but the moment her eyes landed on Lucius she went beet red and her mouth opened without producing any sound. Lucius, who had seen the girl's reaction, only sneered at her and Harry wanted nothing more but to give him a piece of his mind about polite behaviour, but they were already drawing enough attention as it was. Unimpressed, the girl started to bet her lashes seductively.

"How much is it?" He asked quickly, before Lucius would start to think about cursing the gaping girl wandlessly

The girl jerked when Harry pulled her from her daydreams and stuttered: "56, 49 Pounds, Sir."

The Sir was obviously meant for Lucius, because the girl was still looking at him and no one in their right mind would call him Sir. He looked far too young. He put the money in front of the cashier and actually had to knock a few times on the counter before she noticed him.

"Your money," he said, more than a bit annoyed by now.

She finally caught on to his mood and hastily gave him his change before squeaking: "Have a nice day, Sir!"

Harry growled in the back of his throat and stomped out of the store.

Outside, he waited for Lucius to catch up with him, who appeared a second later with a lazy stride. "At least muggles can recognize their superiors when they are in front of them"

"Arrogant bastard" Harry muttered darkly.

"My parents were married, Potter."

"Were they brother and sister too?" Harry asked innocently making Lucius scowl at him.

Happy with finally having shut the bastard up, he pointed with his nose at the three heavy plastic backs: "I don't think that you will help me carrying these?"

"No, of course not. I already told you, Malfoys do not do physical labour," He said smoothly... too smoothly for Harry's liking.

"But you will help me bury the Dursleys later this evening; you will not get around that. They cannot rot in the cellar," Harry said darkly and set a quick pace, not waiting for another snide remark. He wanted to get home; it was far too stressful to go outside in the muggle world with Lucius Malfoy. Harry glanced sideways and to his dismay he noticed that, while he was panting and nearly running, Lucius was still striding elegantly, only at a faster pace. He huffed and turned his face away, he didn't need this realization for his ego.

"My, my, are we envious?" Lucius mocked him; the man had apparently noticed his stare.

"No, I am not. I am just annoyed. You cannot be inconspicuous for one moment, can you?" Harry snapped back. "We have a big problem, if someone finds us right now."

"It is not my fault, that my wand has been taken away from me, it was after all your ally and if you had been raised properly, like every heir to an family like yours should have been, even with a worthless Mudblood mother, and not by muggles and that old fool of an headmaster, you would be in possession of an unregistered wand and be able to do magic even in the holidays," Lucius drawled. "Besides, I cannot see the problem with being found by somebody. That would only mean that I could finally bring you to my master."

Harry growled angrily: "You expect that it would be some of your comrades, but what if it would be someone from the Ministry? I could tell them, that you tried to bring me to Voldemort. You are still wearing your Death Eaters robes and your mask is lying in my front garden, what do you think they would do? Send you home or to Azkaban? And don't talk about my mother like this ever again!"

For once, Lucius said nothing in retort and Harry was thankful for that, stomping back all the way to 4 Privet Drive and fuming silently.

Nagini was still lying lazily in the armchair when they came back, but rose up as soon as she noticed them. She slithered from her resting place and came over to Harry:  
 _"Have you brought me something to eat?"_ She asked, without acknowledging Lucius.

 _"I have. It is in the bags, wait a moment and I will give it to you,"_ Harry dumped the bags on the counter and unwrapped most of the meat, then he went to the back garden, to lay it down on the grass, he did not want blood stains on the expensive carpet. He would only get problems with Marge in the end, or who ever would inherit the house.

 _"You should wait a few minutes, until the sun has defrosted everything, or you might get ill otherwise,"_ he hissed to Nagini, who had followed him.

 _"Thank you,"_ she hissed back and curled around her meal to wait patiently.

Harry tried to decide what to do next. He wanted to stay outside for a while and enjoy the sun, but it was nearly lunch time and he still had to cook. So he went inside and promised himself to include Lucius in the cooking, the man could do something else other than insult him about his food. He quickly packed away all the groceries and returned the rest of the money to the safe, and then he shouted for his unpleasant guest.

Lucius let him wait for at least five minutes. Harry was sure that he had done that on purpose, because there was nothing in his relative's house he could be occupied with right now, unless he had found his undying love for sappy muggle TV- drama series.

When the aristocrat finally graced him with his presence, Harry commanded: "Help me with cutting the vegetables." He would not ask Lucius, or he would get another answer in the manner of the high and mighty patriarch.

The man stepped to the knife that lay on the counter and started without arguing. Harry was surprised and turned to his own work at hand: preparing the chicken for the soup. He washed it carefully, before putting it down next to a big pot full of still cold water. After turning the stove on, he turned to Lucius and examined his handy work.

"You know, we are not brewing a potion, it don't has to be so accurate."

"Accuracy is the key to wealth and public image, but there is no way that a Halfblood like you would ever have learned that," Lucius sneered.

Harry grew beet red: "Just so that you know: I have enough public image and I am not poor either." He didn't know where the urge to defend himself came from, after all; he knew how Lucius Malfoys mind worked. Nothing other than perfection was acceptable for him and that started by ones blood status.

"But you are not very wealthy either and your public image is mostly a poor one," Lucius didn't looked up from his work, that made Harry even more angry.

"At least, Halfblood and muggle-born parents don't think only about their children's blood status and love them unconditionally," Harry spat venomously.

"We love our children as well, in fact, children are the most valuable thing to Purebloods, that is why none of our children fight in the war, not until they are adults and can decide that for themselves," Lucius retorted smoothly as ever.

Harry felt the words like a knife in his heart, Lucius had hit closer to home than the man would ever have imagined. He wanted to grab his own kitchen knife and shove it into the Death Eaters back. He fought the urge with all his willpower and forced a false smile on his face:  
"At least, we can fight for our world." He had hoped that his face could for once fool somebody, but by the look in Lucius eyes, Harry knew that the man had seen right through his lies:  
"Keep believing in your own lies, Potter, but spare me."

"Sure, but you do that as well. Protecting your children until they are seventeen and then standing by and watching how they are tortured by the Cruciatus Curse? That is so much better!" He laughed and his voice sounded mad even to his own ears, but he had reached his goal, Lucius had gone a bit paler and his hands where slightly shaking. With a smirk, Harry turned away and dropped the chicken into the pot.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

This was the second night in which Potter was moaning, tossing and turning. Like last night, the boy had connected their hands and turned to the wall and he himself had turned in the other direction. He had hoped that he could have a quiet night's sleep, but as it was, it was very unlikely. So instead, he laid once more awake, thinking about the day with the boy-who-lived. After the displeasing walk to the shopping centre and the cooking, Harry had gone outside to lay lazy in the sun and he had tried to find something to do in the pathetic muggle house. He had ended up with a muggle novel, which was obviously meant for women and it did not surprise Lucius anymore as to why muggles had no sense of culture, etiquette or art, when they only read stories like this one, however, it was preferable to the loud black box with the moving pictures and the scandalous clad women.

Still, the predictable story could not hold him captive and so his thoughts had drifted off to the mystery that was Harry Potter. The boy lived an entirely different life than he had imagined or even his son, who knew Potter better then he himself, had reported him. Draco had always said that Potter behaved high and mighty, like he owned the world, but after all he had witnessed until now, he had to suspect that Draco's observations might have sprung from his own jealousy over Potter's fame. The whole environment, where the boy lived, showed clearly, that he lived without any luxury at all.

Potter had cleaned and cooked and walked to the little store. Lucius was still not happy about the fact, that he had to walk as well, but that was not the point right now, and it had been better than helping Potter burying his late family. The boy had fetched a second shovel from an old lady by named Mrs. Figg and thrust it into his hands with the word: "Dig!"

He had tried to refuse, but in the end he had to face the fact that he was not the person who held the most power right now. That was a new and unwelcome feeling for him. Sure, he had never been Minister of Magic or something like that, but in his own way, through his magical power, his intelligence, his money and standing amongst the Pureblood families, he had always been more influential than any politician. He really resented that feeling and still did not know how to behave around a boy who treated him like any other common wizard without fearing his money or his social standing. Normally he got his way through a clever combination of bribery and threats, but he had no wand to threaten Potter and he would not be interested in galleons, as far as Lucius could see. That meant he had nothing to influence the young hero and in the end he could do nothing but dig.

And then there had been his words from yesterday evening. Potter had told him that he believed that neither side cared about their soldiers in this war. He didn't know what soldiers were, but he assumed that they must be similar to aurors in the wizarding world. Did this mean that the hero of the light side didn't agree with the way things were going? Maybe even with his given task in this war?

Lucius knew that the war was a much more complicated matter than most wizards knew and he asked himself how much Potter knew and how much Dumbledore kept secret from him. He decided to watch Potter more closely, maybe he would find out something useful for his Lord.

One thing he had already found out: His Lord's snake had taken a liking to the boy wonder. Lucius could not really question the snakes changing loyalty, because Potter was kind hearted, even to an enemy, another point that irritated him about the boy. Potter had treated him mostly in a polite manner, and that more than anything else, had shown Lucius how different his Lord and Potter really were.

Despite himself, Lucius had gotten the feeling that a true Lord should not reign through fear, threats, and torture. Potter had been right back in the kitchen: What use was it to keep the children away from the war and then stand by and watch how they were tortured as soon as they had reached adulthood? Children were after al the most precious goods they had in the wizarding world. He had hated Potter for his comment, because the child had been right. But still, the Dark Lord was right in more points than Dumbledore, he knew that even more now, after he had been forced to live among muggles for over a day, than before.

A sob came from his right and he turned to look at Potter. Tears were streaming down his face and his body was shaking, the boy seemed to be having a nightmare. No child should suffer nightmares at this young age; he had always believed that and protected his own son to the best of his abilities.

Lucius took the chance to study Potter more closely than he could during the day. The boy was small, only 5,2 feet tall, his shoulders narrow and his closed eyes big in his face. He looked as if he had not reached puberty yet, it was disconcerting to think that he had to be nearly 15 by now. On a closer inspection he noticed that he really did not resemble James Potter as much as he had first thought. True, he had his father's thick and messy hair, and his general features, but James had always been tall and broad shouldered, nearly as tall as an adult as Lucius himself. In contrast to that, his son could be mistaken for a girl, if he would grow his hair longer; there was not much masculinity about him. Maybe this would change when Potter's facial features grew sharper with age and were not as boyish anymore.

But this all was really of no interest to him. Potter was still an insufferable brat with a far too big mouth and who definitely needed to be taught some manners (maybe even with the help of a bit good, old caning), a proper way to dress himself and a brush. Normally, he would never consider caning a method to teach a child anything, his parents had taught him that, but the small raven seemed to be immune against anything else.

Another sob tore itself from Potter's mouth and he wished for a silencing spell. For a moment he thought about waking the boy up, to save him from his nightly torture, but then remembered that Potter was not his concern and just turned back around, trying to ignore the sounds that no child should ever make.

The next morning after he had showered, dressed himself and gone down into the small kitchen; Potter once again shocked him with one of his ridiculous ideas. The boy eyed him across the table and sniffed loudly, before wrinkling his nose: "We will drive to muggle London and buy you some new clothes. You are starting to reek, or your robes do."

Glaring as threateningly as he could, he declared: "I will not accompany you on a shopping spree to muggle London and I will certainly not wear anything remotely like muggle clothes."

Instead of being impressed, that nightmare of a boy only smirked: "If you don't want to get new clothes, I could always give you some old ones of my uncles."

Every other wizard would have fled at his icy glare, but Potter didn't even waver. The thought of buying and even wearing muggle clothes was revolting, but unfortunately, he was by now sure that Potter would stick to his threat and make him wear his dead uncle's shirts and trousers. With the best sneer he could muster he said: "Fine, but don't expect that I will pay you the money back."

"I would never dream of it," Potter rolled his eyes, something he did quite often and stood up.

"We have forty minutes to get to the bus. Be ready to leave in thirty," the boy commanded and strolled out of the room. Maybe his son had been right after all and Harry Potter was as arrogant as he had told him.

Sneering at his breakfast, which consisted of Muffins, he finished quickly and left his plate behind. Potter could look after the dishes. That was a task he certainly would never do. No Malfoy would ever clean dirty dishes, that was a job for house elves or wizards who were of no importance as he himself was.

He found the boy sitting in the living room, petting his new pet snake absentmindedly. His hair was as messy as ever and the colour of the red shirt was faded, as was the picture on the front of it. How could the boy dress in revolting clothes like this? He was the boy-who-lived, a celebrity, as much as Lucius hated that fact, so why hadn't his relatives provided him with a more fitting attire? Even muggles must have enough intelligence to realise that no one, who was in the interest of the public eye should be seen like this.

He was roughly pulled from his thoughts, when the fireplace suddenly flared up and he was alert immediately, gripping for his wand, which was not there. Potter had jumped up as well, his wand now outstretched before him, regardless of the fact that he would not be able to use it unless he wanted to get into serious trouble, which he would, the golden boy had, after all, already ignored the laws for underage wizards once.

His eyes darted around in the room, searching for anything that could be used as a weapon, even though he would have no chance with a knife if suddenly aurors and ministry officials would appear.

A face formed in the flames and he sighed inwardly, when he recognized Severus Snape in the heath.

"Snape!" Potter sighed and the potions master glared at him:  
"Potter, I will drop fifty points from Gryffindor even before the next term has officially started, if you not start to address me properly!"

Potter rolled his eyes in clear annoyance, there was apparently no threat that would teach the brat to behave himself like it would be adequate in front of a superior and Lucius once again thought, that a proper caning might be a lesson the young hero would benefit from.

"Have you been able to contact Dumbledore?" Potter asked crouching down in front of the fireplace.

"No, the Dark Lord is still searching for you and I had to lay low. I have not much time either, because I broke into a muggle house to use their fireplace, in hope that nobody will notice that I know where you are hiding."

Potter nodded: "How long will it be, until you can contact anybody?"

"That depends on how quickly the Dark Lord will give up on finding you. I just wanted to make sure, that our hero," Severus sneered at that word, "...is still alive."

"I am," Potter's look had darkened and his voice was colder than Lucius had ever heard it before.

"Good, I will take my leave then and contact you, as soon as I can," with that said the spy disappeared once again.

Potter glared a moment at the once again empty hearth, before looking at his watch and saying: "We have to go now."

Without any more argument, he slipped into his expensive dragon hide boots, after all, he knew when a fight was pointless and it would be much more respectable to bear with the situation silently. They left the house and Potter took the same way they had gone yesterday to the grocery store. Once again the muggles were looking, goggling at him. As a Malfoy, he was used to these kinds of looks, Malfoys after all were famous for their beauty and normally he relished in these gazes, especially, when they came from young and attractive wizards, but not today. He had no interest in unattractive muggle women in their mid-forties.

Glancing discretely over at the boy next to him, he remembered, that only yesterday, Potter had seemed to enjoy their attention, or at least get some amusement from it, but today he looked totally annoyed, but that could be because of Severus' visit a few minutes ago, the two truly hated each other and he could sympathize with his former friend. He himself would not want to be stuck in a classroom with that boy for seven years, twice a week.

On the other hand, he could not understand why Potter didn't try to get along with the potions master; after all, it would be wise to gain an acquaintance like Severus Snape. It was always good to befriend intelligent and talented people and the traitor was the best potions brewer in the whole wizarding world, he had even a certificate as evidence. But Lucius supposed that Potter was not intelligent enough to see the benefits a friendship or at least a peace with Severus Snape would gain him.

Suddenly the boy stopped at a strange glass-house and sat down on a bench, he would never consider using even after a couple of cleaning spells. He wanted to ask why they were standing under a glass roof and how they would get to muggle London, after all, it was not close enough to walk, but that would mean to admit how little he actually knew about the muggle world and he would never admit to a weakness of any kind.

Muggle London! He, Lucius Malfoy, would go to muggle London; that thought alone was degrading and even worse, Potter would force him to try muggle clothing on and even buy them. He had seen many muggles since he had arrived at Potter's house, more than he had seen in his entire life before and the thought of dressing like them was revolting beyond anything! All these men in their colourful, and often plaid shirts, with those ill-fitting trousers, as if they never looked in a mirror, and he would have to wear similar garments. Garment was not even the right word to describe muggle clothing; rags would be a more suitable word. His only hope was, that his natural Malfoy grace would save his dignity and that hopefully nobody besides Potter and maybe Severus would ever see him like this.

The city itself would surely be as repellent as their citizens. Muggles had no taste, not even in architecture. Their houses were either smaller than the broom shack on his Manor grounds, or gigantic, grey in ornate. Sure, in contrast to other Death Eaters, he did not share the opinion that every muggle should be eradicated, they were humans after all, regardless of how under-developed their culture was, but that was still no reason to go to muggle London and visit their pathetic shops.

But unfortunately, Potter didn't share his sentiment; in fact, he seemed quite excited about their little excursion.

Turning his back to the boy, who had not spoken to him since they left the house, he tried to distract himself by eyeing the front gardens across the street. It was not easy to distract himself this way, because in comparison to the Manor gardens, they really were more than pathetic.

Muggles generally had no real beautiful flowers; their small roses would look like weeds next to a moonlight rose or a silver-white witch, which was his favourite rose, with its delicate, white petals and silver patterns.

Furthermore, most muggles seemed to like to disgrace their gardens even further by putting strange and horribly colourful devices in their gardens. By now he had realized, that these devices seemed to be some sort of toy for their children, but still, a garden should be there to impress guests and possible new acquaintances.

A loud, roaring noise made him look up and something that looked like a huge car halted in front of them. A door opened and Potter stood up and motioned to him to step inside. He passed the corpulent man, who sat in front of the wheel, ignoring him entirely and eyed the vehicle in disgust. What had Potter called it earlier? A bus?

"Hey man, stop right there!" the man in the front shouted suddenly. He turned around with a sneer, how dare that man to talk to him in such a manner?

"Have you never taken the bus before? You have to pay!" the man barked. Glaring down at the disgrace for human he retorted coldly: "Indeed, I haven't. Normally I do not  
lower myself to the use of such ways of travelling."

"It's fine, he belongs to me." Potter had stepped in behind him and laid a small amount of muggle money on the small counter. The driver gave him two paper cards, which he pocketed together with his change, before coming up to him.

"Don't you want to sit down?"

Eyeing the filthy seats once more he wrinkled his nose: "No curse in the world could make me sit down on such a disgusting seat. Do they never clean this car?"

Potter shrugged. "I will just warn you: bus drivers drive like mad. You better sit down quickly," the boy advised him and scooted onto a small bench.

"I surely will not..." his sentence was interrupted as the driver started the bus and he was nearly knocked from his feet. He surely would have flown across the large car, injuring himself severely in the process, if Potter had not grabbed onto his robe, yanking him forward so that he was only knocked against the small boy and the bench he was sitting on.

He must have hit the boy hard, but the child didn't even flinch. Staring in shock into those big, green eyes, he noticed absentmindedly how thin Harry Potter truly was. The baggy shirt hid it well, but he could feel the child's ribs sticking uncomfortably into his side and the leg he was more or less laying on was thin like a twig.

Unable to break his stare from those deep- green ones, he grabbed the back of the next seat and pulled himself up. Potter scooted over wordlessly and he sat down.

"So, I thought, no curse in the world could make you sit down on a seat like this?" the boy smirked after a moment.

Sneering once again, he retorted coldly: "Apparently, this muggle can."

To his disgust, Potters grin broadened: "Lucius Malfoy, Lord of the proud Malfoy family is bested by a mere muggle?"

"Be quiet, Potter, or I will make sure that you find a painful end," he hissed, but didn't succeed in wiping the smirk from Potter's face.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry turned to look out of the window, but his smirk remained the whole drive. It had been reflex to grab Lucius Malfoy, as he was threatening to fly across the bus, but he had surely not expected the aristocrat to land on top of him. It really had been a shock. To his utter dismay he had to realize that the bastard was not only tall and had a beautiful face, but he was even more muscled than he had ever imagined a Malfoy could be; after all, they never seemed to do any kind of physical exercise, but he had been proven wrong only minutes ago.

Fate really was a bitch. Besides, why should he even think about how muscled Lucius Malfoy was? The man was an enemy and even if he had been into guys, he would never consider the arrogant aristocrat as something remotely to a lover. In fact, he could not even imagine him as a parental figure or an uncle, all these thought were really gross. But still, for the barest moment the body pressed against his had felt good.

Shaking his head inwardly fiercely he watched the passing streets and houses. He had the feeling that buying clothes for Lucius in muggle London would turn out to be quite the event, but not in a good way. The Pureblood had not a single nice or even neutral look for anything muggle. From the gardens in their neighbourhood, over cars to anything else, he eyed everything with disgust and distaste and the most hateful looks he had for Harry, not even the man's son had thrown such looks at him and they had been school rivals for about four years.

When they had finally reached their destination, he motioned for Lucius to get up. Outside in front of the parked bus, Harry needed a moment to orientate himself. He had rarely been in muggle London, only at the rare occasions when aunt Petunia had decided that she needed someone to carry her shopping back, but that had only happened a few times because mostly she had been the opinion that he was more an annoyance than of use and let him stay at home.

Maybe he would find the right store by what style of clothes they would need, so he turned to examine the aristocrat. Lucius was quite tall, with a slim waist. That already excluded many stores he knew because uncle Vernon and Dudley had always been on the corpulent side of the scale.

Maybe a store for young, fashion-conscious people would be the best chance to find something, which would actually not fall off of the man's hips, but Lucius was not the type to wear modern young fashion. They could always go into a expensive store for tailored suits, the noble man might even like that, but Harry did not have enough money to buy a couple of pants and button-downs there and groceries for the next days or even weeks.

"Potter, what are you staring at?" the man snapped, pulling him from his musing.

"I am trying to think where to find out which store we might find something to wear for you," Harry answered.

"And why is that such a complicated question? I thought you would be familiar with this part of London."

"Well I am, but not that good; I was not often allowed to come here," he explained, biting his lip immediately as he realized, what he had just admitted. Wanting to guide the conversation to a less embarrassing topic, he started to ramble, like he always did, when he got nervous:  
"The bigger problem is that you are quite slim, in fact, you have the perfect figure of a model, but that is fairly rare, so it will be difficult to find the right shop."

A second brow rose on Lucius face and Harry flushed violently: "Don't look at me like that, I only tried to describe your figure neutrally," he tried to save himself, but it was too late.

A smug smirk tucked at the corner of Lucius Malfoys lips and Harry wished that the ground would open beneath him. Turning quickly he started to walk down the shopping street, deciding that he would just keep his eyes open for any fitting store.

The attention they got was even worse than in Harry's small neighbourhood. All along the way women stopped to goggle after them, or to be more precise after Lucius, no one had noticed him yet and no one seemed to consider, that the small boy in front of the gorgeous blond actually belonged to him.

Harry became rather conscious of his old, baggy t-shirt, the faded pants, his unruly mop of hair and his knobby knees. He pulled absentmindedly at the hem of his shirt, trying to let it look less old, but to no avail. It was just his luck to have to go out with the most handsome and well-clad man there was. Huffing, he shoved his hands into his pockets and just concentrated back on his surroundings.

He was glad, when they came across a store, where aunt petunia had bought Dudley's suit for last year's school ball and he could leave the crowded street. Unfortunately his pitiful dressing was just more obvious in a elegant shop like this, but the shop assistant was luckily too polite to say anything, or they had just seen Lucius following behind, him and assumed, that they belonged together and they had not to fear thievery.

Hoping that they might have luck in this store, because one year ago when Dudley had bought his suit, the boy had not been so fat and they might have things besides from plus size, he looked for the section with the trousers.

When he had find the right row, he led the way to the suit-trousers and started to look at the tags.

Glancing over his shoulder, he threw another glimpse at Lucius. What was it with that man? Even for a well-build man, his physique was astonishing. The aristocrat had not only long legs and a flat stomach that was most likely perfect as well, with well trained abs, but everything else was perfection as well. His shoulders were broad, but not too much for his slim figure, his throat was slim, but strong at the same time. Maybe there really was Veela blood flowing in the Malfoys bloodline? He had heard rumours about it. Considering, that it had been Draco who had bragged about his supposed inheritance the most, he had never quite believed it, especially because the boy lacked the elegance those creatures should possess, but watching his father right now, he might start to believe these rumours after all. He sighed in irritation.

Since the man had landed on him, he caught himself far too often stealing glances. Shoving the thought to the side, he pulled out the smallest pants and held it up to find out, if this one could actually fit the man, but his eyes didn't land on the aristocrat in general, but on one of his elegant and slender hands. Damn those hands were sexy! His long fingers were quite sinful, but luckily, he reminded himself quickly, he wasn't into men and especially not into one Lucius Malfoy, because the man was a evil, cold-hearted bastard.

Growling inwardly, or maybe not so inwardly, if the irritated flicker in Lucius eyes were any indication, he shoved the trousers into the noble man's arms.

"Try these," he snapped, angry with himself for watching a man that was not only undeserving of being watched because of his bad character, but because said man was also his enemy.

"Do not talk to me like this, you lowly Halfblood!" Lucius sneered back, his eyes suddenly colder than ice.

"I am not lowly! People like you, who get their kicks out of torturing others are lowly!" he hissed back, infuriated by the Death Eaters words.

"Of course you are lowly, maybe not in comparison with the Granger girl, but I am the successor of the most ancient and noble Pureblood bloodline and will not tolerate to be spoken to in this manner!"

Harry ground his teeth together. He really hated the bastard!  
"Just try these damn trousers on and spare me your crap!"

Lucius glared at him, but finally inspected the trousers, feeling the fabric. Like expected, he wrinkled his nose: "Why would anyone buy trousers of such low quality?"

Taking a deep breath, Harry tried to calm his temper; it would not be good if he murdered Lucius Malfoy in the middle of a muggle suit-store. But oh! How he hated that man!

"Muggles don't have spells to enchant the comfort of their trousers and I don't have the money to buy you silk ones," he retorted drily and pointed into the direction of the changing cubicles.

"I doubt that muggle silk is better than anything else they produce," Lucius drawled and finally went to the changing rooms.

Harry decided to just wait for his return. With Ron he would have followed his friends, to check if the pants would fit well or even give his opinion, if asked, but he was sure, that Lord Malfoy would not appreciate his help, especially not after their row.

Besides, the man had probably more knowledge about fashion in his pinkie than he himself had in his whole body. He used the time to take a couple of more calming breaths, praying for patience with the prejudiced wizard. He actually succeeded to get his temper back under control, which was a small miracle given the circumstances and ten minutes later, his involuntary companion was back.

"And?" he asked, because he really could not get any clues from Lucius constant disgusted face.

"Too wide," was the aristocrats sneering answer.

Sighing, Harry took the trousers and hung it back: "Then we have to look for another store; that was already the smallest size."  
"Are all muggles as fat as your uncle?" Lucius added, his sneer even intensifying, something, that should not be possible. Harry didn't retort and just went back out to the street.

During the thirty minutes they had been in the store, the street had become even more crowded. Harry had to stay close to Lucius to prevent losing him and it was quite uncomfortable to walk so close to the Death Eater and even be pressed into the adults side every so often by passing people. He constantly looked around, but not a single store made an impression that they should even try to go inside.

Suddenly a bright red sign caught his attention: H&M. This was a label for young people and famous for its small sizes. Hopefully they would have some casual button-downs in their assortment.

"We will go into the store over there," he announced and pointed at the large sign, ignoring Lucius' raised eyebrows at the sight of the red sign that the man probably thought hideous. When they were near enough for Lucius to see the store windows, he glared at Harry indignantly:

"I will not be seen wearing this kind of fashion, not even by muggles!"

"I am sure, we will find some white shirts and black trousers there as well," Harry tried to sooth the man, not waiting for an answer before going inside.

As soon as Lucius had stepped in behind him, a young blonde girl, nearly six feet tall and with the figure of a model offered her assistance to the Death Eater, who looked so pissed off right now, that Harry wondered, where the girl had found the courage to even step close to the man, or if she was merely blind:  
"Can I help you in any way, Sir?" she smiled brightly, flipping her long curls back over the shoulder.

Lucius gave her his trademark look and answered very coldly: "No. I am fine."  
Obviously disappointed, the girl looked around for something to vent her anger and her heavy coloured eyes fell on Harry. Harry winced, this girl was obviously not as polite as the assistant in the last store and would not leave him be.

"What are you doing here, brat? Trying to steal anything? You don't look as if you have any money to buy one of our shirts. I should call the police immediately!"

Harry's wincing turned into an eye-roll of his eyes. It wasn't as if H&M was especially expensive. Even he could effort trousers and shirts here. But that didn't change his current problem with the girl. She was still glaring down at him and looked as if she would believe nothing he would say to her. Harry knew this particular look. Uncle Vernon and aunt Petunia had worn it nearly constantly around him and he hated the expression even more than Lucius' glares.

To Harry's utter surprise, Lucius stepped in: "He belongs to me. The boy is my nephew."

The girl recoiled: "Oh, I am sorry Sir, I didn't think..."

"Yes, you didn't. As a good assistant, you should not condemn a possible customer rashly. If I were your principal, I would fire you immediately. And now leave us alone."

The girl bowed her head and quickly ran away, as soon as she was out of earshot Harry asked:  
"Why did you help me?"

"No wizard should be treated like this by a muggle, even the weakest of us are more worthy than them and besides, I am not in the mood to deal with the muggle version of the aurors," he sneered.

"The police," Harry said, still astonished.

"What?" Lucius asked.

"The muggle equivalent to the aurors is called police," he elaborated.  
Lucius scoffed, making clear, that he didn't need that knowledge.  
Wanting to change the topic, Harry looked around for the right section. Next to the escalator, he found a sign, announcing that the men's section was on the first floor.

"We have to go upstairs," he said and without thinking, grabbed Lucius by his hand and pulled him onto the moving stairway, only to realize, that the man had never stepped onto such a device. The ever-graceful Malfoy-Lord wavered and for the briefest of moments Harry feared, that he might lose balance, but then the man grabbed onto the banister and a second later he stood as perfectly as ever, and as if he used escalators on a daily basis, glaring down at Harry. His look promising horrible pains, whilst Harry tried to make the impression, as if he didn't see the glare.

The first floor was much less crowded than the basement, with only men up here. The section with the more formal clothing was at the far back and clearly visible. Once there, Harry immediately saw that it had been a good idea to go into H&M, the only problem was that they had only black jeans and no formal trousers.

Taking once again a guess at the size, he pulled out two of the jeans and a white and a black button-down shirt.

"These feel un-wearable," Lucius drawled, glaring at the jeans.

"They are not un-wearable. I am wearing jeans all the time, so I should know," Harry sighed, wishing that for once, the man would just not voice his spiteful comments.

"Where are the changing rooms?" Lucius asked and Harry looked around.

"Just follow the sign with the arrow," he said and pointed to the wall to their right and without another word Lucius disappeared.

Looking around, he thought about buying some new clothes for himself too, but he had no endless amount of money right now, so he would wait until he had the chance to go to Gringotts and change some of his Galleons into Pounds. But he could still look around a bit.

Glancing over his shoulder, he decided that Lucius Malfoy would be able to find him; the man always told him how intelligent he was after all. Leaving the section of the more formal clothing, he strode over to a row with bright and colourful t-shirts. He honestly was past the age where he would choose shirts with cartoon motifs and he would be glad to finally get rid of those. He only wore these kinds of shirts the past two years because he was so much smaller than his cousin had been; the things Dudley had worn four years ago fit him now. In fact, they were still too big, but they didn't fall from his shoulders anymore.

A green and yellow curled t-shirt caught his attention and he picked it up.

"I would not buy those, Potter, it would not suit you," Lucius voice drawled suddenly from behind him.  
Really, did the man need to voice his opinion on everything?

"Why not? I can wear bright colours, Ron and Hermione always say that," he huffed in annoyance.

"But they would not fit who you are," Lucius retorted.  
"And you can tell me that, because we have been friends for so long and you know me so well," he countered sarcastically.

"I have seen enough of you in the past two days and even more important, I knew the Potters and believe it or not, your blood is the foundation of who you are and who you will grow into."

"I don't believe that kind of crap. How should I be formed by something that can't even teach or raise me? I never had the chance to get to know the Potters or even the Evans and I will decide which kind of person I will become," he sneered. How dare the prick of a man make such assumptions about him?

"There you are wrong. Magical blood, in contrast to muggle blood is powerful and even without these powers, duties and obligations of your family name would form you sooner or later. At the latest after your coming of age, when you will be forced to acknowledge those duties."

"Yeah, you should know that, after all, the Malfoy family is like a huge slave driver," he spat.

Lucius eyes flashed dangerously and he realized that he had gone too far. Sighing, he combed with one hand through his hair. His late family was a very sore topic for him, the fact that everyone knew more about them than he himself, apparently even Lucius Malfoy. Ron and Hermione knew that and they had silently agreed to wait until Harry was ready to talk about his early loss and not to force him to talk. On top of that came his confusion about the blond noble man in general. He had avoided staring at Lucius since the last shop, but he actually had to put effort in it, because the man seemed to have something that drew his eyes to him. But the issue with his parents had been the main reason for his outburst. It was just too painful to be reminded about his lonely childhood like this.

"I am sorry. It's just... so painful to talk about them," he admitted; at least the part he could actually admit. His voice was barely audible and weak and he felt childish for sounding like a small and sad child in front of the stern and always composed Malfoy-Lord. When the man stayed silent, he carefully looked up, only to see a sparkle of softness flash in those silver eyes, but it was quickly gone again.

Still, these short glimpse of an emotion, he had never seen the man express before, made him believe, that Lucius Malfoy might not be as cold hearted as he always had believed. When the man still had said nothing after another moment, he asked: "Do the clothes fit?"

"The trousers fit, but I need the shirts a size larger, they are too tight around my chest."

Harry took the shirts from Lucius and went over to get the right size. The noble man waited in front of the escalator for him and they went down and lined up in front of the counter. They had to wait over ten minutes, until it was finally their turn. The blond girl from earlier was sitting there, but as she recognized them, she hurried to scan their things. Harry paid and they went outside again. Checking his watch he noticed that it was not very late yet and proposed against all his better knowledge: "Would you like some ice cream? I will treat you."

Harry believed that he had surprised the man, because he only sneered and turned to the next ice cream parlour without arguing or commenting on dangerous muggle food.

They sat down in the shadows under a tree and Harry fetched a second menu from the nearest table for Lucius before opening his own. The man surely had a nose for luxury; this had to be the most expensive ice cream parlour he had ever seen. Harry was sure that not even aunt Petunia would have treated her beloved Dudley to an ice-cream from this parlour.

Having decided what he would take, he laid the menu back down; Lucius was still scanning his but did the same only a minute later. When the waitress came, Harry was glad to see, that it was a nice looking old Lady, who smiled at him with a friendly smile and looked at Lucius no different than anybody else.

"What would you like my dear?" she asked, her small notebook in hand.

"I would like to order a Spaghetti ice-cream and a coke," he smiled and gave her the menu.

"And you, Sir?" she asked, turning to Lucius.

"Bring me a cappuccino and a Amarena Cherry Cup."

The lady promised them to be back soon and left their table once more. Only then did Harry realize that it had been a mistake to go into a cafe with Lucius Malfoy. He had no idea what he should talk about with that man; truth to be told, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to have a conversation with the aristocrat at all. As far as he knew, they were entirely different with basically different beliefs and principles and any conversation would most likely turn into an argument.

You could see the differences between them with even one look: Lucius sat across from him, looking for all means, as if he not only owned the place, but the whole shopping street. The man had leaned back in his chair and still succeeded in maintaining a straight posture, his legs crossed and one arm lazily draped on the armrest of his chair. Not in a thousand years, would Harry be able to make such an impression by only sitting in a plastic chair. Lucius had his nobility written in every feature, in every movement and even in every strand of his damn silver-blonde hair; he really hated the man's perfection, because sadly, that was what the man was. But really: That a evil bastard like Lucius Malfoy should look like this, that was truly unfair.

To his absolute horror, Lucius decided to take the matter of talking into his own hands:  
"You didn't seem very sad about your family's death, Potter?"

Staring at his counterpart, he tried to decide, if the wizard was honestly curious and interested in him, or if he wanted to gather information for Lord Voldemort. Coming to the conclusion that Lucius was probably honestly interested in him, because that might bring him useful information for his master, he answered: "I only lived there for two month each year."

"But you lived there since you had been one year old, as far as I know. That leads me to the conclusion, that they did not treat you the way a family should," Lucius commented.

Glaring at the man he said: "Listen, I will not tell you anything. I am not so stupid, you know? You probably only want to gather information for your master and I will not help you with that."

Lucius smirked: "Ah I see, you are after all not as stupid and suicidal as Severus seems to believe."

Harry crossed his arms in front of his chest: "Well, Snape doesn't know much about me, even though he has been my teacher for four years already. But getting to know me would have meant to get over his prejudices, whatever they are and wherever they come from and actually talk and maybe even listen to me," he snapped.

At that moment their orders arrived and their conversation came to a short halt. When the old lady was gone once again, Harry took a spoon full of ice cream and then said with a still full mouth:  
"You all believe that you know me, only because the Daily Prophet writes nonsense without my consent, at least three times in a week, but it is total rubbish."

"Is it?" Lucius asked nonchalantly.

"Is it what?" Harry asked irritated, he had been focused back on his ice-cream already.

"Is it rubbish, what the Daily Prophet writes?" Lucius elaborated.

Harry glared at the man once more; he felt his hardly calmed temper rise again as well. "Last year I was everything from the tragic hero to the psychotic maniac, who will become the next dark Lord or just plain insane. Do you really think that even I could be that unstable?" He snapped.

"Of cause not, Potter, I only..."

Harry cut him off sneering with sarcasm heavy in his voice: "You only thought that I am powerful enough to keep Rita Skeeter in check?"

"No, of cause not. Only a few people have the needed means to accomplish something like this and a mere child certainly does not have the power to be one of them." Lucius sighed.

Harry eyed him wearily, it seemed, as if the aristocrat wanted to say something more, but couldn't find the right words to phrase it. The man scowled slightly, showing once more much more of his feelings, than he normally did. But with Lucius was it a bit like with Snape: Harry was able to get under the skin of both men and it was the same the other way around.

"Even if I do not like you, Potter,... but there should have been people to protect you from the press and the Ministry and many other things."

Harry stared at Lucius in shock; did the man feel something akin to sympathy for him? Harry wanted to say that he didn't need the man's sympathy, but something in the man's eyes stopped him from doing so. Whatever Lucius motives were for his words, it wasn't sympathy.

Instead he sneered: "Yeah, because I have so many people, who could have done that."

"You have," Lucius said sternly. "Not your muggle relatives, of course not; and not Black, who has to hide..."

Harry's shock grew even worse: Did Lucius know that Sirius was his godfather?

The Malfoy-Lord smirked in answer: "My wife was a Black and every Pureblood family is related in some way or the other, so it is just natural, that I know about your little godfather. But my point was a different one..." the man went on, ignoring Harry's mouth, which hung open, gaping.

"...even without parents and Black, there was still Lupin, the other friend of your parents, or Dumbledore. I even heard that the Weasleys adopted you as an eighth son. They could have done something as well."

"Yeah, but not everybody thinks that bribery is the right way to deal with problems," Harry sneered, but it was more an exhausted sigh than anything else.

"That, is the problem with so called light wizards and witches. They are far too strict in every aspect, regardless, if it is of help to them or only provides more complications," Lucius smirked and Harry could see that he really had no qualms with using illegal methods to get his way.

Staring into his coke, he asked himself, if Lucius couldn't be right. Would he be ready to forego some rules and laws for the wellbeing of his family and the people he loved? If he was honest with himself, he would have no real problem to do so as well.

"Maybe you are right," he admitted softly.

"I know, I am," Lucius drawled self-assured adding: "And therefore I will assume that I am right in regards of your relatives as well."

Sighing, he added in a much calmer voice: "Let's just make one thing clear: You don't want me to ask you about your life and duties as a Death Eater and I don't want to be asked personal questions like this as well."

Lucius nodded curtly and picked his cappuccino up, sipping on it.

Sighing, he took another spoon full of ice cream.

It really had been a strange idea, to go into a cafe with Lucius Malfoy. Ron surely would send him to St. Mungo's for that if he ever found out and Harry wouldn't even be able to be angry with him, because he surely must have become barmy. But strangely enough, after he had seen this glimpse of a softer feeling than disdain in the wizard's eyes and after Lucius had told him that not even he deserved some of the shit he had to go through, their silence was kind of comfortable instead of awkward. It felt as if they had come to an understanding of sorts. Lucius had seen that he was not the spoiled hero and he had even acknowledged that there were things Harry didn't want to talk about.

Looking up again, he saw, that the aristocrat had finished his ice-cream and drink already, so he hurried up, suddenly eager to get back home, where he could at least not have to sit across from him or next to him in a bus.

He waved for the waitress and paid their bill, checking his watch as he stood up.  
"The bus will be there in ten minutes," he announced, happy about the perfect timing.  
He picked the shopping bags up, because Lucius would surely not take them; he strode down the crowded street. Lucius followed him at a leisurely pace, for once ignoring all the stares and hushed comments he received and not sneering at them.

They arrived at the bus stop just in time and Harry didn't even have to say anything to get Lucius to sit down. He once again looked out of the window, watching the city and landscape flying by. When they finally reached 4 Privet Drive, the sun was setting.

Deciding that it was too late to cook, he prepared some sandwiches and carried them over into the living room, where Lucius was for once not reading, but zapping through the TV-programs, glaring at the flat-screen and obviously unsatisfied with what he found.

"Is there anything you would like to watch?" he asked, taking pity at the man. When he only received a blank expression as answer, he assumed, that Lucius didn't understand, what he meant and elaborated: "Are there any stories you like? Criminal stories, fantasy, or action?"

To his annoyance, Lucius only turned back to the TV and turned it off. Apparently, even their small understanding would not change the attitude of the aristocrat much.

"Fine," Harry huffed. "Just stick to aunt Petunia's novels and die of boredom."

Placing the plate with the sandwiches on the table he decided to search for Nagini, at least, the snake had proven to be quite enjoyable company. The snake wasn't downstairs and so he went up to search there for her. Harry found her fast asleep on his side of his uncle's and aunt's bed. Smiling softly, he decided to let her sleep, but that left him with the question: what should he do for the rest of the evening? As he crossed the door to Dudley's room, a grin spread across his face. Dudley wasn't there anymore, as was his parents and they wouldn't come back to catch him doing anything he wasn't allowed to do. So why shouldn't he just go inside and play a little with Dudley's things. Stepping inside, his eyes darted between the Computer, the Nintendo on the nightstand and the PlayStation. Turning the TV on, he picked up the controller for the PlayStation and started to look through Dudley's games, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

He nearly laughed when he found many games with witches and wizards. Apparently, his relatives' prejudices had not affected their son's choice of video games. Looking up to the DVD shelf, they probably hadn't had any problems with magical people, as long as they hadn't sat on their sofa or used their fireplace for floo rides.

Harry started a random game; he didn't know any of them anyway and was quickly engrossed in it.

The sun set around him and the room grew dark, but Harry didn't look up or stood up once. It really was a fascinating game and what was even better: No one stopped him from playing.

The door swung open and Lucius stepped inside, a scowl on his face:  
"Here you are, Potter. It is late. If you insist on binding our hands for the night, I advise you to end whatever you are doing there and accompany me."

Harry sighed, but turned the device off. Because he and Lucius had been able to exchange a couple of words without insulting or threatening each other did not mean that he would sleep unguarded next to the man. Lucius huffed in indignation, but he ignored it as he lead the way into the bedroom and started to change for the third night with Lucius Malfoy.


	3. Chapter 03: A Truce

**Chapter 3: A Truce**

 **LM**

The next morning found Lucius walking through the small house. Once again Potter had been plagued by nightmares, but this time he had fallen asleep after some time and felt, luckily, passably rested. Now he was studying the home of Potters' late relatives. He was not quite sure why he was doing that. Lucius told himself that he did it because he wanted to find useful information for his master, after his failure of doing so successfully yesterday, but a twisting feeling in his gut indicated that he was not quite honest with himself. If he had been honest, then he would have to admit, that the number of pictures on the fireplace were of no use for his master and that he could stop his task instantly. But as little as Potter had told him back in the ice cream parlour, it had been enough to tell him that the boy had been very unhappy with his late family. To be precise: The boys refusal to talk about the prick of an uncle and cousin and that horse-like woman, that called themselves Potters guardians, was the main indicator that Potter had not had a good life in this house.

Potter was once again outside with his new pet snake and enjoying the warm summer sun. Lucius did not appreciate the summer sun so much, because he always quickly got sunburn with his pale complexion. He had already noticed, that there were no pictures with Harry on the walls or, as he had already mentioned, on the fireplace, so he pulled out an old looking picture book and opened it.

The pictures of cause were not moving, that much he had noticed already during his stay in the muggle world. He saw the fat uncle of Harry's and his ugly, horse like wife, together with their son, who had already been way too corpulent as a child. The family seemed to visit a park or something, but Potter was nowhere to be found. He turned the pages and finally found the small boy he was looking for on the last page. His fat cousin was standing in front of a compound with lions, holding a big ice-cream cone with sprinkles and whipped cream in his chubby hands, whilst a small raven haired boy was sitting on a bench at the side, holding a small water ice and looking as if Yule had come early. Lucius could not think of a reason why someone would be so happy about this small and unappetizing looking ice.

He closed the book again and opened a second one. These pictures looked, as if they were made during a summer break. Harry's cousin looked around six years old, Lucius thought, that he should not search for Potter to guess his age, because the boy always looked so much younger than he really was. He saw the blond boy sitting in a round, colorful something with water in it and playing with small boats. After some more pictures in the same manner he came across one that showed Potter as well. As with the last time, Potter was only in the background, as if he had gotten in the picture by accident. The child seemed to do something. Squinting his eyes to see what exactly he was doing, he noticed with irritation, that the boy was plucking weeds with his small hands. A wave of rage filled him suddenly.

Had this poor excuse for humans, who now lay dead and cold, buried in the back garden, forced their own nephew to work for them? Muggles, he decided were worse than animals. But at least he had his first indicator that supported his theory. If Potter had to work like this every day he clearly had been abused.

He put the book back into its rightful space and went into the lounge; there was no sign of Potter either, so he went into the small kitchen. For Lucius, the kitchen was the strangest room in the muggle house with all its strange devices, even so, he opened the first cupboard he came across and peered inside, but he only found spices and other ingredients.

The next shelf held plates and bowls and the last one cups. Lucius saw a cup with the name Vernon on it and started to carefully rummage through the cups and found two others with the names Dudley and Petunia, but none with the name Harry on it. It started to seem as if Harry did not belong in his own family home. Lucius had always believed that muggles could treat their family so cold heartedly, but he had never thought that Dumbledore would let his favorite student live among those people for two month each year. Did the old headmaster not see the danger for the light side in treating the boy like this?

For the first time in his life Lucius wanted to shake his head, but that would be undignified of a Malfoy and he refrained from doing so. Dumbledore was a bigger fool than he had thought; it was possible he had raised the only person who could save the light side to be a weapon for the dark side. Maybe, he should think about persuading Potter to change to the Dark Lords side and not merely bringing him to his Lord, but to be sure that this would be a wise thing to try, he had to watch the boy a bit longer.

Leaving the kitchen, he went upstairs. Lucius knew that the bedroom where they had slept in the last two nights was the former room of Potters uncle and aunt, which meant that somewhere here had to be the boy's room. He opened the first door to his right and stepped inside. The room was fairly large and he saw another of these irritating black boxes. A big bed stood in a corner and everywhere laid scattered clothes. Lucius did not think that this was Potters room, the boy was may not be as neat as he himself, but not as messy either.

However, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him and looked around. He could not find a single book, only flat boxes, with strange slogans on it. When he opened one of them, he saw a small disc. Closing it again and dropping it carelessly on the ground, he walked over to the night stand. On top of it stood a single picture of the lowly muggle family, so that meant that this was the room of Potters cousin, he would not find anything useful in here.

He left again and opened the second door on the right. It had many locks on it, but they were not locked right now, so he could go in without any further problems. But when Lucius looked inside, the room seemed empty and unoccupied. He wanted to close the door immediately again, when he saw a Gryffindor scarf hanging over the bed. The room had only made an empty impression on the first sight. When he went over to the scarf, he noticed, that the bed was more of a cot, than an actual bed, with old, thin and worn down sheets. No Malfoy would ever let a guest sleep in such a pure excuse of a bed, let alone a family member. He sat down and the springs creaked dissonantly. The mattress was thin, and he could feel every one of the hard metal springs digging painfully in his backside.

So, this is the boy's room, this is how he lives when he is not in Hogwarts, Lucius thought. I should be thankful, that he does not force me to spend the nights in here. Besides the bed, the only other furniture was a small, unsteady looking cupboard and a desk, which was in the same state as the cupboard. The only personal item was the scarf on the wall.

There were no photos of his friends or late parents, no book and not even one of those black boxes. Walking over to the window, he saw iron bars in front of it. Remembering the locks on the door, he had the feeling as if he was staying in a cell, not a bedroom and an oppressive feeling overwhelmed him.

He stayed for another few minutes longer, shocked by the room in front of him, before leaving the room, instantly feeling better and making his way back downstairs.  
Back in the lower hallway his eyes fell on a small cupboard under the stairs. It was quite unobtrusive, but something compelled him to open it and look inside. There was nothing special, only some boxes and a strange tool with a long, grey hose. Then his eyes fell on what lay on the ground: It was a small mattress. Frowning, he closed the door again. What was a mattress doing in a cupboard? Deciding, that it was not important right now, he closed the door again and went outside.

Potter laid on a garden lounge with his eyes closed and the large head of Nagini in his lap. He stroked the reptile lazily and looked utterly relaxed for once. Potters shirt had slid up a bit, exposing his flat stomach and giving Lucius an impression of how thin the boy really was. He had gotten an inkling of an idea back in the bus, or whatever the hellish muggle- vehicle was called, but now he could clearly see it. Potters hip bones were sticking out and his stomach was more a pit than only flat and he suddenly remembered the sharp edge of a rib bone sticking painfully into his side as he had landed on top of the boy in these blasted bus.

Still staring absentmindedly at the boy, he asked himself if Potter could have such a high metabolism or if his anorexic frame had other reasons for that. Considering the rest of his relatives' home, he did not believe in his first theory.

It was more likely after all he had seen, that the boy had been forced to do chores, had been locked up and starved on top of that. Cold rage rose in his chest, how could anybody treat a wizard like this? How could anybody treat a child like this?

Taking a deep breath he reminded himself that Potter was Dumbledore's concern and not his. If anything, he should be glad that Dumbledore had forced the boy to stay with his abusive relatives of his, because it heightened his chance to persuade Potter to take another path and join his Master and the dark side.

Sitting down on a second chair underneath a tree he pulled the badly written novel from his pocket, but he didn't actually read. After two whole days with the child, he had to admit that not even Potter deserved the mistreatment he had most likely endured. The boy was kind hearted, even to him, who was one of his enemies, beside some snide remarks and threats, but to be honest, Lucius didn't believe that Potter would ever make one of them true.

He opened the first button of his new, white shirt and finally started to read. The afternoon went by in surprisingly contented silence and without any argument or insults between them. They sat outside, Potter dozing, himself reading and it seemed as if their trip to London had changed something between them. As if they had come to a silent agreement of some sort. Neither of them had left the garden, with the exception of the few minutes, when Potter had gone inside and come back with a pitcher of lemonade.

At 6 PM his host had prepared dinner. Lucius had to admit, that Potter was not a bad cook, not as good as his personal house elves, but it was always edible and as long as the boy would not give him a portion of that long-lasting muggle food, he would not complain.

By now it was five hours later and they were once again in their shared bedroom. Potter stood with his back turned in his direction and he used the moment, to take another look at the boy, because taking a glance at Potters stomach was not as telling as examining his whole body. Someone should always take the whole appearance of a person into account, but what he saw only confirmed his first impression once again: Potter really was dangerously thin; it would not surprise him that his growth had already slowed down due to the absence of proper nourishment over the years.

Eyes roaming the young body, he decided that the slenderness actually fit the boy regardless of how wrong that sounded, but it underlined his boyish looks. He also noticed that puberty had indeed not reached the child yet. His muscles were still not very developed, even though he did play Quidditch most of the year and was used to physical labour. His legs were still smooth and he was sure that he would not find any pubic hair on his body. Potters skin was creamy and soft looking, all in all, the boy had an appeal to Lucius that someone so young and innocent should never have. At that moment Potter turned and he quickly drawled in his most arrogant voice: "Are you finished with changing?"

"Yeah, I am," Potter answered and climbed into bed, reaching for the cord on his bedside table. Lucius wanted to roll his eyes, but refrained from giving in to his urges and instead stretched his right arm out wordlessly. When Potter had bound them together he climbed into bed as well and turned around like the previous nights. The lights went off and he closed his eyes. He was really tired this evening. He listened to Potters breathing, until it was deep and slow, the boy must have fallen asleep quickly for once and without nightmares.

Sighing in relief he relaxed his tense muscles and pulled the comforter over his shoulders. He had almost fallen asleep when a quiet whimper pulled him from his doziness. Obviously, neither he nor Potter would once again have the pleasure of a peaceful nights rest, but for once the annoyance he usually felt at Potters muttering and tossing didn't occur. A second whimper reached his ears and without thinking about it, he turned around to face Potter. The boy was turning his head from one side to the other, his moans growing louder and he started to kick out with his legs, as if trying to scramble away from something, only he could see and then he spoke:  
"Don't! Stop! It hurts!" Potters voice was full of pain and despair. "Not again!" the voice broke and gave way to a sob. To Lucius horror tears started to run freely down the pale cheeks, not only a single one as the last nights', but a whole stream of them. He watched the child arching his back and lifting an arm, as if he wanted to shield his face and with a pang of horror, a question appeared in Lucius mind: Had Potters relatives not only neglected and abused him by forcing him to do chores for them, but also physically?

"It hurts!" This time Potter was almost shouting and Lucius could feel the shaking of the small body even with the distance between them. How could anybody have done that to this child? Even with fifteen years of age, Harry Potter was still so innocent, not only in body, but also in mind. How twisted did someone have to be to hurt someone like Potter? The boy was so innocent and had such a pure soul, that even Lucius felt affected, in a weak and unprotected moment.

The muffled sobs tore his heart, but he was not yet ready to admit it. The fact that Harry Potter was supposed to be his enemy was still too great in his mind, even though his confidence to stay away from the tormented child grew weaker with every passing second.

Then suddenly the boy's nightmare seemed to change:  
"Please, don't kill him!"

Lucius knew what he was dreaming about now: the graveyard. To be honest, it was not very surprising that the boy had nightmares about his last encounter with the Dark Lord. He would have nightmares too if he had been in Potters place.

"Please, no! No! Please! Don't kill him! Don't kill her! Kill me instead!" Potter had started kicking wildly and Lucius lifted his hand unconsciously. Just in time he stopped himself and drew his hand back again. It was not his duty to comfort this boy. Potter was his enemy. Even more important: His Lords enemy.

But had he not always believed that no child deserved to suffer? Had he not been taught by his father that children, no matter who their parents were, deserved protection because children could not defend themselves? Maybe not all of them deserved to live in the wizarding world and learn how to use their magic, Muggleborn for example should not have these privileges, but even they deserved protection in some ways.

Furthermore: Had he not admitted to himself, only a few minutes ago, that this innocent, good- hearted boy did not deserve these nightmares, regardless of if they occurred in his dreams or in his real life? Lucius closed his eyes for a moment, listening to Harry Potters agonized sobs and made up his mind.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

"Potter! Wake up! Potter!"  
Harry was standing in the graveyard, bound to the gravestone and watched helplessly how Cedric and then his mother were killed again and again in an endless, torturing spiral, when the voice reached his ears.

"Potter! I said: Wake up!"  
Someone was shaking his shoulders and he could see the figures and the horrible scene in front of him dissolving. His eyes were still closed, but he could feel the sheets beneath him now and the strong and warm hand on his shoulder. He wanted to be held by the person who had these strong hands. He would be safe in these arms, Harry was sure of it.

"Come on, Potter! Wake up!"  
The person was obviously thinking that he was still asleep and so he let this eyelashes flutter open and he came face to face with Lucius Malfoy. The man's face hovered much too close over him and he was peering directly into those silver orbs. He felt his cheeks heating up, but could not avert his eyes, they seemed to draw him in like a deep ocean and Harry was the one drowning, suddenly remembering how it had felt to have this man pressed against him, even if it had only been by accident. He had realized then, that this man had the power to protect him if he only had the will as well. A tingling spread in his stomach and his cheeks grew unbearable hot. He wanted to be held and protected by that man. Luckily Lucius leaned back again, before he could notice anything of his embarrassing thoughts and watched him from a safer distance.

"Are you awake now? What was the dream about?" Lucius asked, his voice was still stern, but not as cold as usual. As soon as Lucius had asked the question, the tingling feeling in his stomach vanished and the images of the nightmare came crashing down on him, sobering quickly and reminding himself that this man in front of him was Lucius Malfoy, one of the people who was responsible for his nightmares. How could he even wish to be held by him?

Harry felt his body starting to shake again and tears were prickling at his eyes. "I...I..." he stammered, the wish to entrust all his worries and fears into the aristocrat fighting against his better knowledge. For only once he wanted to tell an adult everything and not be burdened with it alone, but this was Lucius Malfoy, his enemy. His sobs grew heavier as his inner war distressed him further and he coiled up into a ball, pulling his legs protectively in front of his chest.

"Hush, Harry," Lucius said softly and with a quick and strong movement the man leaned forwards and pulled Harry flush against his strong body, cradling him protectively.  
Harry's heart hammered in his chest and the tears still threatened to spill over. He felt Lucius hand combing soothingly through his hair and that was the last straw. Harry finally broke under all the pressure and ignored all the warnings his logical mind tried to give him:  
"I...I..." he sobbed, tears soaking his and Lucius nightshirt.

"...it's all my fault that they are dead! If my mother didn't try to protect me and if I had not talked Cedric into sharing the tournament cup, they would still be alive! Everyone around me is in so much danger: my friends, the teachers, every single student and I don't know anything that could protect them! Everyone wants me to save the world, but no one is training me! I am as helpless as they are and I don't want to fight anymore! I never wanted to fight! I am not a hero! Dumbledore is keeping secrets from me, so I do not even have a clue where to start with saving the world! I hate all this, I don't want to become a murderer, these nightmares are driving me crazy and every summer I had to come back to this family, who didn't even like me!"

His voice broke and ignoring who exactly the man holding him was, he buried his face into Lucius strong chest.

"Hush, it will be all fine, Harry. I will help you, we will find a solution," Lucius was holding him even tighter and the older man's strong arms felt like protective shields. Harry didn't know if it was the embrace, or the fact, that Lucius had called him Harry, that comforted him more.

He jerked slightly, when he suddenly realized what the aristocrat and prominent Death Eater had just promised him. It sounded like a dream, too good to be true. Why would Lucius Malfoy of all people want to help him, when not even Dumbledore did so?  
"Will you really help me?" he sniffed, not able to believe it, until Lucius would confirm his promise once more.

"I will," Lucius answered simply and continue to stroke his hair soothingly. It was a very calming gesture, one Harry had never experienced before. Everything about Lucius was soothing and reassuring right now: The way he held him tight, the muscles he could feel under his hands, which lay against the patriarch's chest and his musky scent. Everything felt so unreal and so much more real than everything else at the same time. It was an odd feeling, but one Harry liked.

"How will you help me?" he asked, his tears slowly drying.

"Shhh, Harry, calm down. We will talk about it tomorrow. I will stay by your side, I promise, even if I have to change sides for you," Lucius smoothed a strand of black hair from his forehead.

"But I don't want to fight for Dumbledore anymore," Harry mumbled, suddenly feeling very tired and exhausted.

"For whom do you want to fight? For Voldemort?" Lucius inquired.

"No..." Harry stuttered, his eyelashes drooping. "For myself... and for my friends, but not as a weapon... but in my own way."

"Then we will find your own way," Lucius promised and pulled the comforter a bit higher. Harry snuggled deeper under the warm material, until he was completely buried beneath it.

"Try to get some more sleep," Lucius ordered him softly.

Harry had never thought that the blondes voice could become so soft, it sounded like velvet, which soothed his soul. Closing his eyes, he laid a cheek against the man's muscled chest, not thinking about the next morning, or the fact that he had just told his deepest secrets to a Death Eater. His body relaxed and he drifted off to his first dreamless sleep in over a year.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry woke up slowly. He felt warm and comfortable. Someone was holding him protectively and he didn't want to leave this quiet peace just yet. The breathing of the person next to him was deep and slow and Harry guessed that whoever it was, was still sleeping. He laid a hand on the persons arm and noticed that it had to be a man. The skin beneath his fingers was warm and smooth, as if the person had never have had to work, but muscled at the same time. Closing his eyes again, he tried to drift off to sleep for another few minutes, but he must have woken the man next to him with his touch and the person shifted. Harry didn't want him to get up just yet, he wanted to lay comfortably in this bed for a bit longer, relishing in the new feeling of being protected for the first time in his life, but the man sat up a bit and for a short moment, blond hair fell onto Harry's face.

Harry froze. Blonde hair? The memory of the last days and especially the last night suddenly came crashing back down on him and he quickly sat up as well. His eyes met Lucius' silver ones for a split second and he could see the same confusion he felt in the man's eyes. Scooting a bit away from him he mumbled:  
"Good morning, Lucius," not knowing, if the aristocrat would remember his promises or stand by his words, if he did so.

"Good morning, Harry," Lucius replied smoothly.  
The use of his first name gave Harry hope, maybe Lucius had not forgotten everything and would really stand to his words...at least, if he had interpreted the man's greeting correctly. Harry hoped so.

He looked up and stared into those cold, silver eyes and a flash of doubt threatened to suddenly overwhelm his mind. He had opened up and laid out his secrets, fears and plans in front of Lucius Malfoy, Lord Voldemort's right- hand man, shown his weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Could he really trust the man? Or would he run to his master and tell him everything he had found out about Harry Potter as soon as he had the chance? He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, panicking never helped with anything.

Last night, Lucius had made a genuine impression on Harry and a voice inside of him told him that, yes, Lucius Malfoy was trustworthy. Harry decided to follow his instincts for the moment, it had always been the best choice in the past and after all, the feeling of being held had been so wonderful, surely no truly evil person could have held him so protectively and at the same time as tenderly as Lucius had done? But he still would be cautious.

They were still staring at each other. Neither he, nor his bed companion seemed to know how they should behave around the other after their fairly intimate night. Somewhere back in his mind he realized that he should look away, that he was not only staring at the man, but drowning in Lucius silver orbs, but Lucius seemed to drown himself and Harry's body refused to move. For the first time, Harry noticed, that there were nearly translucent spots in the aristocrats impressive eyes, sparkling like diamonds and reflecting the light. This was surely the reason why the blonds' stare often seemed so piercing. The silence between them stretched and grew awkward and Harry grew more aware of his staring with the second. Heat rushed to his cheeks and he finally cleared his throat, embarrassed:  
"I will go downstairs and make breakfast," he mumbled and climbed clumsily out of their shared bed, not glancing backwards as he fled the bedroom.

When he stepped into the bright hallway the morning sunlight was nearly blinding. Harry narrowed his eyes for a moment, to give them time to adjust to the brightness, but it didn't really get better and so, in the end, he ignored the uncomfortable sensation and just continued his way, thinking that he had probably just cried too much the previous night. He must have, because once out of the soothing proximity of the blonde aristocrat's strong arms, he believed that there was no other way for Lucius Malfoy to start sympathizing with his beloved lord's most hated enemy.

Nagini laid curled up in a spot of warm sun on the kitchen floor, but lifted her head as soon as he stepped in. She seemed to taste the air for long seconds before hissing: _"Good morning. Are you feeling well? You smell strange."_

Harry blinked owlishly at her for a moment before answering: _"I feel fine, my eyes are just hurting a bit."_

The snake tasted the air again and then gave him a slightly irritated look. Harry shrugged, not worrying too much about it. Snakes had a very keen nose and smelled every tiniest change in a body.

He went over to the refrigerator and fetched all the ingredients needed for pancakes; he wanted something sweet this morning. Nagini watched him mixing the ingredients. She finally made a very relaxed impression after all these days at his house, the life at Voldemort's side must have been hard, maybe even more as his familiar than as one of his Death Eaters. As far as Harry could tell, the Death Eaters spent large amounts of time at home and only came to meet their psychotic master when the dark wizard called for them. Nagini in contrast, had had to stay all day in his manor, or wherever he lived.

 _"Nagini, how old are you and have you lived long with Voldemort?"_ Harry inquired curiously.

 _"I am 30 years old and have spend five years of the last war at his side and he found me again a few days ago,"_ the snake hissed.

 _"That is really old for a snake,"_ Harry mused and thought about the things she had just told him, happy to get his swirling thoughts away from Lucius. Voldemort must have gone after her as soon as he was back in his body. Harry could not imagine that a snake like Nagini would be easy to find, despite her size, but she carried a piece of his soul inside her, maybe that had made it easier for Voldemort.

 _"I am a magical creature, not a normal snake. 30 years are not very old for me and as soon as I am bonded, I will live as long as my master does,"_ Nagini pulled him from his thoughts.

 _"Does that mean, that you will die, if he does?"_

 _"No, but if I had an nearly immortal master like the one who calls himself Voldemort, my live would be prolonged,"_ she explained.

 _"Familiars are very interesting creatures,"_ Harry said and shoved the finished pancakes onto a plate.

At that moment Lucius appeared on the staircase. He had his eyes narrowed like Harry earlier and made a somewhat grumpy impression, at least as far as someone could tell with such things about a Malfoy, and Harry was not very good at reading the hidden or subtle meanings behind their expressionless masks.

"I made pancakes," Harry explained and put the plate on the small kitchen table. "I hope you at least eat something like pancakes." He fetched maple syrup and two other plates before sitting down across from Lucius.

"It will do," said the aristocrat stiffly and took his silverware.

Harry cut a piece from his portion and shoved it hungrily into his mouth, but then stopped and frowned. The pancake was nearly tasteless, even the syrup was. Had he forgotten the sugar? He looked over to the counter, but saw that there was less sugar in the container than before, so he had not forgotten. This morning was strange. Lucius seemed not to have noticed the unusual taste, but Harry knew that he must have; Lucius was just too perfect to not notice something like that. Ron maybe would not notice if he were really hungry, which he often was, but Lucius was definitely not Ron. It was more likely that the noble man had decided not to comment on the matter.

They ate in silence and Harry mused about the strange relationship they now had, glancing up at the aristocrat now and then. They seriously had to talk about everything, but somehow, he didn't dare to breach the topic, which was not so strange, considering who the person was he had to talk to. Maybe everything would become clear, if he just waited until they both had time to think about everything? Maybe the aristocrat would then make the first move and start a conversation? Or maybe Lucius would realize that it would be stupid to betray his master for a scrawny boy, if Harry gave him too much time, he was after all Voldemort's right-hand man and surely had many benefits because of his rank among the Death Eaters, regardless in which illegal way they had occurred. Harry in contrast could offer him nothing for his help.

Suddenly his counterpart stood up, leaving his dirty plate behind on the table as usual and left the kitchen. Harry blinked in surprise; he had been so deep in thought that he had not noticed how long they had already been seated at the table.

He stood up and glanced around the corner to see what his guest was doing. Lucius was sitting in his usual spot on the couch once again reading another of aunt Petunias ridiculous novels. He snorted. Ron would have a field day if he ever told his friend that the noble aristocrat had spent his days reading sappy love stories. Maybe Harry would really tell Ron when they met the next time, it would surely be funny.

Eyeing the Malfoy Lord, Harry could not imagine that Lucius liked them very much, but the man seemed to dislike the television even more. His face was neutral, almost bored and his eyes scanned the pages only lazily. Harry couldn't resent the man for his lack of enthusiasm, these books were really rubbish. He would probably prefer Professor Bins over them.

Going back into the kitchen, Harry washed the dishes and decided to go outside like yesterday.

 _"Do you want to accompany me to the garden?"_ he asked Nagini, who uncurled and slithered ahead.

Lucius didn't even look up as he passed him and Harry got the feeling that the noble man had fallen asleep with open eyes, but surely, no Malfoy would do something like that, it would be undignified after all.

Opening the door to the back garden, he stepped outside and immediately flinched. The sun seemed far too hot on his skin this morning; it was like thousands of needles were piercing his flesh. Harry stumbled backwards and over the threshold, landing painfully on his butt, but luckily inside. He hissed in pain and rubbed his sore arms. Angry red spots had appeared on his bare skin and the skin had started to peel.

"What is it Harry?" Lucius had finally looked up from his book, apparently not asleep after all and was eyeing him critically. Harry lifted his hands self consciously to his face, were his skin was burning as well:  
"I don't know. I stepped outside and it just started to hurt..."

Lucius came over to him and kneeled down. Harry was torn between crawling away and snuggling close, but the aristocrat took his arm and eyed it critically before he could make a decision. Lucius' hand wrapped firmly around Harry's biceps, but his skin was soft and warm. Harry gulped and averted his eyes, trying to hide the flush that threatened to creep up his neck again. What was he doing? Flushing over Lucius Malfoy of all people?

And why? Just because the man had showed Harry that he had a caring side as well? Harry felt so pathetic at the moment, just one moment of care and he got all flustered about a man he didn't even like. Or did he? Regardless of that confusing matter and how much he believed that Lucius had been honest last night, the Malfoy-Lord was still a Death Eater.

They had not talked about last night yet and had surely not made any contract or agreed to specific agreements, so he really should stop to flush over the man.

A thump stroked over the peeling skin of his forearm, pulling Harry effectively from his daze, before the man stood up in one fluid movement. Harry watched him going to the garden door and stretching his own arm out. With a hiss he pulled his arm back inside.

"Do you know what is happening?" Harry asked when he saw a flicker of uneasiness in the aristocratic eyes, forcing himself to concentrate on the important matter right now.

"I can only guess," Lucius said and sat back down.

Harry got up and sat in his usual place in the armchair:

"Tell me."

"Before we went to Kings Cross, the Dark Lord cast a curse on us," Lucius began.

"You mean on his followers? Why would he do that?" Harry frowned. What good were followers, when you didn't even trust them? He would never understand Voldemort, or his loyal sidekicks for that matter.

"So that he would know if one of us tries to betray him, he was determined to kill or at least capture you this time. The curse will activate as soon as one of us betrays him"

"But you haven't betrayed him yet, have you?" Harry inquired, his voice a bit shaky, he a bad feeling creeping up his neck and that usually meant that a huge disaster was about to come.

"I believe, that my promise to help you already counts as betrayal in his eyes," Lucius retorted neutrally.

Harry took a deep, calming intake of air; he would not start to panic...yet:

"What will the curse do and why am I suffering as well?"

"I think, due to our current binding, the curse has somehow connected to you as well."

Harry felt his hand growing cold and sweaty. This sounded really bad, but he still refused to panic, after all, he knew some of the most powerful and intelligent wizards alive, one was currently sitting in his aunt's neat living room with him. One of them would surely be able to help them.

"What will happen now?"

"I must admit, I do not know. The Dark Lord only explained to us that whoever betrays him, will pay dearly for it," Lucius repeated his master's words.

"Great, that sounds just like old snake face," Harry grumbled. "There was no other hint?"

"No."

"Is there a dark curse that will make the victim burn in the sunlight?" Harry questioned, somehow the concept sounded odd to his ears.

"I cannot imagine that. To curse someone to burn in the sunlight means that the victim would only have to stay in the house to stay alive. A dark curse would be not so... generous."

"I guess you are right. After all, you are the expert of the Dark Arts in this room, not me and it really does sound too nice for something Voldemort would choose," Harry muttered.

"We should try to distract ourselves. There is nothing for us to do but hope, that Severus will return soon," Lucius announced.

"You are right," Harry stood up and went over to the cupboard to retrieve a chess set that was still unopened. Why his relatives had bought a chess set in the first place, Harry could not imagine. He put the game down on the table between him and Lucius and started to unpack.

Lucius gave the board a disgusted look.

"This is chess, the only difference is that you have to move the pieces with your own hands," Harry explained dryly. Sometimes the man's hate for everything muggle was nearly funny. Was he just so lazy that he hated the idea of moving the pieces by hand? Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation. Even with their fragile peace of last night, Lucius' way of thinking would apparently not change.

"You said yourself that we should distract ourselves, I thought this would be the best way, but of course we could always clean the house," Harry added with an evil smirk.

"We will play," Lucius ordered, as if it had been his idea in the first place. Smiling, Harry gave Lucius the white pieces and set his own black ones on the board.

"I think it was a mistake to give me the white pieces, this way I will beat you even sooner," Lucius drawled and turned the board around, so that Harry had the white side now in front of him.

He shrugged: "Just wanted to be polite. And just so you know, I usually play against Ron Weasley and he is the best player at Hogwarts."

Lucius sneered: "I have heard about this little rumour, but I am unimpressed. Malfoys are always better in the end."

"Sure, let's just get started."  
Harry quickly regretted his big mouth. Even with the advantage of the white pieces, Lucius had him with four moves.

"Check," the aristocrat smirked and leaned back on the sofa, his hands folded elegantly in his lap.

"Revenge," Harry growled and sat the pieces back in their places.  
They played for nearly three hours, but Harry had not won a single game. Lucius had not exaggerated; he was really brilliant at the game, not even Ron would stand the slightest chance. Harry could admire this trait of Lucius Malfoy. Whilst his son was always just bluffing, his father could back his words up. Lucius was probably a real genius and Harry found himself wishing that he had just a bit of the man's intelligence and natural skill in everything.

Their games came to a halt, when the fireplace suddenly sprang once again to life. This time, they didn't startle and just remained seated. A second later Severus Snape appeared in the green flames. The man lifted his trademark eyebrow, studying him, Lucius and the chess board between them with interest, when his dark eyes fell on the desk.

"Getting along?" he inquired in a drawling voice.

"Severus! Finally!" Lucius stepped over to the fireplace and Harry followed him hastily, curious about what had made the man forget his hate of the traitor so easily. Was it the fact that they might need help with the curse, or that they might be all on the same side now?

"Is something wrong?" Snape's eyes had instantly narrowed, obviously able to read Lucius much better than Harry could.

"The Dark Lords curse has activated," Lucius explained and Snape's eyes widened comically.

"Do you want to tell me that you betrayed the Dark Lord for..." the dark man didn't finish his sentence, but his eyes shifted meaningfully to Harry.

Harry, feeling offended hissed: "I know, you cannot imagine that someone would ever help me, but I am not that bad."

Snape ignored him, as per usual and turned to Lucius: "What has the curse done until now?"

"It burns our skin in the sunlight and I think our eyes are affected as well."

Snape frowned: "That sounds strange, I think there will be more coming, but I have not much time. I connected Potter's fireplace illegally to my own and I have still not succeeded in contacting Dumbledore inconspicuously. The Dark Lord is watching me closely, but I will visit you two tomorrow afternoon. It sounds, as if we three have much to discuss."

Harry nodded in consent and so did the man next to him.

Snape took a deep breath and his eyes flickered shortly with a sad emotion, before speaking:  
"I also have to tell you, Lucius, that the Dark Lord deems you a traitor. He has killed Narcissa and Draco."

Harry saw Lucius' back muscles tensing, but the man said nothing and just nodded. Frowning, Harry asked himself what kind of relationship the Malfoy-Lord had with his son and wife. It had probably been an arranged marriage, like so many marriages in Pureblood society, but that didn't mean that he would not have had any feelings for his wife and son. It was more likely that Lucius just didn't want to show any emotions in front of Harry that could be considered weak.

"Thank you for the message, Severus," the noble man said stiffly and Snape took that as his sign to disappear again.

Not knowing what he should do, Harry watched the older man going over to the sofa and sitting down. Even with his perfect Malfoy mask he could not hide the pain in those silvery eyes, which were usually so emotionless.  
The urge to sit down next to him overcame Harry and he followed his urge before sitting down cross- legged next to Lucius on the ground. He wanted to lay his head against Lucius knee, to show him his support, but didn't think that it would be appreciated, they were not that close.

"Why are you sitting on the floor?" Lucius asked him suddenly in a flat tone of voice.  
Harry blinked a bit confused and noticed only then that he was sitting like a servant at his master's feet.

"I...don't know..." he stammered, he had not noticed it himself.

"Then sit up, it is ungraceful to sit on the floor," Lucius commanded with a drawling voice.

Harry nodded and stood up, only to look around with uncertainty. The urge to sit close to Lucius had not disappeared, it was a foreign feeling and he didn't know where it came from. Was it because of their shared night? Harry guessed so; he had never slept in another's arms; neither with a relative, nor with a friend and certainly never with a girlfriend. So it probably was normal to feel confused and that he wished for a bit more of the comforting closeness.

Lucius padded the free space next to him and Harry hastily took the chance and accepted the offer. He left more space between their bodies than he currently wished for, but he had the slight feeling that he would overstep his boundaries if he sat too close to the man. From the corner of his eyes he studied Lucius, hopefully inconspicuously enough. The aristocrat stared with a blank expression at the opposite wall as if not seeing it, and Harry asked himself if it had been an conscious decision to offer him the seat next to him or not. His eyes were full of an unguarded pain and it hurt Harry to see the proud man so desperate.

Harry wanted to say something to comfort the man, but he knew that no words could lessen the pain of a lost family. Furthermore, he was not even sure if his words would be appreciated, they were not really friends, they were... Harry didn't know what either. It was so frustrating and irritating. He decided to collect all his Gryffindor bravery and say something, but at that moment, Lucius spoke:

"He has gone too far. Even if I had betrayed him, the Blacks have always been loyal followers of his cause; he should not have killed my wife and son. They should not be held responsible for my doings." His eyes were blazing with rage and Harry saw that his elegant hands had balled into fists.

"You are right, but they don't care, all of them. It just doesn't matter as long as we fight for their cause. There is no real difference between the light side and the dark side concerning this matter."

Lucius head snapped around and he looked Harry directly in the eyes. Harry gulped, Lucius gaze was so intense.

"You said you want to be on your own side."

Harry nodded. What was the man getting at?

"Will you stay true to your words if someone would be willing to help you?" Lucius asked, his eyes piercing Harry's very soul.

This was the point, where he had to decide if he was really ready to stand up for himself and maybe even betray his friends and family in some way. Harry didn't believe that what he was planning could be considered betrayal, but other people might think differently. So, would it be worth it? The press might start to bad-mouth him again and his fellow students might start to fear him once more, like they had done in his second year when everybody had believed that he was the heir of Slytherin. Closing his eyes, he made up his mind:

"If I get help, then I will end this war no matter what, and I will stop the senseless slaughtering of the Dark Lord and Albus Dumbledore. I don't believe that one side is in the right and the other in the wrong. The solution should be a compromise and not a war... but...but I am not yet strong enough to do all that on my own," Harry affirmed, answering Lucius fierce stare with an equally fiery one of his own.

"Then I will keep my word as well and support you. If there will ever be a leader that I trust again, it will be you," Lucius said sternly, honesty vibrating in his velvet voice.

Harry felt his cheeks heat and his heart racing: "But I am still a child."

"Indeed," Lucius said and lifted his right hand to lay it on Harry's cheek. "But you are wiser than all the others."

Harry shivered under the caressing touch of Lucius' thumb.

"I will never let someone needlessly die again," the man whispered and Harry leaned into the warm hand for a moment. It felt so good. He closed his eyes, but Lucius pulled his hand away and Harry's eyes fluttered back open.

Harry watched him standing up and pacing in the living room.

"We have to talk to Severus tomorrow and discuss our...your plans. You will need him. He is the best potions brewer and experienced in many other areas and that is without considering his general intelligence. I still cannot believe that he deceived me and our lord for so many years," Lucius muttered, his eyebrows furrowed together in a very un-Malfoyish manner. "He really is even more intelligent than I have given him credit for."

"Ok," Harry said, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Had Lucius Malfoy, Severus Snape and he just become allies? Or would the potions master not want to help him in the end? After all, they had never liked each other particularly.

He went back over to the sofa and a sudden delighted rush filled him, when Lucius sat down next to him. His body twitched, as if he wanted to scoot closer but he quickly stopped himself. What was wrong with him this morning? He glanced upwards from the corner of his eyes and stared at the strong chest for a moment, which was steadily rising and falling. Lucius' button-down fitted all too well and was outlining every muscle perfectly when he sat. Harry's heart started to hammer.

Suddenly their closeness seemed all too close and he felt heat creeping up his neck. Jumping up he stammered: "I...will go and clean a bit."

He felt Lucius' gaze on him the entire time until he had reached the staircase and was able to disappear around the corner. His departure really had been anything but subtle. Up in their shared bedroom, he picked up the man's dirty Death Eater robe. Maybe he should not wash them, but burn them instead, they really were filthy and they didn't fit the man at all.

These robes were far to plain for a Malfoy; the man needed something more elegant and stylish, with silver clasps and buttons and maybe even some expensive embroidery. Thinking about this, their discussion from two days before about his style and his family inheritance came back to his mind. Back then, he had believed that Lucius just wanted to taunt him, knowing that there was no way that Harry knew much about his late family.

But maybe he had been wrong. The aristocrat was after all right about one point: He would inherit all the wealth, duties and obligations; that would mean he had to take care in some way or the other. Even Sirius had to deal with his family's investments and houses, as unwilling as he was and in the case of his godfather it had mostly meant that he had stopped most of the former investments and started new ones, because he refused to support dark wizards and unorthodox potions brewers.

But would that influence him in some way? Harry really couldn't believe that. Maybe a bit, but not much. And the theories that his blood had some kind of strange power still sounded like a Pureblood fairytale to his ears.

Bending down, he collected one of Lucius' new jeans and the black button down; his guest was wearing the other things. He had nearly choked when he had first seen the aristocrat coming down in the black muggle jeans. True, they don't exactly fit his character, but they had clung to the right places, making the man's legs seem endless and emphasizing his arse perfectly. He had blushed and turned away, embarrassed about his reaction, after all this was an older man. This last part, he should remember more often: Lucius Malfoy was not only a man, but about twenty years older than him.

For some strange reason Lucius Malfoy evoked these reactions and feelings in him he should not have and which he didn't dare to name or even try to think more closely about them. To his predicament they occurred more often daily and it was getting worrisome because he still liked the man; not very much, more than before their forced holiday together, but still by far too little to develop any kinds of feelings towards the man. Not even attraction. How could he have gone from being interested in nobody to flushing at the thought of the Malfoy patriarch? The most irritating thing was that he wasn't really interested, as far as he could tell his body just seem to do strange things without his consent.

Grabbing the laundry, he made his way back down again. The washer was down in the basement and as soon as he crossed the hallway on the ground floor, he felt silver eyes settling on him once again. Harry made the mistake of looking up and froze immediately. Those silver pools pierced his own green ones, and a strange gleam was deeply hidden inside them. What was it? It almost looked like...hunger?

But that couldn't be. He wasn't very experienced in relationship matters, but he knew that a noble man like Lucius would never be interested in him, not even if he had actually been old enough to be considered by a man in his mid-thirties. So what was it then?

They both acted so strange this morning. Was it because of Voldemort's curse? That could mean a whole lot of problems, especially if Snape wouldn't show up until tomorrow as promised.

He quickly turned to the basement door and fled downstairs. Luckily Lucius didn't follow him and he went to the last room on the left side where the washer was located. Somehow the thought that the man might be interested in him, even though it was only because of the curse, frightened him. Only because he had developed a strange attraction to the aristocrat, that still didn't mean that he wished or felt ready to explore it further. He was only fifteen and absolutely inexperienced, he had not even received his first kiss yet.

But if he was right and the curse affected Lucius somehow, would the man advance on him? He would not stand a chance if Lucius tried anything. Taking a calming intake of breath, he reminded himself that he was getting ridiculous. Lucius would never do something like that. Not to him, a half-blood and scrawny boy with no appeal at all. And he would not worry about the curse either.

What type of curse would cause someone to burn in the sunlight and forced one of them to develop inappropriate feelings and fantasies? He had never heard about a curse like that and Harry was sure that it wasn't even possible, that such a strange curse could exist.  
Opening the lid of the washer, he threw everything inside and started the loud device, before going back up into the living room again.

This time, Lucius did not watch him as soon as he came in sight. In fact, the man was looking outside with a somewhat far-away-expression and an aura of melancholy surrounded him.

The news of his family's death must have really shocked him. Who wouldn't have been shocked by such a message? But there were families, like the Weasley's, who fought for generations against Voldemort and his followers and who always had to expect that one of their relatives would not come home one day. With Lucius Malfoy it was probably something else. As Voldemort's right-hand man and with a born Black as wife, he had never expected to lose them, he had told Harry as much. Why a whole family had to die only because Voldemort thought that one of his followers had betrayed him was unexplainable to Harry.

"Umm...do you want do something?" Harry asked quietly, thinking that the wizard might appreciate some distraction, but he only said: "No," without turning towards him.

Harry watched Lucius for a long moment. The man looked as if he needed some time alone.

"Call me, if you need something or just want some company. I will go upstairs," he said softly and went up into Dudley's room.

Lucius didn't call for him and in the end, Harry spend the afternoon playing with the Play Station again. The game was still very interesting and so he didn't notice how the hours flew by. Once or twice he had thought about checking on the aristocrat, but Lucius Malfoy was a very guarded man and would not appreciate being watched in his grief, and so Harry just stayed where he was.

When it was already half past one, he turned the console off and went into the bedroom. Lucius was still downstairs; he had hoped that he might find the man already asleep, but no such luck. His eyes fell on the cord on the night stand. Should he call for Lucius, so that he could bind their wrist together once again? But Lucius and he were allies now and Voldemort had just murdered his wife and son, so what reason would the aristocrat have to kill him in his sleep? Sighing, he decided to let the man be, at least for the night, and started to change into his night shirt.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius still sat in the living room, staring off out the window. He blinked and noticed for the first time that it was already dark outside. A look at the clock told him, that it was already fairly late, he should go upstairs so that Harry could get some sleep, even when he would not find any rest this night; his thoughts were far too much in tumult. His whole world had shattered today and many of his beliefs with it. Sure, he still was a pureblood and believed in the superiority of his kind, but he could not believe that the Dark Lord was the right man to follow anymore.

Before the news of his family's death, he was ready to betray his master for the sake of Harry. The innocent boy had touched his soul and his agony the night before had nearly ripped his heart apart, but he still had believed in Voldemort and his goals. He had only come to the realization that Harry was more important to him than the dark Lord, regardless of his trust in the man. But he could not believe in him anymore or even respect him.

Narcissa had been a Black daughter and he was sure that she would not have betrayed their master, even if she had found out about his betrayal and Draco had still been a child, too young to grasp all aspects of the war in their world, so there really had been no use in killing them.

When had the Dark Lord gone insane and why had he not realized it earlier? Looking back on the last weeks since his resurrection, Lucius clearly saw, that he and his family, as  
well as every other Death Eater had been in great danger since the graveyard. Fifteen years ago, Voldemort had already used the Cruciatus curse to punish his followers, but not as often and extensively.

But his realization had come far too late. Sure, he could give Harry the blame for himself changing his mind and betraying his master, but the decision to grasp onto Harry at Kings Cross had been his and Voldemort could not know without a doubt that he had betrayed him yet. He had just made assumptions and killed Draco and Narcissa in spite of it.  
Harry had been right all along, he could clearly see it now: None of the great leaders in this war were concerned about their followers.

Sighing, he stood up and made his way up the stairs. Harry would surely want to bind their wrist together and he could not even blame the boy for not trusting him very much.  
Harry Potter was another issue on his mind. In the last couple of days, he had slowly started to think differently about the boy, but the turning point had been their conversation at the ice parlour and then again last night. But he had not only started to understand and sympathize with the boy, he had also started to watch him closely, as if his eyes were drawn to the petite body. With shock he had noticed several very appealing things about the child: like his bright, green eyes, his cute and very innocent smile, his arousing flushes, the long legs he possessed in spite of his general very short height and much, much more.

Lucius stepped into the bedroom then and his mind blanked before he could finish his train of thoughts. Harry was changing for the night and currently stood only in his tight, black boxers, which hugged his small round buttocks perfectly.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

Suddenly an animalistic urge overwhelmed him, far stronger than anything he had felt during the day. With two long strides he was behind the small child and shoved him roughly onto the bed, pinning him flat against the mattress with one hand in the small of his back. His cock throbbed hot and painfully in his restricting trousers and he growled in overwhelming need. He had to take the boy. Harry was his. His to dominate and to take pleasure from. With a rough yank he ripped the boxers from the youth's quivering body. The boy started to squirm beneath him, but a low growl let him fall limp and submissively against the sheets.  
Gripping the child's arse cheeks, he dug his nails into the soft and creamy skin, bruising it. He kneeled down behind the child and filled his nostrils with the alluring scent of Harry Potter. The boy tasted like honey and sun and something that was uniquely Harry. Lucius rejoiced in the closeness to his mate, he could smell and taste the boy's virginity from this close.  
Harry was still shaking, but Lucius ignored it for the moment, the child was his submissive and a submissive had to be taken with force, at least, the first time. He stretched the arse cheeks apart and licked his lips, before burying his nose in the crevice and inhaling once more. Then he stretched his tongue out and started to lick the puckered opening.  
The boy beneath him started to pant and a satisfied smirk stretched across his face, whilst he licked the inner walls of the quivering child, it would not do for his mate to receive no pleasure at all. His submissive tasted so good and he could feel his heat and tightness around his wet muscle, he wanted to bury himself into him, but it was not yet time. One hand sneaked around the small body and beneath it, searching for his mates cock. When he had found the appendage, he grabbed it tightly and started to stroke it with slow and firm movements.  
The boy's penis was only half erect and he could cover it completely with his hand. It felt smooth and was not yet as developed as an adult's member would be, but it did not matter much to Lucius that his mates cock was still rather small, the boy was after all his submissive and would never penetrate him, neither he nor the child would ever want that, it was not in their nature. When the boy's virgin member was fully erect, he withdrew his tongue from his quivering and clenching hole and stood up. His mate lay perfectly still, knowing, that he should not move right now. Without averting his eyes from his body, Lucius unzipped his trousers and pulled them down, before stepping out of them and pulling his button-down over his head. He let it fall unceremoniously to the ground and looked down at himself.  
His cock stood tall and proud with smooth skin. His own body was hairless as his mate's , due to a Veela who had married into his family, back in the middle ages, and some traits still remained, including the hairless gene, the nearly white hair and his unique eye colour. Lucius knew that his sex was huge, many former lovers had shied away from it in the beginning of their affairs, but in the end, it had always given them pleasure.  
His eyes fixed on his mate again and he stepped once again behind him, before gripping the slender hips and thrusting inside, without further warning or preparation.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry heard Lucius coming into the bedroom, when he was just stepping out of his trousers. Wanting to cover his upper body quickly, he didn't turn around. He had not forgotten the hungry glances Lucius had given him earlier or the strange tenseness between him and the aristocrat.

He was glad for every minute he could delay the point where he had to turn around, afraid of what he would see in those silver orbs. He had not planned on Lucius coming up when he was in the midst of changing, or he would have gone into the bathroom, just to be safe; even so, he still didn't believe that Lucius would do anything to him. But alone with the man, well past midnight and nearly naked, he started to doubt his reasoning. If there was really a curse working inside of Lucius, anything could happen and it surely would not be anything good.

Suddenly he was roughly shoved onto the bed. Harry yelped, and tried to quickly scramble back to his feet, but a strong hand descended on his back and held him down. At the next moment his boxers was ripped from his body and panic began to cloud his mind. Harry started to squirm harder; he had to get free, before Lucius could hurt him. What did the man have planned?

A low growl reached his ears and his body fell limp. A sudden, new awareness had entered his mind, like an instinct and all the glances and looks he had received from the man; even his need to be close to him, suddenly made sense. Lucius Malfoy was his mate and they had just been stuck in the phase where their instincts realized the fact, and they slowly and carefully checked the waters, so to speak. But now they both had realized it and he had to lie still, because Lucius was his dominant and about to mate with him, to seal their destined bond forever. It was the man's right and duty to claim him and it had to be forcefully the first time, because a dominant must have the strength at least to overpower his submissive by their first mating.

 *******This is the Start of a more to the mature scene...**

So Harry relaxed all his muscles, as if he was nothing more than a lifeless puppet. His dominant seemed to be pleased with his submission because Lucius strong hold on his back lessened a bit, just a bit, but enough for Harry to understand the message. He heard rustling and a deep intake of breath. Lucius had crouched down behind him and his nose was nuzzling his arse cheeks. Harry was still shaking all over, he knew, that this was his mate, his dominant, and even though he would be rough, he would never harm him, but that didn't mean that part of his young, inexperienced mind did not fear the upcoming encounter.  
The fact, that his dominant was so much taller and stronger than him and that this strong man would soon take his body, overwhelmed his mind shortly, but then all this thoughts were quickly driven away by his instincts, telling him that everything would be fine and that it would feel good.  
Lucius nosedived into his crevice and he could feel a warm breath of air, when his mate inhaled for a second time. And then suddenly there was a warm wetness at his entrance, licking and sucking it and now he was trembling for a whole different reason. This felt so good; he had never felt anything like it. Harry wanted to get nearer to his dominant's tongue, he wanted to feel the hot muscle inside of him, tasting him, but this was their first mating, an ancient ritual and he had no place in actively taking part in it right now. There would be other times for that, at least, if his dominant would allow him.  
As if his mate had read his thoughts, the hot muscle slid inside him and a moan tore from Harry's throat. His mate was licking and massaging the inside of him and it felt as if someone had given him an aphrodisiac. In his ignorant, virgin mind, Harry thought that this was the best of pleasure and then his mate's strong hand gripped his penis and his vision erupted with white stars. The tingling sensation that had started when his mate had begun to lick his hole grew stronger and he could feel his member becoming harder with every stroke his dominant made.  
He moaned in displeasure when his mate released his cock and retreated, but before he could voice his disappointment again, his mate's hands returned to his hips and his thick shaft entered him in one powerful thrust. Harry cried out in pain and pleasure at the same time. He could feel his skin ripping from his mate's thickness and brutal force, but at the same time an overwhelming feeling of belonging filled him. Harry felt, as if he had missed a piece of his soul, without even knowing it, and had found it after many years.  
And then his mate began to move inside him. His body was rocked back and forth by the quick and powerful thrust. He felt his dominant shift a little and Lucius hit something deep inside him. Harry's back arched, as if it wanted to break in two and he hissed in pleasure. His mate must have noticed his sound of pleasure, or his tightening around his cock, because he drove his thick shaft with every inward thrust against the same bundle of nerves, hitting it hard. The tingling feeling in Harry's stomach grew even stronger and his own small cock was pulsing hotly in his dominants hand, whilst his heart was racing madly in his chest. Harry's young, virgin body felt, like it wanted to go mad under the onslaught of sensations.  
Lucius' free hand slid from his hip to under his chest and pinched a nipple hard, before pulling Harry's body up and flush against his own. The changed angle drew his mate's throbbing member further into his tight body, the pounding against his sensitive prostate became almost painfully, but it was a pleasurable pain and his eyes crossed. Lucius pinched his nipple again and Harry could feel his hole was clenching around his mates thick shaft and the heat was rising in his lower abdomen to nearly unbearable degrees.  
His mate was close as well; his cock was pulsating inside him, sending shivers through his entire body. Lucius yanked his right hand roughly backwards, licking the back of it once, before laying his own right hand in front of him. Harry knew instinctively what he had to do. Long fangs grew from his gums and at the moment where he felt his mate climaxing inside of him and his own release was torn from his body, he grabbed his dominant's hand and sunk his fangs into it, until he tasted blood.  
His mate's blood tasted like the richest and sweetest wine, or at least, like what he would imagine wine to taste. There were no words to describe the taste of his mate's life energy and magical power in the red liquid; it was, like tasting heaven.  
Harry drank, until his and his mate's climax had ended, before pulling his fangs out and licking once over the bleeding wounds. Black lines were appearing on the back of his mate's hand, but he didn't pay it much attention when his mate pulled out of him and fell exhausted onto the mattress. Harry was pulled against his dominant's strong body and he snuggled against the strong chest, before falling asleep instantly.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******


	4. Chapter 04: Awakening

**Chapter 4: Awakening**

 **SS**

Severus Snape apparated into an alley near 4 Privet Drive. He was early, but he knew that he would not disturb Potter or Lucius from anything. It had been a surprising and even shocking sight to find the two enemies playing chess when he checked on them yesterday. But even more of a shock had been the news that Lucius had, for some reason he still could not figure out, sided with Potter, thus triggering Voldemort's curse.

The curse itself made even less sense than Lucius changing sides; it did not seem to be a powerful and vicious enough curse to be chosen by the Dark Lord to punish traitors. Severus suspected that there was more to the matter and that was why he had come earlier. If the curse turned out to be potentially life threatening, he wanted to try and save the two men, or more exactly: the man and the boy, because Potter was by no means a man. In some way, he was glad that Lucius had apparently changed sides, even if it was for Potter because the man was, after Lily, his oldest and only friend. And even though he was not a sentimental fool, he didn't appreciate the thought of constant loneliness, if Lucius would die as well.

He turned around a corner and crossed a small street, before reaching 4 Privet Drive. Number 4 was on the other end of the street, so he still had to go some way and quickened his pace. An unsettling feeling had settled inside his stomach and it usually meant that something bad had happened or was about to happen. When he reached the house, he listened for any suspicious sounds coming from the inside; he did not want to run into his death eater colleagues, when he supposedly had no clue about the whereabouts of Potter and Lucius. Everything was silent, too silent.

He pushed against the door and found it open luckily. Stepping silently inside, he crept down the hallway and glanced into the kitchen, but the room was empty. Slowly, he walked into the living room, but this room as well, was deserted. The feeling in his stomach grew worse and he reminded himself that there had been no new Dark Mark over the small house; the old one had disappeared after a few hours, like was usual for this spell. That still didn't mean that nothing could have happened to the house inhabitants. Voldemort's curse could be a slow working one.

He crept down the stairs and quickly went over to the only door that stood ajar on this floor. Stepping cautiously inside, he froze. There on the double bed lay Lucius Malfoy, naked. Severus hands started to shake, when his eyes caught up on more details. His old friend lay on his side, with his back facing the door's direction, his skin was even paler than usual and it seemed as if he was not breathing anymore. That could not be. He could not be too late already. Lucius Malfoy was an intelligent and powerful wizard; he would not let himself be killed by a mere curse.

Closing his eyes, a voice inside Severus head reminded him that this was no mere curse and that Lucius had not even his wand currently, so he very well could be dead. His inner voice really was a bitch. What would he do, without his best friend? What if he had just really lost everything? How would he go on?

But only standing in the doorway would not give him a clear answer about Lucius' state and he was not ready to declare the aristocrat dead already, from this distance no less.

Furthermore, he, Severus Snape was not that young man anymore who panicked at the sight of death, so he finally forced his body to move, taking a few steps towards the bed, until he could get a better view. A wave of nausea overwhelmed him. In the arms of his naked friend laid an equally naked Harry Potter. Dried blood covered the small child's rear end, which looked sickeningly bruised and violated and the boy seemed as lifeless as his bed companion. Severus had to avert his eyes and take a steadying breath. He could not look, but he had to. So he took another breath and settled his eyes on the child's upper body and face instead of his violated backside.

What had happened here? Had the curse forced Lucius to rape the boy and then killed them both? But as he studied the boy's face, he noticed that it was not contorted in pain and anguish, so what had happened in this room? Severus reminded himself that he had still not checked if the two were actually dead, but if Lucius had really violated the child, it may be better for Potter if he was not alive anymore.

Severus lifted a trembling hand and rolled first Lucius and then Potter on their backs. The boy's head was still resting on one of Lucius' arms, but for Severus, this picture was better than the previous one; at least this way, he could tell himself that Lucius and Potter had only somehow gotten into bed naked together. He looked down at Potter and noticed for the first time how much of a child the Gryffindor really was. His face contorted into a mask of repulsion and he quickly averted his eyes and focused back on Lucius. Bending over the aristocrat, he touched his throat to search for a pulse, but found nothing. Still refusing to believe that his last friend was dead, he cast a spell, but the result was clear.

There was no life inside Lucius Malfoy's body. He closed his eyes to hold the gathering tears back for a few more seconds and repeated the spell on Potter. The same result. He staggered backwards until his back collided with the opposite wall and slid down.

His thoughts were numb and his whole body felt paralyzed. He had lost his only friend and they all had lost the boy-who-lived, their only chance of a life and a world without Voldemort.

Burying his face into his hands, he allowed his tears to fall freely. Strangely, the death of this small child shocked him more on a personal level, than he would have imagined. He had hated that boy; oh how much he had hated him, but for one reason alone: Potter had not been his. Once, there had been a time where he had dreamed about a future with Lily, where he had imagined a family with her, becoming the father to her children, but in the end it had been Potter she had chosen and their son, Harry, was not only not his son, like it should have been, but he was also the very copy of James Potter, the man who had stolen Lily away from him.

Pushing these painful memories to the side, his mind wandered to another important matter:  
How should he explained what happened to Dumbledore? Or Voldemort? What should he do now? His first thought was to finally just run away and hide, like he had wanted to all those years ago, when Lily had died, but he had chosen a different path. He would continue to fight for the peace in the wizarding world, he would not just stop only because all hope was now gone.

He lifted his head again and looked at the dead bodies. Neither Lucius nor Potter had deserved this fate. True, Lucius Malfoy had been a cruel man most of his life, but he had seen his errors in the end and Potter, even though Severus still thought of him as an arrogant brat (just like his father) had been a mere child. Hour after hour he sat there, staring at the bodies.

He had lost all track of time and wasn't even aware that it was getting dark outside. The sky shimmered in the most beautiful colours when the sun sank, but he didn't even noticed the spectacle. Severus rubbed his sore eyes for a moment, he had to get moving and tell Dumbledore about their hero's death, as well as the Dark Lord.

When he looked up again he saw, that Lucius and Potter had sat up, eyes still closed. But that could not be possible. The two were dead, his confused and pained mind must be playing tricks on him. And then their eyes opened simultaneously and Severus froze in shock and fear. Potters green orbs and Lucius silver ones had a bright red ring around them and as they opened their mouths to yawn, sets of long, razor sharp fangs reflected the last rays of sunlight, before the room sank into darkness.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry awoke without warning. One moment it had been as if he was dead, so deep was his sleep, and in the next moment he jolted up. The first thing he noticed was a distressed looking Potion Master slumped down on the opposite wall of his bedroom. Snape looked tired and as if he had gone through hell since he had seen him in the fire yesterday; there were even dried streams of tears on his haggard cheeks and his eyes were filled with pain and sorrow. Snape's eyes widened as if he had just yet realized that Harry was there and fear struck his features.

Harry frowned, but something else demanded his attention right now. Now that he was fully awake, he noticed a sticky and crusty feeling at his backside and his stomach and his arse was throbbing as well. Looking down at himself, he noticed that he wore neither nightshirt, nor boxers and, that he didn't need his glasses to notice that anymore. What the hell had happened? Why was he naked? A slight shifting next to him alerted him to another presence in the bed; it had to be Lucius. He frowned, trying to remember the last night, but all was muddled together with the weirdest dream he ever had. In his dream, Lucius had pushed him on their bed and … Harry could not even think the words. Hopefully he had made no sounds whilst dreaming; otherwise it would be very mortifying. But some dream like that had been bound to occur sooner or later, after his strange and new found and certainly misplaced attraction towards the aristocrat.

Turning his head, Harry's eyes connected with Lucius' silver ones. The irises had a bright glowing red ring around them and gave him an unearthly appearance; like a wild animal in the dead of night. His pale skin was even paler, nearly translucent and his hair was even a tad whiter than last night. Harry's eyes wandered lower, and to his rising horror, the man was as naked and dishevelled as he was. Realization dawned on Harry.

"This wasn't a dream?" he croaked out.

The aristocrat looked horrified back at him: "What have I done?"

Harry's eyes fell on two razor sharp fangs; which reflected in the faint moonlight that came through the window. Before he could scoot away, or react in any other way, someone cleared his throat and Harry remembered that Snape was in the room as well.

"I might finally have an inkling as to what happened here," Snape made a vague gesture with his hands, cleared his throat again and added: "Get decent and meet me downstairs," before standing up and hastily vacating the room.

Harry shifted uncomfortably, he was all too aware of what they had done last night, or more accurately: what Lucius had done to him. He also remembered how he had felt during their rough intercourse and wondered why he didn't feel afraid or angry with the man. The word mating sprang to his thoughts. Had they mated? But why?

"Harry...I..." Lucius voice pulled him from his addled thoughts.

He looked up and when he met those silver eyes again, he realized that they really had mated and that he could never be angry with Lucius, his mate; even though he was highly confused right now and knew that he needed time to get used to the situation. He was only fifteen after all and the thought of having an intimate relationship, especially sex, had never entered his mind before and he didn't believe that it would have without...this. The mating had been an instinctive act and right now he was not sure if he would repeat the encounter very soon, but he accepted Lucius and what he now was to him.

Still looking into those silver pools, another realization hit him and suddenly, the panic was there:  
Lucius was not only his mate, he was the dominant in their newly formed relationship; that meant that he had to oblige if Lucius wanted sex, regardless if he felt ready or not. Harry felt like hyperventilating, but his body didn't react like his mind told him. Instead, he started to shake all over. Even though he was not as clever as Hermione, he knew enough about mates, that it generally meant that the partner would never have sex with anybody else outside their mating-bond. There was no way that Lucius would wait until he finally felt ready to take the step again. He would have to obey his dominant whenever Lucius physical desires grew too strong.

Harry shifted slightly until he was kneeling on the bed, ready to bolt and run away, when suddenly Lucius' stern, but warm voice pulled him from his panic:

"Harry, whatever frightens you right now, know that I will never harm you, or do anything, that would hurt you."

A warm hand cupped his cheek and Harry felt the tension leave his body immediately, his instincts were back, telling him that although Lucius could demand to use his body for pleasure any time, he would not do it, because a dominant was there to protect his weaker, submissive mate.  
Still, the thought of suddenly having a mate and a relationship was overwhelming and he threw himself into Lucius arms. These strong arms wrapped around him protectively and Lucius started to pat his back soothingly:

"Shh, Harry. I know it is much to take in and it has to be frightening for you."

Harry sniffled slightly, pressing his cheek against Lucius warm chest. The touch was so soothing and it felt as if everything would be fine, as long as he could be this near to his mate. It was a strange, but nice feeling and soon his sniffles died down.

When he was finally completely calm again, he looked up into the aristocrats' face. Lucius watched him with a tender look, but there was also something else carefully hidden in his eyes, it looked like pain. But why? Harry opened his mouth to ask, but Lucius interrupted him:  
"We can talk about everything later, right now we have to go downstairs. The knowledge, that we are mates does not explain very much, but hopefully Severus will have some more answers."

Nodding, Harry reluctantly freed himself from Lucius' embrace and climbed out of bed. As soon as he was a few steps away from the aristocrat, he felt the strong urge to decrease the distance again. Shaking his head, he pushed the unsettling feeling from his mind and picked his boxers up from the floor, where Lucius had discarded them last night, but when he wanted to put them on he noticed that the garment was torn. Sighing, he pulled another pair from a basket with clean clothes. His shirt and shorts were luckily still intact. When he finally turned around, Lucius was already dressed, clad in his new jeans and black shirt.

"Are you ready?" Lucius asked and rose with an elegant and fluid motion from the bed. Even more elegant and fluid than the day before.

"I am, ready," Harry replied, opening the bedroom door and holding it open for his mate.

"Then let us not keep Severus waiting. We have much to discuss; this will be a long night," Lucius commanded and went ahead.

The knowledge, that Lucius was indeed his mate, was still strange, but grew stronger and became more present in his mind with every passing minute. Harry took the chance and watched the strong back in front of him: The cloak he had pulled over his new muggle attire hid most of it, but Harry could still make out the broadness of his shoulders and the self assurance in his movements. He wanted to catch up to Lucius and maybe even pull one of his strong arms around his shoulders. Harry felt so confused this evening with everything that had changed and everything that was new. It was as if he had suddenly two minds, who had yet to come to an agreement:  
On the one side he knew that Lucius was his mate and he believed the man when he told him that he would not want to hurt Harry.

On the other side there was a far more rational part of him, which wanted him to be cautious and which reminded him that this kind of relationship he now had with the man was too much for him and that he had no guarantee that Lucius would keep his promises. Truth to be told: Lucius had calmed this side down very thoroughly and it was only a silent whispering in the back of his head, whilst the other grew stronger with every second.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he had sort of sorted his mind out:  
That Lucius was his mate was clear to him and that he was not ready for a very intimate relationship also, but he could not believe that Lucius would take advantage of him, especially after the aristocrat had promised him not to harm him.

When they entered the living room, Snape was already in one of the armchairs, a scowl deeply embedded on his forehead. Lucius strode over to his usual seat and Harry, like yesterday, was once again unsure as to where to sit down. He had felt the need to keep in contact with Lucius the day before already and up in their bedroom, but the feeling had increased again. The thought of being away from Lucius; be it only by inches, was nearly unbearable. He needed the man to be safe and comfortable and even though he knew that Snape was no thread to him, the mere presence of a third person freaked him out right now. But Lucius had not offered him to sit in his lap and he was still too uncertain in his new relationship to just do so and he didn't want to seem pathetic by asking. To his surprise it was actually said potions master who saved him from his predicament:

"Let the boy sit on your lap, he needs it now," Snape commanded in a voice that brooked no argument. Lucius raised an eyebrow at his friend, but winked Harry over, who obliged in relief. He stepped next to the aristocrat and stopped there, uncertain of how to proceed. Should he just climb into the man's lap? Before he could decide, he felt a strong and warm hand turning him around and in the next moment, he was lifted up and sat down on his mate's lap. He gasped in surprise as a sweet and alluring scent filled his nostrils. His heart began to pound heavily as he took another breath and the scent of Lucius filled his lungs. He smelled like his blood had tasted yesterday: like a rich and sweet wine, but musky at the same time. Something stirred in Harry's lower abdomen and he could feel that Lucius' heart was racing as well. The man gave a groan of his own and the strong hands tightened painfully on Harry's slender hips, but he realized that he loved this pain; that he relished in it.

"Please Merlin, help me!" Snape's voice sounded tortured and it immediately snapped Harry back to the present.  
"Are you two able to concentrate for a while and keep your hands off of each other?" Snape asked and Harry could feel Lucius nodding behind him, whilst he tried to fight a blush that threatened to creep up his neck at the thought of what had just transpired between them.

"Very well. As I said, I have an idea of what happened to both of you. I think I know which curse the Dark Lord has used on us. Has either of you ever heard about the Incubus Curse?**"  
The silence behind him told Harry that Lucius had never heard about this curse before either.  
"What effects does this specific curse have?" Lucius asked in a smooth voice and Harry wondered how he managed it, his voice would have shaken.

"It is a very rarely used curse, because it's effects are not deadly and not even torturous in the common sense, so it is no wonder that you have never heard about it before. The curse transforms the person it is cast on into the creature he or she feels the most revulsion for," Snape explained calmly.

Lucius stiffened, but Snape either didn't notice his friend's reaction, or simply ignored it. Harry, feeling the wish to soothe the man, laid his hand on the larger one and Lucius relaxed slightly.

"You once told me which creature you hate the most, Lucius," Snape said, his face showed no expression at all.

"Vampires," Lucius hissed, nearly inaudible.

Harry felt a cold shudder running down his neck. If he had understood his teacher right, then Lucius and he had transformed into vampires. The world began to swirl for a moment and Lucius had to steady his back, otherwise he would have probably fallen from the man's lap. He had become a monster. The one thing he had never wanted to become: a human killing monster.

"But I believe this is not the only thing that happened. Tell me Lucius, why do you hate vampires so much and maybe I can ease some of your and your mate's worries," Snape requested and Harry forced himself to calm down and concentrate on the Professor. Maybe, it was not all that bad; Snape didn't seem to think so at least. A warm hand lay down on his neck and started to stroke it softly and Harry found the comforting touch of his mate relaxing him, but Lucius voice was still tense when he finally spoke:

"Vampires are filthy creatures. They have to drink blood in order to live regardless of the status of the blood. Alone the thought of drinking the blood of a Mudblood; or even worse, a muggle, is revolting and a disgrace to every Pureblood! They cannot even continue their family lines, because they are dead; and they are not even humans anymore, they are creatures!"

Harry flinched at Lucius words, he had already known that Lucius' beliefs had not changed even though his loyalties had shifted, but now he was mated to the man and it hurt to know that his mate would never accept one of his best friends. But Harry would worry about it later, now he needed to listen to Snape:

"I think I can alleviate some of your fears," Snape said and his voice became just the slightest bit softer.

"Why do you know so much about vampires? I always thought that they are very secretive, and as far as I have come across vampire literature, there is not much known about them." Lucius inquired, and Harry could hear at his voice that the man had once again lifted his favourite eyebrow.

"There was once a vampire in the Snape family, since then it is tradition to learn as much as there is known about them. Unfortunately, it is not very much, because, as you said, they are very secretive creatures, but I still know more about them than most other wizards," Snape explained.

"Ron always says that there has to be a vampire in your family with your gloomy look!": Harry exclaimed and slapped his hands over his mouth in shock, when he realized what he just said.

Snape sneered at him: "My appearance has nothing to do with a vampire who has been dead for some time; count yourself lucky, because if you were right, you would look like me right now."

Harry scratched his head in embarrassment and was relieved, when the potions master continued with his explanations:

"First of all, vampires have no un-pure blood, in fact, the vampire gene forces all non-magical blood from a person's body. Because a vampire's body needs purely magical blood to be able to contain his enhanced powers; that means, that Harry is now as Pureblooded as you are Lucius."

Harry blinked in surprise, he had yet to study vampires in Hogwarts, so he knew next to nothing about the creature he had become overnight. Normally vampires were a topic in his fourth year, but the imposter Moody had disregarded some subjects, instead teaching them about the unforgivable curses.

"Your DADA lessons have been scandalously...lacking," Snape drawled, as if he had read his thoughts, before turning to Lucius once again.

"And you have even more luck, Lucius." Snape made a dramatic pause, before elaborating:  
"It seems, that you and Potter are not only mates, but blood mates, due to your prior binding."

"Please explain further," Lucius sounded thoughtful.

"There are two types of vampire mates. The first type are just called mates: They come into being when a wizard is transformed into a vampire; it sometimes happens, that he finds his soulmate due to his keen senses and proceeds to turn that person as well.

The other types of mates are called blood mates. It happens if two soul mates are transformed at exactly the same time, which apparently happened in your case due to your the previous binding, which started the transformation process for Potter as well. As you can imagine, blood mates are very rare and highly reputable among others of your kind.

Of course there is also the case of two wizards who are not soul mates are transform at the same time, they are called blood companions."

Harry felt as if his thoughts had frozen. He and Lucius, soulmates? That couldn't be, could it? But the quiet voice in his head told him otherwise. Harry had guessed by now that the voice was his instinct and it probably knew these kinds of things better than he did, but still...

"How do you know, that Harry and I are blood mates and not blood companions?" Lucius asked neutrally.

Snape smirked evilly: "Because, if you two were just blood companions, you would have not... mated with the boy." Snape gave Harry a slightly disgusted look, but Harry could not feel offended right now, he was much too shocked by the realization that Lucius and he were actually soulmates.

Besides, you both have mating marks," Snape pointed with one spidery finger at the back of his right hand.

Harry lifted his hand and saw from the corner of his eyes Lucius doing the same. There was indeed a mark on the back of his hand, it looked like a tattoo. A big, elegantly moulded black **M** was surrounded by a beautiful background. Underneath the letter was written  'Sanctimonia Vincet Semper' in silver. Harry frowned in confusion. The symbol was beautiful, but he didn't recognise it.

"The Malfoy family crest. The words beneath the letter **M** mean:  Purity always wins," Lucius explained and held his own hand in front of Harry. Harry touched the mark on his mates hand carefully and a gasp escaped Lucius' mouth. He quickly pulled his hand away; he didn't want to hurt his mate.

Snape chuckled: "Maybe you should not do that unless you are in private. Mating marks are highly sensitive."

Harry would have flushed if he still had been able to, but luckily he wasn't.

Lucius cleared his throat to change the topic to something less intimate:  
"You mentioned that blood mates are something special,"

"Indeed they are," Snape affirmed. "Blood mates drink only from each other for the rest of their immortal life, whilst mates and blood companions can drink from each other, but still need fresh blood from a human."

"How is that possible?" Harry wanted to know. "I always thought that a vampire's body needs the blood to keep their organs going and used it in this process."

"It seems as if you do read once in awhile after all Potter," Severus smirked. "The body of a blood mate does not use the blood it gets to fuel its organs, but the magic and life energy in the blood of its' mate. These energies also renew the energies its' mate has taken and with that, we come to another important point."

"That would be?" Lucius questioned.

"Blood mates are under no restrictions of the ministry, as long as they don't commit a crime, they are viewed as wizards and that makes them both respected in the Wizarding and Vampire Society."

"Because they do not kill humans to live?" Lucius asked in a tone that made it clear that he already knew the right answer.

"Yes," Snape affirmed. "There are more important things about this situation however."

"Which would be?"

"I guess that you are the dominant partner?" Snape sneered at Harry, even though his question was addressed at Lucius. Harry just glared back.

"I am," Lucius made clear.

"You will need about three times more blood than your submissive mate."

Harry had the impression that Snape relished in the fact that he would have to take it regularly up the duff in the future and gave him and a hateful glare.

"Potters' reactions to you, drinking his blood, will most likely be...of an extreme nature. The dominant vampire mates are often known as brutal or even violent, it protects the submissive mind. I myself believe that it is much simpler: Vampires just have another view on pain, they experience it differently." Snape lifted a questioning eyebrow at Harry.

Harry blushed, which was probably now only barely noticeable as a vampire, when he thought about it and squirmed uncomfortably, but it was clear that Snape wanted to have an explanation, and the fact that Lucius didn't help him out of this embarrassing situation told him that his mate was interested in the answer as well.

Thinking about how he had felt when Lucius had entered him brutally last night and what he had felt at the aching pain in his lower backside this morning, he mumbled at last, shame dripping from his voice:  
"It means, that my mate is strong and will be able to protect me. So it feels...kind of good...very good..." His last two words were nearly inaudible, but both men had caught them, because Lucius heartbeat had quickened and Snape's second eyebrow rose as well.

"So, you don't require a healing or pain potion, Potter?"

"No!" Harry startled as he heard the offended tone in his voice.

Snape cleared his throat and said: "Well then... I think you will find everything else out on your own. I have told you all I know. But it can take a while until all your vampire powers have kicked in."

"Then we shall move on to another important topic," Lucius announced smoothly.

Snape inclined his head: "Then tell me Lucius, what made you change sides? I would have guessed the murder of your family, but you changed your alliances before I brought you the news."

Lucius pinched Harry slightly in the ribs, obviously to tell him silently that this was his story to tell. He turned his head at and angle he would never have done as a human and gave Lucius a doubtful look, not really fond of the thought to expose his feelings to his hated potions professor, but his mate only nodded once and he sighed in defeat:  
"I think, it is not right how Dumbledore is fighting this war," he mumbled softly.

Snape only stared at him and so he decided to elaborate further: "Dumbledore wants me to kill Voldemort, at least I think that is what he wants, but I know nothing. I nearly died at the graveyard. He wants me to be the wizarding world's hero, but he doesn't train me at all and he is keeping secrets from me, I just know it!"

"A very accurate observation, Potter," Snape said in an honest voice, without any trace of mockery.

"Every day people are dying for one cause or the other and I don't think that it will bring anyone anywhere, regardless which side they are on," Harry's voice had gotten stronger after Snape's unspoken approval and he had a stern expression on his face. His mate had not interrupted him yet, so everything that he had said so far was reasonable, but he hesitated before he added quietly:  
"And I don't want to become a murderer..." Harry bit on his bottom lip in nervousness; hopefully, Snape wouldn't think of him as a coward after his confession. To his surprise the potions master nodded, with an expression on his face as if he could relate to Harry's wish all too well.

"Why do you think that Dumbledore keeps secrets from you?" Snape inquired.

"Nagini told me that she often suffers pains whenever Voldemort is in a particular bad or good mood, like I do. She also told me that the reason for her suffering is a piece of Voldemort's soul she has inside her body..." Harry broke his explanation off and called with a hiss for the huge reptile.

The snake came slithered in from the garden: _"What is it?"_

 _"I need to show Lucius and Snape your scar,"_ Harry explained.

Nagini nodded her heavy head and Harry pointed on her back: "Nagini has a similar scar to mine, so I believe that I have a piece of his soul inside my body as well, and I cannot believe that Dumbledore knows nothing about it. I mean, he is Dumbledore..."

Harry felt Snape and Lucius exchange a look and then Snape asked:  
"If we tell you everything we know about Voldemort, Dumbledore and yourself, what exactly will you do then?"

Harry bit his bottom lip and thought for a moment. He could not really answer the question yet, but one thing he could say: "I will find a way to end this war without any more violence and I will try to find people who will help me. I think, I will most likely ask my friends, they have always stood by my side."

"You will need more friends than Weasley and Granger," Lucius said calmly. "Are you willing to form your own side and maybe even take Dumbledore's sceptre away from him?"

Harry hesitated for only a second, before answering: "I already told you twice that I am willing to do all this and even more. I won't be a puppet any longer."

Lucius chuckled: "I am aware of it, but Severus was not present at our conversations and he has a right to hear it as well

"Fine, then we will tell you all we know. Unfortunately, it will not be all you need for reaching your goals," Snape said.

"But it will be more than I know now," Harry replied.

"Do you already know about the Order?" Severus asked him and Harry nodded. He had been there last year, before his fourth year of Hogwarts. Sirius had just moved in there, but it had been a great week, regardless of that gloomy and dirty house.

"Good, then we at least do not have to tell you about the Order of the Phoenix," Severus muttered.

Lucius started to caress Harry's neck again: "These pieces of souls are called Horcruxes. I do not know how many the Dark Lord made, but I believe that Dumbledore will be able to tell you more about it."

"Horcruxes? Are they dark magic?" Harry questioned.

Lucius chuckled joylessly: "They are considered the darkest magic that exists. You make a Horcrux by killing someone. The pain that your pure soul suffers by taking a life is so great that it rips your soul apart, and with a spell you can encase this piece in an object or even another living being. In exchange, you become nearly immortal; as long as there is another piece of your soul on this earth, you can come back from the dead."

"Can you destroy them and make someone mortal again?" Harry asked, trying to sound more confident with himself, than he actually felt.

"You can," Snape said and Lucius added with a smirk: "You actually have destroyed one Horcrux already."

Harry blinked owlishly: "When?"

"Do you remember the diary I dropped into Ginevra's cauldron back in your second year?" Lucius asked.

Harry snorted: "How could I ever forget that?"

"True," Snape drawled.

"I did not know it then, or I would not have given it away so carelessly. Not back then at least," Lucius explained.

"So by destroying the memory-Tom, I destroyed a piece of his soul?" Harry asked.

"You did. I think that was even the reason why Lucius was so keen to bring you personally back to his former master," Snape mused, smirking.

"The Dark Lord is your former master as well," Lucius drawled.

"Yes, but that was a long time ago," Snape retorted dryly.

"When did you change sides and become a spy?" Lucius suddenly inquired. His voice sounded bored, but Harry knew that he was anything but.

"When I found out that he would go after Lily because of that damn prophecy."

"Prophecy? What prophecy?" Harry had the feeling, that this would be another of those very important pieces of information Dumbledore had never told him.

"There was a prophecy made about the one who could defeat the Dark Lord," Snape explained, his face growing pained. "It was actually me who overheard it and told everything to the Dark Lord, maybe it would be more accurate to say, that I listened in to the first part of it, only years later I learned about its full content."

"The things with prophecies are that they mostly only become true, because the people believe them and make them true. They always have a true part and always one, that is influenced by the people's decisions and it is often impossible to say which part is which," Lucius explained further.

"So...what did the prophecy say?" Harry inquired.

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies..." Severus recited.

Harry had started to tremble at the foreboding words. These sounded too close to certain death for his liking and he really didn't want to die, not after he had just found his soulmate. Not when he had finally started to believe that he could be very happy one day.

Lucius' hand settled down on Harry's head and began to comb through his thick locks:  
"Hush, Harry. Do not forget that not everything the prophecy says is true." The man pressed a soft kiss to his head and Harry relaxed slightly. His dominant was by his side, everything would be fine.

He closed his eyes for a minute and when he had calmed down enough to trust his voice to sound steady again, he asked:  
"What do you two think about the prophecy?"

"I believe, that it might be true, that you are the only one, who can end this war," Lucius mused slowly and Harry nodded, because he had always known that, so it wasn't new, big and shocking news.

Snape gave a nod in consent: "I also think, that you could have a power, the Dark Lord knows not..."

"...but everything else is probably just nonsense," Lucius ended the sentence.

"And the part about vanquishing and dying at the hand of the other?" Harry asked nervously.

Lucius snorted; something that sounded so unusual to Harry's ears, that he turned around to look at his mate.

"How will you die as a vampire? Even the killing curse cannot harm you anymore. I think even the Dark Lord will have his problems now, even more than before," Lucius chuckled.

"Find your own way, Potter, you do not have to vanquish him, if you find another solution," Snape reassured him.

Harry smiled softly, oddly touched by the fact that his most disliked professor, who disliked him just as much, tried to comfort him.

"I hope you will be right," Harry fidgeted nervously, he had another question, but he didn't know if it would be appreciated. Suddenly, two strong arms grabbed him tightly and anchored him in place.

"Cease that moving!" Lucius commanded harshly. Harry stopped instantly and noticed in embarrassment, that something hard was poking into his lower back.

He quickly mumbled a sorry and Lucius sighed:"Just ask the question."

"But it is a question for Snape," Harry mumbled still uncertain. Snape had never reacted well to his questions and this one would surely not be the exception.

"Professor Snape," Snape corrected him and added: "And that will be fifty points from Gryffindor for disrespectful behaviour."

Harry glared at the dark man and wanted to protest, when Lucius interrupted him:  
"I am sure that Snape will happily answer whatever is on your mind, as long as you do not fidget in my lap any longer. Am I right Severus?" Lucius voice had adopted a tone that dared the man to refuse.

"Certainly Lucius," Snape said with a nauseous look on his face.

Harry glared one more time for good measure and then finally asked: "What has my mother to do with the prophecy and your betrayal of Voldemort?"

Harry saw a tremble going through the dark man. Snape closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them again and speaking in a flat voice: "I knew that this would have to come out someday, but I always wished it would not happen so soon."

"Did you know my mother?" Harry prodded further, he had the feeling that there was a whole lot more to the story, than he had originally imagined.

"Yes, I knew Lily," Snape started finally. "We grew up in the same neighbourhood and became friends very early, long before our letters to Hogwarts arrived."

Harry's' eyes widened in disbelief. Snape and his mother had been friends? It was hard to believe that, but the one trait Harry appreciated about the Potions Master had always been his absolute honesty. Snape had not even once lied to him. His truths were sometimes harsh, but he never lied.

"Even after we went to Hogwarts and she got sorted into Gryffindor and I became a Slytherin, we stayed friends. Your father did not appreciate our friendship and it grew even worse after he had fallen for her..." Snape broke off for a moment, as if he had to prepare for what he was about to say. Harry sat still in Lucius' lap, the man's strong body beneath him a calming presence.

"And then I became entangled with the Death Eaters," Snape glared shortly at Lucius, but Harry could not see his reaction from his position, it was likely that he had his perfect Malfoy-mask in place anyway and there would be nothing to see for Harry.

"One day in our final year at school, after you father harassed me particular harshly, I called your mother Mudblood and our friendship shattered."

Harry started to shake at the deep anguish in Snape's beetle black eyes and he snuggled closer to Lucius.

"I joined the Dark Lord, even though I knew that it was wrong and that I would end all chances to repair my friendship with your mother. A few years later I overheard the first part of prophecy, but at the time, I did not know that it would seal her fate," Snape's voice had started to shake. It was barely noticeable, but was enough to tell Harry how much the man regretted his actions and a feeling of pity for the lonely man arose in his chest.

"I went to Dumbledore, begged him for his help and told him everything. He promised me to save you and your parents in exchange for my services as spy. I accepted without hesitation, because I would have done everything to save my dearest friend. Unfortunately, Dumbledore's plan failed.

Black made Peter the secret-keeper and Voldemort murdered your parents. When I heard about the attack, I went to Godric's Hollow in hope to still save her, but it was too late. But I made a promise that day: To always protect you."

Harry gulped; he didn't know what he should say. Snape's eyes were piercing and there were no words to lessen the pain of a great loss. He knew he should be angry with Snape; it would be the natural thing to do, because in a way, it was his fault that he had to grow up without a mother and a father. But he couldn't be angry with the man, not after seeing the pain in his eyes, which was still fresh after fifteen years and furthermore: Snape had been used like Harry himself. First it had been Voldemort and later Dumbledore; maybe he had an even worse fate than Harry had.

Harry lowered his eyes and looked absentmindedly at his mating mark, the beautiful Malfoy crest. All the people in this room had been used one way or the other and all had suffered great losses; they were not that different and they would probably not find anyone else who could understand their pain as good as the others.

Surprising himself, he suddenly mumbled: "I...forgive you."

Snape stared at him with an open mouth; disbelief written all over his face.

Taking in a deep whiff of Lucius' calming scent, he tried to explain his reasons to his Professor and even more importantly, to himself:  
"You were always a right git to me in class, but you also were always honest with me and you have done more than enough to redeem your mistakes," Harry explained with a small voice. He jumped a little, when Lucius placed a kiss on his neck.

Snape said nothing and only gave a stiff nod, but that was enough for Harry. He would never hear a Thank You from him.

"It is settled then?" Lucius asked after a moment of silence. "We will work together?"

"We will," agreed Snape and Harry nodded in affirmation.

"What do you want to do next Harry; it is after all your plan?" Lucius asked.

"What I want to do next?" Harry asked irritated.

"Of course, you are the one who has to bring peace in the end, thus you should be the one who decides what we shall do," Lucius explained patiently.

"Do you think I can do that? You two know so much more than me..." he asked unsurely.

"Lucius is right, you are the most important person in this war, no one else should decide about your fate," Snape agreed.

Harry went still for a moment and thought about what needed to be done. They had to find and destroy the Horcruxes. He still didn't want to kill Voldemort, but maybe he could use the soul- pieces to bribe the man. But to accomplish that, he needed people who followed him willingly, like his friends, but also people with more experience than he and Ron and Hermione had, like the people from the Order and he also needed Snape, to continue his work as a spy. Finally he said:

"We will search for the Horcruxes, but we cannot do that alone. I will go to Dumbledore and demand the leadership of the Order and I will also have to go back to school to find new allies I can trust."

"Dumbledore will not hand you the Order," Snape said patiently.

"He will if he wants a hero, otherwise I will do nothing in this war," Harry said.

"Very Slytherin," Lucius hummed.

Harry chuckled: "The sorting hat wanted me in Slytherin, but I refused."

"What?!" Snape sounded incredulous.

"Why would you not want to be a Slytherin? We are cunning and intelligent," Lucius demanded to know.

"Because of your son. I met him in Diagon Alley and a second time on my way to Hogwarts and it was not a pleasant experience."

Lucius huffed quietly, but luckily said nothing more about the matter.

"A Potter in Slytherin..." Snape muttered under his breath.

"Well... it didn't happen," Harry smiled.

"If you want to return to school, I have to find a cure for your sunlight problem," Snape mused.

"I think that is a good idea. We should keep our relationship a secret for the time being," Lucius added.

Harry chewed on his bottom lip. Why would his mate suddenly want to keep their relationship a secret? Was it, because he was so young or was Lucius ashamed of him? Because of his looks, or because he was not a Slytherin? A deep pain slowly filled Harry's chest and he felt his body growing cold.

Snape cleared his throat: "Lucius, I think you have to elaborate further, your mate is getting distressed."

Harry felt his face being turned by a long finger, but didn't dare to look his mate in the eyes. Lucius didn't want him.

The feeling of Lucius warm lips on his pulled him from his desperation. His mate kissed him softly for a moment, before explaining:  
"The people have to trust you and they will not do that so easily when they find out that you are mated to a former Death Eater and this way, I can return to Voldemort as a second spy as soon as Severus has found a solution to the sunlight issue."

"So, you don't want to keep it a secret because you think that I am ugly?" Harry hiccupped.

His mate's face softened a little: "No Harry, you are my mate and important to me, I could never think of you as ugly." He gave Harry another soft kiss, this time on his cheek.

"Okay... but do you really want to return to Voldemort... I mean, he has killed your wife and son," Harry asked.

"If I can convince him that you held me captive, then I would still be his right-hand man and could be of great use," Lucius explained.

"You two are lucky, that you are blood mates. Normally, vampires cannot glamour their appearances, but blood mates are an exception. They can hide their true nature in order to protect their mate," Snape mused.

"That means that if we can go outside again and you are under glamour, Voldemort will think that you didn't betray him?" Harry asked.

"Yes, the curse was meant to change the traitors appearance, so that Voldemort could see it at first sight," Lucius affirmed.

"I will floo over to Spinner's End and collect some potion ingredients. We have to find a cure for your sunlight-problem and we can do nothing as long as you two cannot leave this house during the day," Snape announced and rose from his seat. He went over to Harry's fireplace and lit it with a flick of his wand. Turning, he pulled something from his pocket and threw it over to Lucius, who caught it easily.

"I believe I can trust you with your wand again," Snape drawled and threw a hand of floo powder from his robe pocket in the heath.

"Of course," Lucius retorted.

"And Lucius," Snape said, before he disappeared into the fireplace. "The child is your submissive. I hope you understand what this means. We will talk later."

Harry stared after Snape. Was the man worried about him? It had certainly sounded like he was. He blinked owlishly and suddenly grew aware of the fact that he sat in Lucius' lap. It was so strange: On one hand, he felt safe and comfortable like this, but his still very human thinking mind grew nervous once more and he began to fidget again. As soon as he realized what he was doing, Harry stopped and slid instead from his lap. Hopefully his two minds would come to an understanding soon. Watching his hands with interest, he asked:

"Would you like to accompany me? I wanted to take Nagini on a walk, she has to eat properly."

Lucius gave a curt nod and Harry smiled at him before going to pull his shoes on.

"I will buy you some new shoes and a new wardrobe as soon as I can leave this...house." Lucius had stepped behind him and eyed Harry's shoes and shirt with distaste. "You are now mated to a Malfoy; you need to look like it."

"But no one knows that I am mated to you," Harry argued.

"But they will some day and then your ...choice of clothing will fall on me and I have to answer my associates why I have not provided you with proper clothing like a good mate should do."

"Then I will go and buy a new wardrobe. You don't need to buy me things, I am not poor," Harry said and stood up, he still had his pride, even as a submissive.

"That will not be necessary. It is not proper to let my submissive mate pay for himself. You would not demand of your wife to pay for her clothes either."

Harry sighed in exasperation. There was no use to argue with Lucius about such things. Hopefully, the aristocrat would never spout his beliefs in front of Hermione, or there would be hell to pay.

"Okay, if you insist."

"I do," his mate drawled and pulled his own boots on.

 _"Nagini! We will go hunting!"_ Harry called. Lucius eyed him with an unreadable expression.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Your parseltongue sounds very different in comparison to the Dark Lords'." he said neutrally.

Harry couldn't quite grasp what Lucius wanted to tell him with his statement. He knew that many people feared parselmouth, because it was considered a dark skill. In his second year his fellow students all thought that he would become a dark wizard when they found out. Even the other Gryffindors had been suspicious.

"Does it bother you to hear me speaking in parseltongue?"

"No. Why should it? It is a gift you possess and a reason to be proud," Lucius answered.

"Oh...okay. I just thought... everyone else was always afraid because of it." Harry stammered. No one had ever told him to be proud about his second language.

"Uneducated fools," Lucius scoffed.

Nagini came slithered around the corner and asked. _"Where do we go hunting?"_ she hissed.

" _There is a meadow nearby, we will go there and hopefully find some sheep,"_ Harry explained.

 _"How many can I eat? I am quite starved."_

Harry blinked at her: _"As much as you like, I guess."_

"What does she say?" Lucius inquired.

Opening the front door, Harry answered: "She wanted to know where we will go and how much she is allowed to eat. I told her she can eat as much as she likes."

"And where will we go?" Lucius asked lifting his trademark eyebrow.

Harry smiled at him; his mates expressions became more familiar with every hour.

"Well?" prompted Lucius when he didn't answer, but only stared dazedly.

Harry flushed, at least it felt like it; he was still not sure if he could still flush, he would have to ask Lucius on some point. "There is a meadow down the street. The farmer has sheep; I hope they will be outside tonight."

It was already very late and no houses in the neighbourhood were still illuminated. It would have quickly become problematic otherwise, with Nagini following close behind. Slithering along the pavement, the female reptile looked even longer than before. They went side by side, both deep in their own thoughts; Harry coming back to his own very conflicted feelings:

They really had a complicated relationship, Harry thought. Neither knew how to act around the other just yet. Sure, the knowledge that they were mates was there, but that didn't put them in a lovey-dovey state where nothing else but each other mattered. Harry knew that even if he had realized that Lucius was his soulmate under normal circumstances, he would not have consummated the bond so soon. To be honest, he was still quite young and inexperienced. Could he even satisfy Lucius? He knew nothing about how to pleasure a body, not even his own, and he had not even kissed yet. Lucius in contrast, had been married for years and maybe even had his share of well educated and experienced lovers on the side.

And that brought him to the matter of Narcissa and Draco. They had been killed only yesterday, or maybe the day before that, but Lucius had only found out yesterday. He surely wanted to mourn his late wife and son a bit longer and a new mate would just be in the way of that. How could he start a relationship with Harry when he had just lost his beloved wife? Harry bit his bottom lip nervously. He wanted to ask his mate about his wife, but wasn't quite brave enough.

"You may ask me anything that is on your mind. I promised you, that we could talk about everything that has happened," floated Lucius' soft voice over to him.

"Do you... still love Narcissa?" Harry stammered quietly. "I mean, I can understand if you want to pause our relationship for some time... whatever kind of relationship we have... that is..." he felt like flushing, Lucius must think him really inadequate. He peered down at his shoes, but when no answer came, Harry looked up again. Lucius seemed to have waited for his attention because he eyed him intently:  
"Harry, what kind of relationship do you want to have?"

Harry shrugged: "How can I answer that, if I don't even know how you feel over your loss?" He tried to sound confident and not like the submissive he now was, but it was difficult. His mate had his piercing gaze still fixed on him, and his nervousness increased with every second.

"I have never loved Narcissa. At least, not in the way, a lover would have," Lucius finally answered.

Harry blinked questioningly up at him: "But you two were married and when I saw you together at the World Cup, you seemed fond of each other."

"Narcissa and I grew up together and I always loved her like a sister. I never could find something appealing about the female body, but I had to marry and sire an heir regardless of my personal predicament. She knew all of this and married me in spite of it and provided me with a loving home, an heir and more freedom than I could ever have wished for, but we never became lovers. And now tell me, what kind of relationship would you wish for? Or am I wrong when I assume that it was the physical aspect of our newly formed bond was the source of your distress earlier?"

They had reached the meadow and Harry came to a halt. In the distance, he could see white spots shimmering in the bright moonlight and Nagini quickly slithered away. He leaned against the fence and fixed his eyes on a spot on Lucius' robes.

"I can feel that you are my mate, but I... I have never even kissed before. We didn't kiss yesterday either... and I was never in any kind of relationship before... and to be honest, our encounter is a bit blurry, so I don't feel like I really had sex for the first time, it feels like something else...even though it wasn't a bad experience," Harry was relieved when Lucius saved him from further embarrassment by saying:

"I understand. You are quite young and if I had been in my right mind, I would never have done that to you. Maybe in a few years, but not now. If you wish, we can establish our relationship slowly. And you are right: Our encounter, did feel more like a ritual, than anything else."

"Would that be ok for you? I mean, you are older and probably used to... you know...having regular sex?"

Amusement shone in Lucius eyes: "I can assure you: I am quite adept at suppressing certain emotions."

"You are not only adept at suppressing certain emotion but all of them," Harry huffed. Panicked sounds came from the meadow and Harry assumed that Nagini had captured one of the sheep.

"Lucius?" he asked after a while where they both had stared into the darkness, trying to see what Nagini was doing, but their senses were not fully awake yet. His thoughts started to wander as he looked into the distance, thinking about all the changes he had gone through. Beside now having a mate and being nearly immortal, what did it mean to be a vampire?

He had never heard of a vampire that had been at least twenty when he or she was turned, there must be reasons for that. If his body had stopped growing and developing with his change, his life could get complicated, because he never would look even closely like an adult, even when his identification card would say something different in two years

"What is on your mind, Harry?" Lucius' voice was soft and smooth like velvet.

"Does my body stay like this?" he inquired. Deep inside, he knew the answer, but he had to ask anyway. He was just still so small and young looking.

"Your body will always be one of a fifteen year old boy, regardless of how many centuries will pass," his mate answered nonchalantly.

Pushing all his previous thoughts about the matter aside, he asked shyly: "Doesn't it bother you?"

Somehow, he felt sorry for this gorgeous man, who could have any man as his lover and was now stuck with a child for the rest of eternity.

"It should, but it does not. Maybe it is the fact that we are soul mates, but I find your young body rather endearing," Lucius mused and added: "No need to be embarrassed and certainly no reason to flush. It is common knowledge that mates find each other appealing on a sexual level."

Harry's cheeks heated even more: "So I can still blush?"

"Not quite, there is only a faint pink tint on your cheeks, barely noticeable, but I can smell your embarrassment," the aristocrat explained.

"Oh," Harry replied intelligently.

"We have to teach you more intelligent words," his mate said and stroked his neck with the nail of his thumb. Lucius' nails had become rather sharp, like the claws of a wild animal, even sharper and longer than his own had become and the touch sent shivers down Harry's spine. A small whimper left his throat and his mate chuckled quietly and a bit evilly: "You like that, do you not? Who would have guessed that the Gryffindor hero would like pain?" The claw scratched the length of Harry's neck and disappeared then, but not before invoking another moan from Harry.

Flustered, he turned back around to the meadow, his cock was stirring in his trousers and if the satisfied look on Lucius face was any indication, he could smell his arousal as well as his embarrassment a few minutes ago.

Nagini came back, with three visible bumps in her body.

 _"Are you sated?"_ Harry hissed, grateful for the interruption.

She nodded and they went back to the Dursleys house in contented silence.

The night went by similar to the previous with Lucius reading, but Harry did not really know what he should do. Due to the late hour, there wasn't anything interesting to watch on TV. He nearly fell from his armchair when he turned the device on and was greeted by two men fucking a curvy blond woman in a garden house.

Lucius commented the incident with the words: "This is below my dignity," and Harry had quickly turned off the telly. Unfortunately, sunbathing was not an option either and so in the end, he persuaded Lucius to teach him chess properly. The man had declined at first, but after he had commented that he would never be able to win against Ron otherwise and that he should be able to do at least that as a Malfoy mate, the aristocrat had budged.

Snape had not appeared for the rest of the night, but Harry assumed that he would arrive the next day; after all, the dark man was still human and was probably tired. It had sounded as if his greasy Potions Master planned to move in with them, so Harry would have to set up a room for him, or a room in the cellar depending on what Snape would prefer.

When a pink tint appeared on the horizon, Harry could feel a deadly tiredness slowly clouding his mind.

"I suggest we better go upstairs," Lucius announced.

Up in their bedroom, Harry let the roller shutters down, just to be safe. They were now full vampires after all and it would not be good to get caught by the sunlight in their sleep. Then he stripped down to his boxers and pulled his nightshirt over his head. He gave the cord on his nightstand a quick glance, but didn't pick it up; he would not need it anymore.

Crawling into the bed, Harry lay down on his back and closed his eyes. He would like to cuddle up to Lucius, but wasn't sure if his mate would appreciate it. Lucius Malfoy had never made a very affectionate impression and their bond was still fresh.

He felt the bed dip and a shifting when his mate climbed in next to him. The feeling of someone watching him crawled up Harry's spine and when he opened his eyes again, he saw Lucius elegant face hovering only a few inches above his own. Before he could ask if something was wrong, Lucius' soft lips sealed over his own, massaging them gently and sweetly, evoking a quiet sigh from Harry. The kiss was tender, making Harry feel loved and cared for. Only when Lucius parted, did he notice that he had closed his eyes and sunken into the wonderful sensation. He blinked up at his mate and saw the hungry expression was back in the grey eyes, only well restrained this time.

Harry smiled up at his mate and Lucius took it as an invitation. The aristocrat descended once more, pressing his firm body against Harry's smaller one. Harry gasped when Lucius' tongue slid into his mouth. He could feel his mind getting fuzzy as the man started to assault his mouth possessively. His mate's tongue teased his own, slid over his teeth and stroked the roof of his mouth.

The man tasted so good: sweet and rich and luxurious. He groaned into his dominants mouth and submitted completely to him, letting Lucius talented tongue roam his cavern freely. This kiss felt so different, but it was as good as their first one, showing Harry, that he finally belonged to someone. When Lucius drew back after a long moment, but still all too soon, Harry was in a daze; silly smile plastered across his face.

The aristocrat chuckled softly and drew him closer to his warm body.

"I will teach you everything you need to know slowly. I will form you into the perfect mate for me," Lucius whispered into his ears.

Harry knew he probably should be offended at the suggestion that he needed to be formed, but strangely enough, he wasn't. He wanted to be the perfect mate for Lucius and he knew somehow that the man would never force him to do anything he didn't like. In contrast: Harry had the feeling that Lucius and he would like the same things in their intimate relationship; they were soul mates after all.

He snuggled closer to Lucius, until he was curled up in the curve between his chin and strong legs. The man had disregarded his robes and shirt and wore only a pair of boxers so that Harry could feel the heat radiating from him. A strong arm embraced him protectively and at the moment the sun raised over 4 Privet Drive their eyes fell closed and they once again drifted into their deep, inhuman slumber.

 **AN: ** Incubus (lat.)= Nightmare**


	5. Chapter 05: Painful Visions

**Chapter 5: Painful Visions**

 **HP**

Harry awoke the next evening still curled up in Lucius' arms. The first thing he noticed was that his vampire instincts must have kicked in. Lucius' unique and alluring scent was much stronger than last night when he had sat with his mate and Snape in the living room and he was sure that he would be able to detect the scent even from a fairly long distance. He had also stopped breathing entirely and even laying in the darkness, completely covered under a heavy blanket, he could make out every detail of Lucius' muscular chest. The sound of dripping water reached his ears from the bathroom and he grimaced. It would take him some time to get used to some of his new abilities.  
Harry turned his head upwards, trying to see if his mate was awake already, but with Lucius laying still like a statue and not breathing either, it was hard to tell. Suddenly a finger stroked over his sensitive neck and he shivered.  
"Good morning Lucius," he smiled happily.  
"Good evening would be more appropriate," Lucius retorted softly.  
"Whatever," Harry muttered and lifted the cover from his body. "Have you slept well?"  
"I think until Severus reverses our sunlight allergy, we will sleep well every day," Lucius replied, and stroked once more over Harry's neck, who gasped involuntarily. His neck was especially sensitive. Absentmindedly he wondered if he would have more of these sensitive spots on his body and into the touch a bit more.  
"I like those little sounds you make, they sound so...innocent," his devious mate mused.  
Harry felt a flush creeping up his neck, even though it was nearly invisible now. He stretched and sat up further, before climbing out of bed. Neither he, nor Lucius turned on the lights; they did not need them anymore.  
Putting on a fresh shirt, he asked: "Do you think that Snape is back already?"  
"We will see," was his mate's vague reply.  
"Just confess, that you don't know either," Harry scoffed and turned around in search for a fresh pair of underpants. Sometimes his arrogant mate was almost funny with his antics. "Shit, I have to wash. They are all dirty and I only put your stuff into the washer yesterday." He cursed. Without his trunk, he owned just far too few garments. Looking up with a scowl, he noticed a strange gleam in Lucius eyes.  
"What is it?" he asked irritated, not understanding what could have his mate so excited about his forgetfulness.  
Lucius sounded kind of...hungry when he answered:"Just pull on your trousers,"  
Harry blinked in confusion. Did Lucius just suggest, what Harry thought he suggested? Did he want him to go without any underpants at all? And more importantly, would Harry do that for him? Gulping Harry inquired: "Do you mean, I should wear them without boxers beneath?" He flushed at his own question, feeling like a complete stupid and inexperienced virgin.  
Lucius only gave him a smirk as answer.  
Hesitating a moment, Harry grabbed his trousers and pulled them on. The gleam in the aristocrat's eyes intensified for a moment, before disappearing behind the perfect Malfoy mask. Smiling with uncertainty, Harry turned and walked out of their bedroom and down into the kitchen. Like every other 'morning', for lack of a better word, he started to make breakfast, without really realizing it. Lucius had come down a few minutes after him and was now sitting in the living room; Harry could hear the rustling turning of pages, indicating, that the man was reading once more. Harry really could not understand how his mate could read Petunia's sappy romance novels every day.  
He was piling the bacon and eggs in two bowls, when he heard footsteps approaching the house and a moment later the front door opened. The strong smell of potion fumes immediately told Harry who had just arrived.  
"Perfect timing, Snape, I have just cooked breakfast. You can have a bite; I have made enough for three!" He shouted above the sounds of the range hood.  
"Breakfast?" Came the incredulous question and than a muttered: "I will join you two, merely because I am quite starving."  
Blushing, Harry realized that dinner might have been more appreciated, but his inner clock felt highly confused currently.  
His mate's deep baritone floated from the hallway asking: "Severus, why degrade yourself by wearing a muggle suit?" Blinking in surprise, Harry turned to the kitchen door to see Lucius entering the kitchen only a moment later, followed by Snape who indeed wore a black suit, like Harry's uncle had always worn to work. Harry goggled disbelievingly at him. Snape looked 'strange'. The tight fitting garment pronounced the Potions Master's long and slim figure, but as usual, there was no other colour on the man than black, even his button-down shirt was black. But what was even more surprising was that Snape actually knew how to dress like a muggle.  
As if he had sensed his thoughts, the man sneered at him: "Cease that staring. In contrast to common belief, I am merely a half blood and know very well how to dress inconspicuously in the muggle world. My father was a muggle, Tobias Snape. Only my mother was a Pureblood witch. She was a Prince," Severus explained carefully neutral.  
Harry was surprised; he had always thought that the head of Slytherin house had to be a Pureblood, with all the Pureblood children who hated Muggleborns sorted into that house.  
But that still didn't answer the main question. "But why have you dressed like a muggle in the first place?" Harry asked, putting plates, forks and knifes down on the small kitchen table.  
"I have declared you relatives dead the day after you arrived here, just in case the neighbours grow suspicious. Sadly, they died in a car accident," Snape explained.  
Thinking about the lie his relatives had always told him about his parent's death, Harry snorted. At Lucius' and Snape's questioning look Harry elaborated: "They always told me that my parents died in a car accident; funny that they seemingly died in this manner." Somehow, this little story had already made his day.  
Snape smirked in amusement: "I didn't know they told you that, but your family certainly deserved an ungraceful death. I knew Petunia as a child, she was always unbearable."  
"Severus, please continue your story," Lucius requested and sat down at the kitchen table.  
Snape joined him and continued: "Of course, Lucius. This morning, a letter from the solicitor arrived. Apparently the other entitled heir, a woman named Marge Dursley, died a few months ago due to a stroke."  
Harry huffed, somehow the news didn't really surprise him, and so he commented dryly: "No wonder, she drank Brandy like normal people water,"  
His professor lifted a curious eyebrow before telling him: "However, this means, that you are the next and only other rightful heir to this house and your late relative's assets."  
Harry gaped and a wide grin spread across his face. This was all too good to be true. The Dursley's would have burned all their money just so that Harry could not inherit it if they had known that they would die.  
"Then they were useful after all," Lucius smirked, his long fangs flashing.  
"I took the liberty and went to the solicitor for you," Snape went on. "You cannot go outside during the day right now, and I doubt that the man would have made an appointment with you at three in the morning. Furthermore, you are still underage in the muggle world and thus, cannot sign the papers to accept your inheritance. I 'convinced' the solicitor," at this point Snape cleared his throat and Harry knew that he had convinced the man with the help of magic, "that I am your legal guardian and signed in your place. The money will be transferred into this account tomorrow," he gave Harry a small muggle credit card.  
"And this is you new bank-book, your relatives were quite wealthy for middle-class muggles," he added and pulled a small notebook from another pocket.  
Opening it curiously, Harry gasped. "£ 250 000 Pounds?" He asked in disbelief.  
"Yes, as I said, they were quite wealthy," Snape sneered, but Lucius only snorted, probably amused by the small sum.  
Harry blinked owlishly at the man before saying: "Thank you, Professor Snape."  
Snape just sneered: "No need to start calling me 'Professor' now. After all, we are allies now. You may as well call me Snape without any title."  
Harry only stared harder, before realizing what the man had offered: "Is this a peace offering?"  
He tried to keep the broad smile from showing on his face, but failed miserably. Snape muttered something under his breath.  
"Then you can call me Harry," Harry insisted.  
"I think I will stick to Potter, brat, but consider it a peace offering nonetheless; a peace offer, not one for friendship, don't misunderstand me."  
"Yeah, I won't. Wouldn't think of a friendship with you," he retorted before musing:  
"But Snape, you said, I am not an adult in the muggle world, but I am not an adult in the wizarding world either."  
"That is incorrect. A mated creature or half wizard is regarded as an adult in the wizarding world. You are officially of age since last night. I went to the ministry and checked to make sure," Snape turned to Lucius: "You are recorded as mated as well, but I made sure that no one could find out to whom you are mated."  
Lucius nodded: "Thank you. It saves us a lot of trouble."  
Harry was still too baffled to say anything. He was an adult now, when only fifteen years of age, he was legally of age! That was kind of amazing; Ron and his other friends in Gryffindor would be so jealous. His face fell a bit when he realized that he would not be able to tell them anything.  
"But, Potter..." Harry snapped back to the present at Snape's threatening tone of voice "...you cannot act on your independence, or you and Lucius will quickly be found out and in big danger."  
"I understand," Harry promised. He had already realized that and he would not want to endanger his mate. Without realizing it, his hand had snuck under the table over to Lucius, who grasped it in his own hand and squeezed it reassuringly.  
Snape eyed his meal now and Harry as well as Lucius turned their attention to his plate. Eying the scrambled eggs and bacon, he realized that it didn't appeal to him at all. He was not hungry in the least; least of all for eggs and bacon. Peering over at Lucius, he saw the same predicament in his silver- red eyes. He had become better at reading Lucius' emotions and he was happy and proud about that fact.  
Pushing his plate towards Snape, Harry announced: "You can eat mine as well."  
"I was already wondering why you cooked at all," Snape rolled his eyes.  
"Old habits die hard," Harry explained dryly. "Well then...I think I will go and take a shower."  
He stood up and left the small kitchen, needing something to do besides sitting around.  
Up in the bathroom, his eyes fell on his reflection in the mirror for the first time since his transformation into a vampire. To his great relief he still had a reflexion. Luckily the muggle rumour wasn't true; or it was just another one of those things that separated average vampires from vampires with blood mates.  
He striped completely, before stepping once again in front of the mirror and taking in his new appearance. He really looked different: not very much, but everyone who saw him regularly would notice the changes.  
He had not grown, but luckily not shrunken either. His former dark brown hair was now a pitch black, even darker than Snape's, giving his already pale skin an inhuman glow. His jade green eyes with the red glowing ring were brighter and much larger than before, probably a physical trait he possessed as a submissive, because Lucius eyes had not grown. It kind of made him look cute. Harry wrinkled his nose. Why couldn't he for once look sexy and gorgeous instead of cute? Sighing he eyed himself further. His lips were also very red on his face and beneath his eyes and on his cheeks were a slight shadows; as if he hadn't slept in days, but it just added to his new, inhuman beauty.  
His fangs were really long and pointy, but hidden as long as he left his mouth closed. Turning his head, he noticed, that his ears had become pointy as well. His nails had elongated into claws, but he saw that his really were not as long as Lucius', but Lucius was the dominant after all.  
Aside from his paler skin, the rest of his body hadn't changed much; it was still the body of a child, not even the one of a proper teenager. Why couldn't he have matured a bit?  
All in all he didn't look all too bad; he would even go so far as to say that he was attractive in a twisted 'naughty child' kind of way. This thought should really make him sick, but strangely it didn't. Instead, he felt pride rise in his chest, because he realized that for a vampire he was more than beautiful.  
Lifting his eyes from the mirror, he stepped under the shower and turned the hot water on, in hopes of warming his cold skin; which had started to cool down as soon as he had left Lucius' proximity this 'evening'...not morning - he had to get use to the change in day and night rhythm. To his dismay, even the hot water didn't feel as warm as it use to feel on his skin and wasn't able to warm him. He had feared that this would happen, because when he was cooking this 'evening', he had noticed, that the pan didn't feel hot at all. It seemed as if only Lucius would be able to warm his dead body and vice versa, so in the end he only washed himself quickly and stepped back out of the shower.  
Nagini had slithered in whilst he had been in the cubicle and was now laying curled up under the washbasin.  
 _"Congratulations on your mating, has it gone well?"_ she hissed as a greeting.  
Harry flushed. Had she heard him and Lucius? _"How do you know?"_ he asked.  
 _"The mating mark on your hand,"_ she answered, sounding amused.  
 _"Oh,"_ Harry retorted intelligently.  
 _"So, has it gone well?"_ the female reptile repeated.  
 _"Yes, it has,"_ Harry smiled, suddenly feeling giddy.  
 _"Is he strong?"_ Nagini inquired curiously, obviously very interested in the answer as a female.  
Harry's only answer was to blush, but Nagini seemed to have picked up on it. _"A strong mate is important, it would not do for a submissive to protect its dominant,"_ she hissed.  
Harry snickered, the thought alone of Lucius Malfoy needing protection, least of all from him, was ridiculous.  
Pulling on a fresh pair of shorts, he asked: _"Do you want to stay in the bathroom for a bit longer? It is still moist in here."_  
 _"I would like that,"_ Nagini admitted and laid her head lazily down on her curled up body.  
 _"Ok, I will leave the door open then,"_ he said and left the room, eager to get back to Lucius.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius could see that Severus was only waiting to hear the bathroom door closing before starting his talk about Harry that he had mentioned the previous night. He was not concerned in the slightest; in contrast, he was pleased that his friend was concerned about his mate, because that meant that there was a second pair of eyes which would keep the boy safe.  
"Tell me, Lucius, how do you feel about the mating? And be honest, you know I can see when you are lying," Severus started.  
Lucius sighed: "It was quite the shock when I woke up yesterday."  
"I can only imagine. I was shocked as well. To be honest, my first thought was..."  
Lucius interrupted his friend: "That I raped the boy?"  
"That the curse had made you rape the boy," Severus corrected him.  
"The same result either way," Lucius sneered and then added: "But at the first moment, I thought the same."  
"So?" Severus asked.  
Lucius raised his eyebrow in hope of somehow avoiding giving a direct answer himself.  
"Was it rape?" Severus specified, taking away all chances of avoiding the question.  
"I do not think so. It was rough, but Harry told me that he has recognized and accepted me as his dominant."  
"How can you stand a child as a mate?" Severus looked more than just a bit perturbed.  
"He is my mate," Lucius gave in way of answer.  
"I know that," Severus snapped irritated. "But even you cannot deny that he is quite young and looks even younger."  
"Do you want to know, what appeals to me about the boy?" Lucius asked dryly, he knew that Severus hated these kinds of talks, but saw it probably as his duty as one of Harry's teachers to make sure that he could be as safe as possible under these circumstances.  
"I will surely regret this, but yes, I want to know what attracts you to Harry," Severus grumbled.  
"Harry is quite beautiful in his own way, with his big green eyes and his petite frame. Surely it's a childish kind of beauty, but a beauty nonetheless. To possess this innocent body, to make it mine...he is still so pure and untainted... If you could have my keen senses, you would smell what I mean." It did not feel strange to confess all this; he had always been open and at ease with his sexuality, even after he had first noticed that he could not find anything appealing about the female physique at the age of only 12.  
"Explain," Severus requested; his face carefully neutral.  
Lucius thought about how to explain what he meant for a moment, before stating:"His scent has not changed; he has still the scent of a virgin boy."  
"How so?" Severus asked.  
"My instincts tell me it is because I took him as a virgin. He would not have kept his pure scent, if I were not his blood mate; but I am and his scent in combination with his mating mark is a warning for other dominant males who may want to approach him in the future. I believe that his transformation was much earlier than mine; when I mated with him and at some point during the transformation the body stops to age and change, maybe it has something to do with his scent as well."  
Severus eyed him intensely, like only his friend was able to, and then said: "You are still keeping something from me."  
Lucius sighed. Why did his friend have to be so observant? He really did not want to explain all his animal like desires he felt towards a boy, who should not yet be subjected to such lust; but realizing that his friend would not leave the matter, he said: "There is more to his attraction. For me, he has so much sex appeal. To be honest, every time my eyes fall on his cute backside, or his green eyes or he makes one of these little noises, I want to press him against the next wall, or bend him over the nearest chair and fuck him senseless. I have never experienced something like this, he is like a drug, but one I can withstand, because even stronger than the wish to claim his body once more, is the wish to keep him safe until he is ready and I know he is not ready yet."  
"But you two had already sex," his friend stated, a bit green around his nose.  
Lucius shook his head: "It felt different to us both, like a ritual and not sex, so it does not quite count."  
They were silent for a moment, before Lucius found himself speaking again: "I really think it has something to do with Harry's physical changes. He has changed a lot, if you look properly."  
He could see the contemplation on Severus face, before the man nodded: "He has. I do not know how to put it into words, but with those enlarged eyes and as thin as he is, he looks very different, but I do not comprehend what this means for you."  
"His whole body screams: Protect me! I am your submissive and helpless! ... Something tells me, that his body will still change a bit," Lucius mused.  
Severus frowned. "How do you know?" The man asked.  
"I think my instincts are telling me. They also tell me, that he will turn into the most beautiful submissive there has ever been and that I have to keep a close eye on him. And I can see that he is already sex on two legs."  
His friend sighed: "Despite all that and his immortality and his legal adulthood, you should not forget that he has still just lived fifteen years yet. He does not look like a child and the dream of every paedophile because of his change, but because he had been changed at a very young age. Harry is still a child, not only in body, but also in mind. I know that vampires are very sexual creatures, but please be careful with him, regardless of what your instincts might tell you."  
"As I told you, my first and strongest instinct is to keep him happy," Lucius repeated himself, getting slightly annoyed about the fact that someone feared he could harm his mate, but instead of ripping his friend's head off like his instincts demanded right now, he settled on asking:  
"Why are you so concerned about the boy? I had always thought that you disliked him."  
"We made a peace just a few minutes ago, and even without it, I am still his Professor, regardless of his poor potions skills. Besides, if you are honest with yourself, no boy at his age should participate in a sexual relationship with a man who is so much older, so I will at least keep a watchful eye on him."  
Lucius huffed.  
"No," Severus sneered "...it does not matter that you look younger than you are. You could still be his father."  
"Be assured that I would never harm my mate. Even without my instincts, I would not do such a thing. Do not forget, that I am a Malfoy and we Malfoy's never abuse the people giving into our care, especially not if they are weaker."  
"But please remember, that it is not enough to just be careful with him during intercourse," Severus glared at him.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Harry is now emotionally dependent on you. As his dominant, you are his most important person. He will do much for you, even lie and take on huge pains in order to make you happy, so be careful what you say and what you demand," Severus explained cautiously.  
"I will keep it in mind," Lucius promised.  
After another short pause Severus asked: "Are you in love with him?"  
Lucius did not need to think long about this question. Only a few days ago he would told his friend that he had no experience with real romantic love, but the facts had changed: "I know that the feeling growing in my chest is love. We would not be blood mates if fate had not implanted the love for each other into our hearts. But I also know that Harry has no experience with love and that it would overwhelm him if I told him right now."  
Severus nodded and then inquired: "What will you do, when Harry has to go back to Hogwarts?"  
Lucius smirked aloof: "Assuming that I will not burn to ashes in the sun by that point, I already have a plan."  
Snape lifted a single eyebrow.  
"I will not tell you, it shall be a surprise for you and my mate."

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

When Harry came back downstairs, he found Lucius and Snape sitting in the living room, sorting through large stacks of books, which stood on every free surface and even the floor.  
"What are you two doing?" he inquired curiously.  
"Research," was Snape's useful reply.  
Harry huffed; sometimes the man was as impolite as he always accused Harry to be. "Lucius?" he asked.  
His mate turned his face so that he was looking at him, before explaining: "We are researching a way to make you and me resistant to the sunlight and a way to free you and Nagini from Voldemort's Horcruxes."  
"Oh...okay." He turned to the Potions Master: "Have you already picked a room? You can have mine, it is mostly empty, but the bed is very uncomfortable, you probably should transform it into something better, or you can have Dudley's. It has a very comfy bed, but is quite messy."  
"I will take your old bedroom, thank you, and would you mind if I create a lab in your cellar?" Snape asked.  
"No, of course not. You are welcome to it," Harry permitted. "Can I help you somehow?" he added, glancing at the piles of books, not really thrilled at the thought of spending his holidays with researching, but knowing that it was important. Furthermore; his mate would do the same and this way, he could at least spend some time with him.  
"Just pick one up and start reading, both problems we have to solve are very obscure topics, so we cannot tell you what to look for either," Lucius admitted.  
Nodding, Harry picked up the book lying directly in front of him. It was a heavy volume, old and dusty. With the book in hand, he went over to the sofa, where Lucius sat. The man slid over to the side, automatically making space for him.  
The next few days they fell into an easy routine. Harry would make breakfast for Snape, who had adapted his daily routine to the two vampires. After they had sat awhile in the kitchen, they went over to the living room, researching. After three days of reading through ancient books, Snape seemed to have an idea of what a potion had to do to make them resistant to sunlight. The man had collected blood samples from Harry and Lucius and had locked himself up in his new lab, only coming out for meals.  
Meanwhile, Harry and Lucius had continued to research the Horcrux issue. Harry had only found one single obscure sentence that might give them a hint in an ancient alchemistic potions book. It has said: 'To extract the impure, one must use the purest of all kind.'  
Neither he, nor Severus or even Lucius could really say what the author meant and so they were still none the wiser.  
Their relationship had not changed much in the last couple of days. They kissed sometimes, very shortly and carefully when Lucius initiated something, because Harry himself still felt much too shy. Harry had the feeling that his mate wanted to give him time, and he was thankful for that. They often sat close together and Harry cuddled up close to the aristocrat every night, his warmth comforting his dead and cool skin. When they exchanged their innocent kisses, Harry could feel that his mate was restraining himself just barely. Sometimes he saw a hungry gleam in Lucius eyes, ravishing his butt with his eyes and when he sat in his mate's lap, he could often feel how hungry his mate really was for his body.  
Harry still didn't wear any underpants and he knew that it drove Lucius nearly insane. The noble man had taken a special liking to his small backside, but it didn't really bother Harry; in fact it even flattered him. Even knowing that he was not yet ready to have sex with his mate once again, he needed the knowledge that his dominant would want it very much; it calmed his submissive vampire side down.  
Sometimes he himself felt a stirring in his lower abdomen, or even arousal, but he ignored it and so did Lucius with the exception of some looks that were even more heated than usually. That Lucius restrained himself so well soothed Harry immensely and drove even the slightest doubt concerning his mate from his mind. But Snape seemingly found Lucius' devouring looks inappropriate enough and Harry could not blame him for his opinion; he would react the same way if he had to see his friend Ron snogging Remus Lupin or someone else who was so much older than his best friend.  
Harry had taken a liking to nuzzling Lucius' neck. His dominants' delicious and alluring scent was especially strong there and it often coaxed a quiet moan from Lucius' mouth, which he liked to hear very much. They had also found out that their mating marks were even more sensitive than they had already assumed when Harry had massaged his mark absentmindedly whilst thinking about his mate. Said mate had come stomping into the living room some minutes later; cheeks tinted a very deep red for a vampire and a visible lump in his tight fitting trousers. Lucius had forbidden him from touch his mating mark again, until he was ready to take care of the consequences. Harry didn't need to ask what consequences he meant, it had been clear enough.  
Right now he was sitting next to Lucius on the sofa, Snape was like usual these days, down in his new potions lab, when his mate dropped the book he had been reading with an annoyed huff to the floor and started to stretch out on the couch.  
"Hey, leave me some space," Harry glared at him, without really meaning it.  
"If there is no space on the sofa to lie down, I could always offer for you to lie down on my body," his mate smirked.  
Harry raised both his eyebrows before thinking that he was quite fond of the idea and crawled between Lucius long legs. He made himself comfortable on his dominants chest, his chin propped up on his folded arms, Lucius' steady heartbeat a calming sound beneath him and he closed his eyes with a contented sigh.  
His mate started to comb through his hair and he started purring at the gesture.  
"Tell me a bit about you," Lucius suddenly requested.  
Harry opened his eyes again and blinked up at him in surprise, they were mated for some days now and he had become more at ease in the older wizards company, but until now Lucius had not asked any personal question and Harry hadn't either. Somehow, it had felt too early.  
"What do you want to know?" he asked insecurely and started to chew on his bottom lip; one of his nervous habits, like rambling or messing his hair, he imagined Lucius asking all kinds of personal questions about his family life, or his encounters with his dominants former master and he was not sure if he was ready to have that conversation yet.  
"You do not have to tell me your deepest secrets right away, but I think it is time that we start to get to know each other a bit better," Lucius deep, velvet voice soothed him.  
Feeling more at ease, he asked carefully: "Oh..okay...can we take turns with asking questions?" To be honest, he would like to know a bit more about his mate as well.  
"We can do that;" Lucius agreed.  
"So, what would you like to know?" Harry asked, laying his head down on the aristocrat's chest, so that he could listen to Lucius' heart beat better, he loved that sound. Every evening he had fallen asleep to this soothing rhythm for the last couple of days until it felt like coming home.  
"What is your favourite colour?" Lucius asked.  
Harry chuckled in relief: "Somehow, I have expected a more intrusive question."  
"I still have to buy you a new wardrobe and it would be helpful to know which colours you like in order to avoid picking the wrong things," Lucius drawled.  
"I doubt that you could ever pick an ugly outfit," Harry commented, but then answered: "My favourite colours are red and green... now it's my turn." He thought for a moment and then asked: "Have you learned any profession, or do you just live from your family's money? ...I mean I know that you work for the ministry sometimes, but have you studied for a higher education?"  
Harry had always wondered about this point, because everybody knew that a Malfoy didn't need to work for their living, but somehow Lucius never had seemed like a man who would just sit at home and do nothing.  
Lucius chuckled. It was a deep sound that echoed in the man's broad chest: "Of course I have studied for a higher education. In fact, I have learned a couple of professions. It is even common knowledge."  
Now Harry felt stupid for asking. But he pressed on: "And what did you study?"  
"I am a qualified healer and mind healer, I am also a registered lawyer and a potions master, not as talented as Severus, but good enough. And sometimes I work for the Unspeakables, but there is no actual education for that line of work, they contact you if they are interested in your skills. "  
"Wow, you really are intelligent," Harry mused, suddenly feeling very unqualified to be Lucius' mate. He could probably try all he wanted and never reach such a high level.  
Lucius, who had become good in reading his mind in the last days pressed a soft kiss to his locks and said: "Do not worry, Harry. I am sure you will accomplish remarkable things as well and even if you do not, you are still my mate and it will not change anything between us." And then he asked:  
"What would you like to do after graduation?"  
"Uhm..." Harry said intelligently. He knew what everybody expected him to become after Hogwarts, but that honestly wasn't what he wanted. "Everybody expects me to become an Auror, but I really don't want to do that... I don't know if I want to learn something specific at all. If given the choice, I would like to work on different projects; there is much that needs to be changed in our society and now as a vampire I have all the time in the world. I can still learn something in a hundred years."  
"You certainly deserve to do what you would want to do," Lucius admitted.  
"Maybe it is my submissive side, but I would be content to stay mostly at home," Harry admitted.  
"It probably is due to my dominant side, that I like the sound of your wish, but I would never hold you back if you wish to apply for an actual job one day," Lucius said.  
Harry smiled and nuzzled his mate's neck."I know."  
"What is your favourite food?" he inquired, when he was finished with nuzzling Lucius' neck and had pressed a small kiss to it.  
"As a Malfoy, I should answer oysters and caviar, and I like these dishes, but what I enjoy the most is a well cooked roast," Lucius admitted with a soft chuckle.  
Grinning up at him, Harry said:"That is my favourite as well. Molly Weasley makes the best roast."  
Lucius wrinkled his nose at the mention of the Weasley matron.  
Huffing at his mate's expression, Harry declared: "As soon as you are part of the Order, I will ask her to make a roast, and then you can see for yourself."  
"You forget that food general is not very appealing to us anymore" Lucius said and Harry's face fell, he had forgotten that. Before could think about it further, Lucius asked:  
"Is your favourite class DADA like everybody says, or is that just another one of those rumours?"  
Harry chuckled: "It is, at least, since my last flying lesson at the end of first year. But unfortunately, we always had incompetent or dangerous teachers, with the exception of Remus."  
"How should a good DADA lesson be?" Lucius inquired.  
"Lots of practice, I think. You don't get any better at duelling if you only read the books," he mused, before asking another question:  
"What does Malfoy Manor look like?" He asked after a moment.  
"It probably looks nothing like you would imagine it," Lucius smirked. "The Manor has a huge entrance hall, with several chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It is build from the most expensive white marble and the walls and staircases are mostly white and you find plenty of golden ornaments everywhere. I have many family portraits, but I have banned them to a rarely occupied section of the Manor, because Malfoy's are quite insisting, even after they have been dead for many decades and it gave me quite a few headaches to listen to all their proposals concerning one matter or another, especially when they contradict each other."  
Harry chuckled: "I always knew that your family is full of arrogant bastards like yourself."  
Lucius smirked: "I think it is a family trait."  
Harry curled his arms around his mate's neck, happy that he could talk to the mostly cold aristocrat so easily.  
"Is there as much dark wood, silver and greens as I imagine?" he asked.  
Lucius chuckled again: "Most rooms are not decorated that way; most rooms are decorated in creams, gold and silver and with light wooden furniture. The Veela who married into the Malfoy family in the early Middle Ages was not very fond of the dark Manor she was expected to live in and used her charm to convince her fiancé to build a new home for them. Knowing the Manors of my late in-laws, I can understand why she found the old Malfoy Manor too depressing."  
"So the Malfoy's really have Veela genes?" Harry asked astonished.  
"We have. Why do you sound so surprised. I think it is obvious with our looks," Lucius inquired with a lifted eyebrow.  
"Well...uh..." he stammered and started to fidget. He really didn't want to say something rude, but it would be hard if he wanted to be honest and lying to his dominant was not an option. Looking up at Lucius, he saw that his mate was still waiting patiently.  
"You certainly look like it. I mean, you are so attractive and graceful, but I only knew Draco and he always made the impression that he had to work for his demeanour..." he stopped then, realizing that they had never mentioned Lucius' late son before and became even more nervous. A cold feeling gripped his heart and Harry could not say where it suddenly had come from. Shaking his head, he started to chew on his bottom lip even more violently, his dead heart pounding in his chest.  
"Hush, Harry," Lucius commanded sternly and he looked up into his mates silver eyes, which luckily had not frozen over again.  
"Draco didn't deserve to die so young and neither had Narcissa, but you can still mention them," He took Harry's right hand and pressed a kiss on his mating mark, sending little shivers down Harry's body. The gesture soothed him slightly, but the cold feeling had not left entirely. It really made no sense, why should he feel distressed at the thought of Lucius' dead son, who had been his nemesis? Maybe he felt distressed for his mate? Surely the man must still be in pain and maybe he could somehow feel it subconsciously due to their soul bond?  
Lucius pulled him from his confusing musing then: "To answer your question: The Veela genes only develop fully at someone's seventeenth birthday and need about a month to gain full effect after that. He only turned seventeen quite a few days before his death, that is why he never seemed as elegant as I."  
Harry blinked at the statement. "Why did he already turn seventeen? Shouldn't he only be fifteen?" He wondered.  
"He should, but you have to be eleven until a specific date to get invited to Hogwarts and he was still a few weeks too young," Lucius explained.  
"But then he should be sixteen?" Harry furrowed his brows in contemplation. His mate chuckled at his look and explained further: "When he was finally old enough to get his Hogwarts letter, he got sick with the Wizarding Dragon Flu. The Dragon Flu is a quite violent version of the Wizarding Flu and 2/3 of the children who get infected with it die within days. Those who survive need months to get healthy again."  
"So he couldn't go again and was already thirteen when he finally got to school?"  
"Exactly. Draco hid his true age, because he saw it as a sign of his weak body and was embarrassed, only his closest friends knew about his illness," his mate mused thoughtfully.  
"I didn't know that," Harry admitted, still feeling a bit embarrassed for bringing up the topic and frowned at the thought of Draco having close friends. He always had the feeling that the blonde boy had minions and acquaintances, but no real friends.  
"Well, you have never been friends with my son," Lucius explained.  
Wanting to change the topic, Harry suddenly said: "It's your turn. Ask another question."  
"Of course you majesty," Lucius smirked "What do you see in your two best friends?"  
Harry curiously looked at him and his mate sighed: "I will not forbid you contact with your friends, as inadequate as I find them. Maybe, if you can explain me what you see in them, I can see it as well and accept them easier."  
A wide smile spread across Harry's face: "You want to get to know my friends?"  
"I would not quite put it like that, but I would like to be able to stand their mere presence," Lucius scoffed.  
Harry's grin didn't falter. He leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to Lucius cheek, still not brave enough to just kiss his mate's lips, flushing instantly at the innocent gesture. After listening to his mate's comments on muggle born and blood traitors, he had feared that he would have to choose between the two parties at one point, but he should have known that Lucius' promise to do nothing that would hurt him would not only extend to their sexual life.  
"Thank you, that means so much to me!" He exclaimed, pressing a second kiss to the surprised aristocrat's cheek.  
"I know," Lucius hummed; seemingly quite content with the attention he was given and waited for his explanation.  
"Ron and Hermione are the best people I know," at the once again raised eyebrow of his mate, Harry quickly added: "With the exception of you of course, but you are my mate and that doesn't count, because you are perfect." He flushed even more at the confession, but went on: "Sure, Ron can be quite thick headed sometimes and Hermione really is a know-it-all, but they have always helped me; Ron even told his brothers Fred and George to get me from the Dursley's after our first year."  
"I hope you are right and they will continue to stay by your side," Lucius said.  
"I am sure of it. Sure, Ron will flip if he ever finds out about us, but so will everybody else. Sirius will probably try to castrate you."  
"I have no doubt about that. He was always like that: rash and prone to violence."  
"Were you in the same year as Sirius?" Harry asked. His godfather had only mentioned Snape, but Lucius was around the same age, so it would be logical that they knew each other.  
"I am two years older than your godfather, the wolf and your late parents, so I didn't see them very often, but I did know them a bit."  
"You are older than Sirius and my parents?" Harry asked astonished.  
Lucius smirked: "I am. Are you shocked now?"  
Harry chewed on his bottom lip; somehow he had always imagined that his parents, Snape, his godfather, Remus and Lucius had all been in the same year. Never had he thought that Lucius would be older than them, but did it make a difference? Wasn't the only thing that counted the fact that they were soul mates?  
"I don't know. I mean... I think that it really doesn't matter, because everybody will consider you far too old for me with or without these two years and we have stopped aging a few days ago, so I will not have to nurse an old man when I am still in the prime of my life ..." he laughed nervously and received a lopsided smirk from his mate.  
"A Malfoy never needs to be nursed, regardless their age, it would be undignified.  
Harry rolled his eyes: "That is your excuse for everything, but it would not have stopped your body from getting weak and shaky."  
"Of course it would have," Lucius huffed arrogantly, sending shivers down Harry's spine.  
Turning his head, he noticed with a heavy heart that the first pink stripes had appeared on the horizon. Lucius, who had followed his gaze, sat up straighter a bit more and said: "We should go upstairs and go to bed."  
Harry only locked his arms around the man's waist and shook his head, pouting. He was far too comfortable right now and he wanted to find out more about the wonderful man he would spend the rest of his eternal life with: "Don't want to; it's so nice to lay here and talk."  
His mate chuckled: "We have to, Harry. It would be unwise to stay here and burn to ashes in our sleep."  
Harry huffed: "I will come with you if you carry me upstairs."  
"You want me to carry you upstairs? A Malfoy never does physical labour, how often do I have to repeat myself?" Lucius sounded amused and Harry grinned up at him, trying to make his eyes look even bigger as he pleaded: "Please, Lucius. Besides, I am so light, that I can't be considered 'physical labour'. And you are my dominant after all, or do you want to tell me that you are too weak to carry me?"  
Lucius growled and Harry found himself suddenly scooped up into the arms of one Lucius Malfoy. His slight tease had worked better than he had expected.  
"I will not let you believe that you are bonded to a weak dominant," the man growled and started his way out of the living room and up the stairs. "You are a tease," he added, only succeeding in making Harry snicker. His dominant's arrogance was far too funny sometimes, especially when he was teasing his mate. It was odd, how Harry had started to like the one character trait of Lucius that had annoyed him so much before.  
"I know that you aren't weak. I am sure that you are the strongest dominant of all vampires."  
"Of course I am. You have a Malfoy as mate and we are always the best," Lucius huffed, sounding not in the least sarcastic or self-ironic.  
Something stirred in Harry's lower region at his dominants self assurance and he asked, smiling: "I love your arrogance, do you know that?"  
"Really?" now Lucius sounded honestly curious and Harry immediately blushed as he realized that he would have to explain further:  
"Yeah, it's sexy."  
"How so?" Lucius asked, laying him down on their bed.  
"Because it makes you seem confident," Harry explained, his arms falling lazily to the side.  
His mate smirked his most arrogant smirk and drawled: "I already know that, but it is nice to hear it from you."  
"Arrogant prick," Harry muttered with no real malice in his voice, whilst his eyes roamed the body of his gorgeous dominant mate. Sometimes, he wanted to touch those well defined abs, but he reckoned that it would be unfair to touch and caress Lucius' skin when it would surely arouse the man and he was not yet ready to relieve the man of his sexual tension and physical desires.  
"Like what you see?" Lucius asked, his voice dropping to a seductive purr.  
"Yes," Harry breathed, not able to lie to the god of a man, his own body reacting to the sight in front of him.  
Lucius bend down again, licking the shell of his ear and whispered: "You have no idea what you do to me when you watch me so hungrily, with those huge, innocent eyes, letting me know that you desire me as much as I desire you, even if you are not ready for me to take things further yet."  
Harry's heart missed a beat and his pants tightened further when Lucius straightened again, brushing over his young body with his fingertips as he did so. Quickly he went into a heated daze when Lucius ghosted over one of his nipples, so fast to only hint at how arousing it could get. It felt so good to have those strong hands treat him so tenderly and he sighed in utter bliss, closing his eyes to concentrate on the feeling of Lucius' fingers wandering lower, caressing every slight curve they could find on their way downwards.  
His mate's fingers stopped on his waistband, starting to loosen the button there.  
His mind cleared instantly and gulping, he asked with a shaky voice: "What are you doing, Lucius?"  
Was his mate unsatisfied with their very innocent paced relationship than he had thought? Did he want more and hoped that he could seduce Harry into intercourse without forcing him? Nervousness rose inside of him and he tried to scoot away, but Lucius placed his other hand on Harry's stomach to hold him in place, stroking his skin there softly.  
"Shh, Harry, I already promised you I will not do anything you do not want me to do," the aristocrat soothed him. Harry nodded, reminding himself that this was his mate and that he would never harm him and relaxed once more. Why did he still have trust issues as soon as Lucius did something unexpected? Sometimes, he believed that even though he was so young he still should want more as Lucius' submissive and the fact that he didn't, troubled him quite a bit.  
Lucius traced the line just above his waistband distracting him quite thoroughly from his gloomy thoughts, before pushing his trousers down, exposing his half-hard member.  
"So beautiful," his mate purred, bending down and pressing a soft kiss to his right thigh, before stroking his sides chastely and tracing his nose over his heated skin.  
Harry's penis was fully erect now, showing a readiness his mind did not feel, but Lucius held his promise and did not come any closer to his private parts. How his mate knew what he was ready for and what not, Harry didn't know; but it really didn't matter, as long as Lucius knew these things. Harry watched Lucius through half lidded eyes as he pulled his pants completely off, before the man laid them neatly to the side and came back to Harry. He then proceeded to give his stomach another chaste kiss, nibbling at the sensitive skin there and eliciting quite gasps from Harry's mouth. Lucius was worshiping his body, covering it with a thousand little kisses, licks and strokes. Harry relaxed into the caressing touch, enjoying the attention he received. No one had ever made him feel so good and cared for. He wanted to think 'loved', but that thought still scared him a bit, it would sound so 'huge'. All too soon the mouth retreated and Harry gave a protesting noise.  
"I know Harry, but the sun is rising and we still have to get into bed," Lucius whispered.  
Sighing, Harry sat up, pulling his shirt over his head and grabbing his nightshirt, whilst watching his mate undress. How had he captured this man? It was a mystery to him. Sure, fate had much to do with it, but why did fate think 'him' of all people worthy to be the mate of Lucius Malfoy, the persona of perfection?  
He scooted over and made space for the aristocrat, who pulled him against his body as soon as he had lain down. Harry turned on his side so that he was facing his mate, and as it had become his habit, curled up under the blanket in the space between his mates chin and knees.  
"Sleep well," Lucius whispered and pressed a kiss to his thick locks.  
"You too Lucius," he answered and pressed his own lips against the chest in front of him.  
When the sun finally rose, Harry's eyes closed, welcoming the deep vampire sleep, only that this time, his sleep was not as deep and dreamless as the nights before:  
It was, as if someone had dropped him right in the middle of a horror movie:  
"Where are they?" Voldemort hissed angrily, his voice shaking with barely restrained emotions. In front of the cruel man already laid a pile of dead bodies, tortured until their hearts had given in. The scent of blood and fear in the room was sickening; Harry could not even appreciate it as a vampire. The snake man's fury echoed through his own body, making his muscles ache and his scar throb painfully. He had so desperately hoped that these dreams had gone after his mating; after all, he had had some peaceful nights in a row, something that hadn't occurred for over a year.  
A man with the mask and the robes of a Death Eater crawled forward, his head and back bowed, his voice as shaky as the rest of him: "There is still no sign of Lucius or the Potter boy."  
Voldemort's fury rose even further, making Harry gasp.  
"I will kill that traitor! How dare he! Crucio!" shouted Voldemort, pointing his bone-like wand at the man who had spoken.  
The man fell to the ground, twitching and writhing in agony, his mouth opened in a scream. But Harry could not say if any sound came from the man's mouth, because by now he was screaming alongside with him, feeling every ounce of pain the curse inflicted on Voldemort's victim.  
When Voldemort lifted his wand and broke the curse, Harry didn't know how he had remained standing, the knowledge that this was only a nightmare disappearing in his pain addled mind.  
"McNair," Voldemort turned to another black figure to Harry's right. "Could some of you useless scum find out something from Dumbledore?"  
"No, my Lord. The old fool doesn't know the whereabouts of Potter either. He is searching frantically, but to no avail, that is at least what Severus had told me this morning," McNair answered, his voice void of all emotions.  
"You useless idiots! It cannot be so difficult to find a boy, a traitor and a snake!" Voldemort shouted and in that moment Harry knew that the man had snapped. He didn't even need the sour smell in the air to realize it, as he watched in horror as the dark wizard waved his wand in a circular motion above his head before shouting 'Crucio!' once more and the last thing he knew before his vision darkened and his body was consumed by an all consuming pain, was that it was a thousand times worse than anything he had felt before, even at the graveyard, as every Death Eater collapsed under the onslaught of the torturing curse.  
Harry didn't know if he was lying or standing anymore, he could not even remember his own name. Every cell, every nerve-ending was burned by the multiplied pain of experiencing the anguish of a whole room of tortured wizards.  
He could feel his sanity slipping away from him and just as he was sure that he would lose his mind from the agony a second awareness entered him; strong, protective and soothing. The awareness only brushed his consciousness quickly, before starting to erect powerful shields inside Harry's mind. They shimmered in a dull silver colour, but Harry instantly knew and felt that they were bright on the outside, reflecting the magic that was hurting him, protecting him with a fierce power he had never felt before. The pain subsided to a dull throbbing and now his body was mostly throbbing with the feeling of being protected by this fierce spirit; cold and sharp like a blade made from ice, but only towards Voldemort's onslaught.  
Finally the presence focused on him.  
"Harry, are you alright?"  
Harry knew that voice, it was familiar and calming, but he could not put a name to it, everything still hurt too much for him to be able to concentrate.  
"I...think so," he croaked out.  
"Good," relief and another, 'warm' feeling, like the rays of the early spring sun flooded his mind and he could feel the care of the second awareness with every fibre of his being.  
"Then try to wake up, we have to heal you," the voice said.  
Harry hesitated; he really wanted to go back, but he felt so weak and as if he was caged in his own mind: "I can't. Everything hurts." He felt a single tear rolling down his cheek, even though he still couldn't really connect to his body, it was more of a feeling than a real sensation.  
"You can, Harry. And I will heal your pains," the voice replied.  
The voice didn't understand him. He wanted to leave, but he was locked-in.  
"No, I literally can't. It feels as if I am locked inside my mind," Harry sniffed, getting desperate.  
A rush of panic washed over him, but it was quickly gone; replaced by a fierce determination, as fierce as the wish to protect him before and when the voice spoke next, it sounded commanding and demanded instant obedience:  
"You can Harry and you will. Wake up!"  
Harry blinked, only to realize that he couldn't blink because someone was forcing his eyes open. His vision blurred even more for a moment, before finally focusing.  
Lucius was bent over him, his face twisted in worry, and it was him who held his eyes open. He forced his eyes to meet the silver ones of his mate, even though his head and eyes hurt and they didn't want to concentrate on anything. As soon as their eyes locked, relief washed over Lucius' beautiful features and his mate sat back, letting go of Harry's eyelids and finally giving him back the ability to blink, which he did a few times, because his eyes felt very dry and raw.  
"Harry," Lucius breathed. "How are you feeling?"  
Harry shifted and immediately all his muscles protested. "Like shit," he said truthfully. He closed his eyes again, hoping that the pain in his head would lessen a bit, but it made no difference and so he opened them again.  
A movement to the side drew his attention to another figure who was standing there, but his eyes had not recovered yet and he could not identify who it was.  
"Severus, give me the pain potions," Lucius ordered and the black figure moved closer.  
'So it is Snape', Harry thought.  
His mate scooted closer and held a vial to his lips. For the first time in his life, he drank a potion without any complaining, even downing a second bottle.  
His mind started to cloud over a bit, but the pain subsided rapidly and his vision nearly went back to normal. Looking around to orient himself, he saw that light was shining through the gap between the door and the floor; it was daytime, he should have been asleep.  
"What happened?" he asked feeling irritated, stretching an arm out for Lucius, who immediately pulled him into his lap, cradling him and stroking the back of his neck.  
"You had a vision," Snape answered, and Lucius added:  
"I had to enter your mind with the help of Legilimency and build up Occlumency Shields to save your mind."  
Harry blinked in confusion, he had never heard these words before, were they spells?  
"Occlumency and Legilimency are mind magic's, they are very complicated and only a few wizards are able to perform these arts," Snape elaborated.  
"So you really were in my mind? That was not a dream?" Harry asked baffled, not sure how he should feel about the intrusion, even when it had only been his mate.  
"I was, otherwise, we would have had to take you to St. Mungo's right now. Normally I would never invade your mind in that manner, but it was necessary," his mate affirmed, his voice sounding strained.  
The memory of what he had seen returned to his mind and he nodded, before asking another question:  
"What is a vision?"  
"A vision is something you see in a trance or a dream, but it is actually happening or it will in the future, not mere memories," Snape explained.  
"Did it feel real?" Lucius asked and after a moment of contemplation, Harry nodded again, his dream had really made the impression that he was witnessing something that was currently happening miles and miles away from him. His muscles, which were still very sore, even though the potion had taken away a huge portion of the pain, where indicator enough that he had in fact witnessed Voldemort torturing his followers through a vision.  
"Is it normal to feel so much pain during a vision?"  
His mate and potions master exchanged a look, before Lucius inquired: "What happened during your vision?"  
Harry didn't want to remember it so clearly and thinking was quite trying right now; the potions had turned his brain into a pile of mush, but he tried his best to remember every detail:  
"Voldemort had called his followers as he wanted to know if they had found us yet. He was quite mad as they told him that no one had a clue, where you, I and Nagini are..." he broke off for a moment, laying his head against Lucius' chest.  
"What happened then?" Lucius prodded softly.  
"Voldemort did a strange circular movement with his wand and when he spoke the Cruciatus Curse every Death Eater in the room was affected."  
"Did you feel the pain of the curse?" Snape asked, frowning.  
"I think I felt the pain of every one of them, because a few minutes earlier he had already cast the curse once and it didn't feel as bad then."  
Snape paled and Harry could feel Lucius stiffen.  
"What is wrong?" Harry asked, getting even more nervous.  
"Even during a vision, you should not feel their pain," Snape explained.  
"It is likely due to your connection to Voldemort," Lucius added. "I could feel it, when I was in your mind. Voldemort's magic was flooding into you. Was this the first time you experienced something like this?  
Shaking his head, Harry thought about his dream just before his fourth school year, when he had dreamed about the muggle who had been killed by Voldemort.  
"We will have to teach you Occlumency. It could become quite dangerous for you, if you continue to experience Voldemort's magic like this. He could even send you false memories to lure you out," Snape announced and leaned against the next wall.  
Harry paled as a suffocating feeling spread inside his chest: "Does that mean that something like this could occur again at any time?"  
"No, right now I am still blocking your mind, but it would be better for you to learn mind magic, in case something happened to me," Lucius explained.  
"What could happen to you? You are a vampire and you are a dominant," Harry asked; the stress of the vision finally catching up with him and his body started to shake.  
"Shh, Harry. Everything will be fine," Lucius pressed a kiss on his neck, before saying: "It is just a safety measure."  
"Ok..." Harry stammered, trying to believe his mate, but the fear that had gripped his heart at the mention of Lucius getting harmed in some way did not leave him completely and the cold feeling around his heart, which he had felt earlier when Draco had been mentioned, returned full force. Unfortunately, he knew all too well what the dark wizard was able to do.  
"We will talk about it tomorrow, I will leave you alone for now," Snape announced suddenly and left the room.  
Turning on his side, Harry snuggled closer to Lucius; he felt so weak right now and his dominant's presence was comforting. Thinking about the vision, he realized that Lucius had saved his sanity. His mind had been about to slip away as Lucius had forced his way in and built up the shields. His body started to shake and tears ran down his cheek.  
"Thank you, Lucius," he sniffed, his voice croaked.  
"Hush, Harry, I did nothing any other dominant would not do for his submissive as well. In fact, it was quite selfish of me to save you, because, what would I do without my little submissive?"  
Harry chuckled, the sound interrupted by more sobs.  
"I...I didn't even recognize you at first...when you entered my mind, I mean," he mumbled shyly.  
"That is fine. Your mind was under quite the onslaught. I only caught glimpses of your pain, but it was enough to gain you my respect. Any lesser wizard would have gone insane within minutes. You were strong and brave."  
"I was not, without you, I would have gone insane," Harry sniffed.  
"Yes, but any other wizard would have long before you, they would not have survived until I was there, no one can bear such pains over an extended period of time," Lucius tightened his arm around his still trembling body.  
Harry nodded, feeling very exhausted, but wide awake at the same time, adrenalin alone keeping him awake.  
"Do you think you can go back to sleep?" the aristocrat asked.  
"I don't know," Harry said honestly. The things he had seen and felt were still fresh in his mind and he was afraid to close his eyes again.  
"Try to get back to sleep; your body needs the rest. I will stay awake and watch over you," Lucius whispered and drew their shared blanket over their body.  
"You will stay awake for me?" Harry asked, thinking that his mate was even greater, than he had already known.  
"Of course I will, if it makes you feel safer?"  
Harry nodded and closed his eyes. Lucius shifted and pulled his small body on top of his own. Harry placed his ear over his mate's heart, his body relaxed at the soothing sound and without even noticing it; he fell into an exhausted slumber.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

When Harry awoke two hours after sunset, he felt sore all over. The pain potions had worn off and his muscles were screaming in pain, even though it was not as bad as directly after his visions, thanks to his enhanced healing abilities.  
He groaned and lifted his head, his eyes searching for the silver ones of his mate, who smiled softly at him as soon as their eyes connected.  
"You really stayed awake," Harry commented, awe in his voice.  
"Of course I did. I had promised you after all and a Malfoy never breaks their promise or did you doubt me?"  
Harry shook his head quickly, cursing a moment later when pain shot up his neck and into his skull.  
Lucius face darkened: "Does it still hurt that much?"  
Harry nodded. "It is a bit better, but still far from good," he admitted quietly.  
"I will ask Severus for another potion, you cannot get liver damage after all, so it should not be a problem."  
Harry whimpered when the man tried to stand up and clutched his arms tighter around his body. His submissive side had suddenly awoken and the thought of being left alone, even for only a single minute was distressing for some reason.  
"Harry, I will be right back," Lucius promised and smoothed over his hair.  
"Don't go, I don't need another potion. Just...don't go," he whined.  
"Harry, I will not see you in this much pain if I can easily do something about it," Lucius said sternly and unclenched his fingers, before standing up.  
"I will hurry," he said with a last touch to his hair, before disappearing.  
As soon as Lucius was away, Harry felt panic rise inside him. What if something happened right now? He was weak and would not be able to defend himself; he needed his mate to protect him.  
His keen ears tried to pick up any sounds, but it was quiet outside. Still, Voldemort and his followers were searching for him and he was in no state to do anything if they would arrive now and in his fear filled mind, he forgot that they could not find his house now or ever.  
Standing up on shaking legs, he looked around in the dark room, trying to push his panic away so that he would be able to concentrate. He needed a hiding place. His eyes fell on the large cupboard next to the door and he stumbled over, opening one door and crawling inside, before closing it again.  
He sat there in the small space, between towels and sheets, trying not to make any noise. He needed to survive until Lucius was back.  
The position he was sitting in strained his sore muscles even further and they started to throb under the exertion, but he didn't move. Lucius would be back soon and then everything would be fine again. His dominant would take him into his arms and hold him safe and hopefully stroke his neck with his long claws.  
Harry couldn't say how long he had been sitting like that, when footsteps sounded, followed by his mate's panicked voice:  
"Harry?"  
Pushing against the door, he rolled out of the small space, blinking up at his mate, relief and joy flooding his mind for a second.  
"Lucius, you're back," he breathed, his lips trembling.  
His mate's eyes were wide as they stared back at him. Harry tried to get up, but his muscles refused and so he just lifted his arms in a silent request. Lucius understood immediately and picked him up, still looking a mixture of confused and panicked.  
"Why did you hide in the cupboard?" he asked as he laid Harry back onto the bed and sat down next to him.  
"Anybody could have found me as long as I was lying unprotected on the bed and I can't defend myself right now," Harry explained in a small voice, burying his face into Lucius lap.  
"Why didn't you tell me that you fear was so great?" Lucius demanded to know, his voice sounded stern and he glared down on Harry, who whimpered in distress. Had he done something wrong by hiding?  
"I tried," he mumbled, his voice faint.  
Lucius sighed and combed his fingers through his long silver-blond hair, a gesture he never did and which told Harry how much he had scared his mate with his behaviour.  
"I...I am sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized in a small voice and he had to put all his willpower into it to keep it from breaking completely; the last thing he wanted was to worry Lucius even more.  
His mates head snapped up and his silver- red eyes pierced his very soul: "You do not need to apologize, Harry." He sighed and started to caress Harry's neck. "I should have known that leaving you so soon after your vision would not be a good idea. It is my fault not yours."  
Harry shook his head in disagreement, now after Lucius' return he could see how ridiculous his fears had been. His house was protected by strong blood wards, Voldemort couldn't find him here and the muggles sleeping soundly in their beds were surely no threat either.  
"It wasn't your fault, you just wanted to help me and get me a potion. I overreacted," he said, turning on his side to give his mate better access to his neck.  
"No, Harry. I should have known better, you tried to tell me, but I disregarded your feelings. No dominant should act that way. By believing to know better than you yourself what would be best for you, I scared you. I was too arrogant."  
Harry's jaw dropped open. Had Lucius Malfoy just confessed that he had been too arrogant? The world was surely coming to an end.  
His mate scowled down at him: "Even I can admit when I have gone too far. Now sit up and take another potion."  
Nodding, he tried to obey his mates order, but found himself too weak after his stupid excursion into the closet.  
"Let me help you," Lucius mumbled and moved one of his hands to the small of Harry's back, pushing him carefully up, before giving him the potion vial.  
Harry uncorked it and gave it a cautious sniff. "Does it taste as nasty as it smells?"  
"You drank two of them last night. Shouldn't you be able to tell yourself?" Lucius asked, one eyebrow raised.  
"I don't remember," Harry admitted and started to fumble with his blanket. "It's only that the pain was so horrible..."  
"It is fine Harry, do not worry; nobody will hold it against you that you cannot remember many other things besides the pain. And yes, it tastes as bad as it smells, but the potion is the best cure against the damage of a Cruciatus. It is not only a pain reliever, but a healing draught as well. Severus created it himself," Lucius explained softly.  
Harry wrinkled his nose, but said: "Then it has to be a good potion. I don't particular like the man, but he is a genius." He cringed as he downed the thick liquid and shuddered, but the pain instantly subsided again.  
"So, what do you want to do today?" he asked, looking up at Lucius.  
"'You' will do nothing but rest and 'I' will keep 'you' company," Lucius said sternly.  
Harry wanted to protest, but one look at Lucius' face made him stop even before he had opened his mouth and truth to be told, he quite liked the idea of being taken care of by his mate. So instead of protesting he asked: "Can we go downstairs and watch a movie?"  
"You mean one of those ridiculous things you watch on that black box?" Lucius sounded anything but thrilled.  
"Yes," he confirmed and glanced upwards with his best puppy-eyes-look. He saw the moment when Lucius gave in. His eyes softened even further and he gave a short nod: "But only if you let me carry you downstairs."  
"Thanks, you are the best," Harry smiled, wrapping his arms around his mate's neck eagerly.  
Lucius only scoffed: "I know."  
Harry was then picked up and he enjoyed seeing his mate's strength in action. Every time Lucius lifted him up or carried him, it seemed as if he weighed nothing, but he knew that was only the case because Lucius was so extraordinarily strong. His vampire instincts were really primal in that matter; nothing aroused him as much as the knowledge of Lucius' strength. Not right now of course, but normally.  
They passed the kitchen where Snape sat with a mug of coffee and the Daily Prophet, so engrossed in the paper that he didn't even notice them. The living room was dark, but Lucius didn't turn the lights on because they really didn't need them anymore. Harry was then lowered onto the couch and Lucius asked: "Shall I fetch one of those small discs or just turn on this horrid device?"  
Harry thought about it for a moment. Dudley had many movies he had always wanted to watch and at that hour he would only stumble across another Porno on the regular TV-program. So a DVD it would be, but which one? Picturing his cousins DVD-shelf in front of his inner eye he smiled:  
"Can you fetch Sherlock: Season 1?"  
"Sherlock?" Lucius repeated dryly, his voice telling Harry all he thought about the strange name.  
"Yes, Sherlock. He is a detective and I am sure you will like him. He is an arrogant bastard, just like you," he smirked, earning a glare for his snide comment.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius stepped into the bedroom of Harry's late cousin, eyeing the mess that surrounded him with distaste. What was the name of the movie he should find again? Peacock or something ridiculously similar...  
Shoving some dirty shirts with the tips of his boots to the side, he read the titles on the boxes, but was sure that the one he had to get was not among them, however its name was. Turning to the shelf unit, he searched for the rest of the movie boxes, sighing when he realized just 'how' much the fat blob of a cousin had possessed. No wonder that the boy had been so overweight, when he had never done anything else than sitting on the sofa, watching movies and eating probably. Lucius would even go so far and guess that the muggle had even skipped school from time to time in favour for his films; he surely had looked stupid enough to do something like that.  
How Harry could have turned out so well with that upbringing was more than a small miracle, maybe his parent's genes were not as bad as he had assumed. Well, his father had been a respected Pureblood after all; even so he had never understood the man's Gryffindor sentimentalities.  
His eyes focused back to the task at hand and he quickly scanned the row of boxes, until he finally found the right one. Sherlock it had been.  
He took it and left the room without another backward glance, glad that his mate was not as messy as his cousin had been.  
When he came back into the living room, his little mate had made himself comfortable on the couch, with a blanket over his legs and his head propped up onto a pillow.  
Harry still looked sickly pale and the endearing shadows beneath his eyes and on his cheeks were much too dark, making his worry rise once more. It had been fortunate that Harry had gone through the vision as a vampire, because the boy surely would not have survived it otherwise. The cell and nerve damage of a single Cruciatus Curse was bad, but he had experienced the pain of at least ten added curses, and that only was the case if the Inner Circle had been present yesterday.  
Going over to the black device, he asked: "What do I have to do to start your movie?"  
Harry leaned forwards and grabbed something that was called a 'remote' and pressed a button. A small drawer opened on a second device, that stood next to the black box and his mate explained: "Just put the DVD in."  
He did as told and the drawer closed again.  
"Will you sit with me?" Harry asked, one arm outstretched, his lips pouting slightly.  
His little mate was so cute and not even aware of it, but for once the endearing expression didn't make him want to press Harry up against the next surface and rip the clothing from his body. No, right now he only wanted to make sure that Harry got as much rest as he needed.  
Harry propped himself up as he reached the sofa, only to lay his head in his lap as Lucius sat down.  
The movie started, but his mind was still occupied with the horror of the previous day and his worry of Harry.  
Lucius had never thought it possible that anything could wake him from his unnatural deep vampire sleep, but as soon as the first scream was ripped from Harry's throat, he had been wide awake. His first thought had been that the Dark Lord had found them after all and was torturing his mate, but one glance at his side had been enough to realize that this was not the case and that Harry was plagued by nightmares once more. It had been the first nightmare since their turning; he had even started to hope that those dreams which tortured his little mate, had disappeared with his humanity, but no such luck.  
He had pulled his mate onto his lap and tried to soothe him by stroking his hair, but when the second, even more pain filled scream, erupted he had known that this wasn't a normal nightmare and that Harry was in great danger.  
Trying to wake Harry up had quickly turned out to be hopeless, his mate had been too far gone, so he had needed another approach: Legilimency. It had not been easy to force his way into his sleeping mates mind, because the boy had been thrashing wildly and he needed eye contact for the mind magic.  
Once inside Harry's mind, Lucius had to react quickly. He did not know if the Dark Lord was conscious of his mental link to Harry, and thus he could not say if he felt the boy's presence and would therefore feel his present in Harry's mind, but he could not take the chance. If the Dark Lord found out that he had protected Harry's mind, he did not even need to try to return to the wizard's side as a spy in the future. So he had hurried. Only later did he realize that it had been important to not take his time for another reason as well: Harry would not have been able to fight the onslaught of pain any longer and keep his mind sane.  
It had been quite the shock to realize that the Dark Lord's emotions and magic could flow so easily into his mate's mind and body.  
Another shock had been, as Harry told him, that he was not able to wake up. For a short moment he had panicked, but then his vampire instinct had taken over and the dominant inside him had just ordered his mate to wake up, which Harry had done, to his utter surprise and relief. That the order of a dominant could have so much power over his submissive, he would never have guessed.  
The third shock had come that morning when he returned from Severus with another pain potion for Harry and his little mate had been gone. He felt still guilty at the thought of not having recognized how afraid Harry really had been at the thought of being left alone. He should have foreseen his submissive's reaction; it was logical after what the boy had gone through last night, even he would have been distressed and he was not even a submissive who needed much more comfort than a dominant.  
Rubbing his eyes, he pushed the topic to the side; it would not help anybody if he drowned in guilt now.  
Severus and himself would teach Harry Occlumency; they had already discussed it, but first Harry needed to regain his strength and they still needed to deal with the old coot and his order, so it would probably have to wait until the new school year had begun, but they would find a way. Harry's mental link to the Dark Lord was too much of a danger and a weakness to be left open. Sure, he could continue to protect Harry's mind, but someone only needed to knock him out with a strong curse and Harry's would be unprotected once more.  
Harry shifted and gave a protesting sound and as he looked down he became aware, that he had stopped to caress his mate's neck. Chuckling, he resumed his task. His little mate really liked being caressed, he always reminded him of a kitten, the way he relaxed and sometimes even started to purr. He liked to caress Harry as well. Harry's skin was so unbelievably soft and warm, and if it had been possible, his hands would never leave his mate's skin.  
He finally focused on the movie and tried to relax as well, he was still far too tense.  
After half an hour of watching the movie, Lucius had to admit that he felt something like respect for the muggle in the film. The man was intelligent and held himself like a true Pureblood would. Maybe a wizard had actually invented the character? That seemed to be the most logical explanation.  
Looking down at his mate, he noticed that Harry had drifted off and he doubted that Harry would wake before they would have to go to bed again. As a dominant, he could smell the exhaustion radiating from his little submissive; like he could smell many other things going on inside Harry as well, but normally it was embarrassment, shyness, or even arousal he picked up on this way and not his body desperately working to heal all the inflicted damage.  
Lucius keen nose was honestly a blessing. It helped him to treat is vulnerable mate correctly; otherwise, he would have no idea when he went too far with the exploration of the ravens body, or when his kisses became too fierce. Maybe, if Harry had been older already, there would not be such a need to be careful, but despite their slowly growing relationship, he would never trade Harry for someone else, regardless of how experienced the other person would be. Harry was his destined mate and he loved the boy more than anything else.  
His hand, or more precisely his claws, were still caressing Harry's neck, just carefully this time. Normally, he liked to put a bit more force behind his gesture when he did this, he knew that Harry loved it when his claws pierced his skin, but the boy was in enough pain, regardless of how much he relished in it normally. There was probably a difference between him inflicting the pain or someone else. Only with Lucius would it have a sexual connotation.  
He would like to explore this aspect of their relationship further; he had always enjoyed inflicting a little pain on his lovers, especially when they liked it as much as he did. Sadly, he always had to hold himself back in the past, but with a vampire mate, he hoped that he could one day finally pound as hard as he wished into a body and mark it freely with his teeth and nails to his heart's content.  
Lucius had never admitted it to anybody, not even to himself, how much he liked these kind of games; as a Malfoy he had been brought up with a strict set of rules and one of those rules was to never harm a lover seriously, but with Harry and their changed bodies and likings, he would probably not need to consider it often anymore.  
Another matter he had never admitted before was his liking for young flesh. He had always liked his lovers younger than himself, but not once had he considered someone as young as Harry. It would not have been appropriate anyway. Maybe his change and the fact that Harry was his blood mate had enhanced this 'weakness' of his.  
Sure, he could have well built and muscled lovers around every corner, but nothing would ever arouse him as much as Harry's smooth body, his small pink nipples and his still undeveloped cock.  
But it was not only the boy's body that drove him crazy:  
Harry's big green eyes, his cute little tongue, that always darted out to moisten his lips when he was nervous had him throbbing on a regular basis.  
Even more so did Harry's clear innocence, he portrayed with every look he gave Lucius and with every movement he made. The fact that his mate would always contain this innocence, regardless of how much experience he would get over the years, turned him on even more. That was the peculiar thing about being a vampire: Due to their dead condition, many developments have been stopped and they would never start again. That didn't mean that Harry would forget all their future sexual encounters, only that he would never become a devious lover, his mind would always stay in this innocent state in some way.  
Only thinking about all these things had made him rock hard again. Sighing, he tried to calm himself.  
Steps alerted him about Severus' approach and as he looked up he saw his friend coming in.  
"Is he asleep?" the man asked.  
"Yes, he was only awake for about half an hour. His body is working on its healing, I can smell it," he answered.  
Severus nodded: "The boy has had more luck than he realized."  
"I know and it worries me that the Dark Lord has so much power over him," Lucius sighed.  
"You know, that I am better Occlumency and therefore a better teacher?" Severus asked; addressing a topic they both knew would be a sore point between them.  
Lucius growled lowly. He knew that his friend was right: Severus had always excelled at Occlumency, whilst he had been better at Legilimency, but the thought of allowing someone else entrance to his submissive's minds and his secrets, was... 'infuriating' to say the least.  
"I do not know if my dominant side will allow you teach him," he said after a while.  
"I assumed as much and have therefore come up with an alternative plan that will hopefully soothe your dominant side," Severus sneered.  
Lucius was unimpressed; he knew the moods of the Potions Master after so many years and had already known that it would not be easy for the man to watch him lusting after and caring for Harry Potter.  
"I have found a spell that will establish a temporary link between you and Potter, without you using Legilimency; it would only irritate and overwhelm the boy if both of us forced our way into his mind. You will be able to see everything that I see and to supervise what I am doing."  
Lucius pondered the idea for a moment; it sounded good and would hopefully be enough to soothe his protectiveness.  
"We can try it," he agreed after a moment.  
"Good," Severus said smoothly.  
Lucius shifted so that he sat with his legs outstretched on the sofa, before pulling Harry onto his body.  
"It is quite disturbing to see you like this," Severus drawled.  
"I can imagine as much," Lucius chuckled amusedly, Severus had always been kind of a prude.  
"How is your relationship going?"  
"Good," he answered, knowing that it wasn't the answer Severus was waiting for.  
The Potions Master sighed: "You know what I mean. But you want me to say it out loud, don't you?"  
Lucius only smirked.  
"You are a sadist," Severus grumbled but then asked: "How far have you two gone already?"  
"Why are you torturing yourself by asking, Severus?" he asked with a lifted eyebrow.  
"I already told you, I feel at least some obligations towards the boy. I am still one of his professors and as such it is my duty to watch over his wellbeing, as disgusted as I am with the idea."  
Lucius sighed, why could his friend not admit his true reasons for his interest in his submissive? Maybe it was time to force Severus to be honest or at least to try to do so; the man could be even more stubborn than himself and that was saying a lot. Especially a lot of trouble in most cases.  
"Admit it," he said. "You're starting to see how similar Harry is to your late friend. Thanks to you, I knew Lily more than I would have liked at the time and far better than James Potter, and so I can tell how prominent she is in my mates character. Aside from his looks, he doesn't have much in common with his father." Severus glared threateningly at him, but he went on: "And now you are asking yourself, if you have treated him too harshly all those years and if you could have become a father figure to him, even though you never got Lily in the end and had not the fortune to be her sons sire."  
Severus jumped up and Lucius knew that he had overstepped his boundaries:  
"You know nothing Lucius, so don't talk like you do, or you will experience how a Halfblood has succeeded in becoming the Dark Lords left-hand man!" The man turned on the spot and left in a rush of billowing black robes.  
Sighing, Lucius turned back to the movie; he had obviously made a huge mistake, hopefully Severus would have calmed down by tomorrow.  
He watched the whole first season of Sherlock and as predicted, Harry didn't wake up for the rest of the night, but he was happy with just sitting there, his submissive on his chest and tracing patterns over his back and neck.  
When the sun started to rise, he picked up his submissive and carried him to their bedroom. Laying the small boy down, he quickly stripped to his underpants before climbing into bed next to Harry.  
When he had drawn Harry to his body, he nuzzled his mate's skin and sniffed carefully, to see how much he had healed by now. What he smelled calmed him instantly. Harry smelled much more healed in comparison to earlier and by tomorrow, he would hopefully be nearly completely healed.

 **Please Review!**


	6. Chapter 06: Working Together

**Chapter 6: Working together**

 **HP**

Harry had opened his eyes and blinked in irritation. The last thing he could remember was lying next to Lucius on the sofa watching Sherlock. So how had he gotten into bed?  
"Good morning, Harry. How are you feeling?"  
He turned around and found Lucius lying next to him, his eyes still closed. Stretching carefully, he noticed that the ache in his muscles had been reduced to a feeling that was similar to his soreness after a particular hard Quidditch training session.  
Smiling, he answered: "I feel much better, but how did I get upstairs?"  
Lucius huffed: "I carried you, of course."  
Harry blinked in confusion: "How long was I asleep?"  
"Nearly 24 hours, you fell asleep after half an hour of watching the movie," Lucius answered softly.  
"I slept that long? Why didn't you wake me?" Harry asked in shock.  
"Because," his dominant drawled lazily "You needed the rest to heal and I find watching you sleep rather calming and enjoyable."  
"Wasn't it boring to sit on the sofa the whole time?" Harry asked sceptically, he really didn't like the thought of boring his mate.  
"You never could bore me," Lucius replied softly and turned around to give him a soft kiss. Harry mewled appreciatively and wrapped his arms around his mate's neck, trying to deepen the kiss, but Lucius would not let him. A bit irritated, he drew away to look the aristocrat in the eyes, who just chuckled:  
"Harry, you are still not fully healed and I will not partake in any action that could affect your recovery."  
Pouting, Harry made his best puppy-eyes look that had always worked until now; he really wanted to kiss a bit more, it always made him feel good, but this time Lucius merely shook his head.  
"No," his mate said sternly, forbidding any further argument with that one word.  
Feeling a bit offended, he sat up and asked: "Are there any plans for today?"  
"Yes, there are," Lucius smirked, obviously recognizing his annoyance but not acknowledging it.  
"And what will we do?" he asked, hoping that maybe they could go outside for a walk with Nagini.  
"The same as yesterday," Lucius chuckled.  
Harry huffed. He really didn't think it necessary. He felt far better than the night before and the sound of spending another night on the sofa sounded boring.  
"Do we have to? It sounds boring," he complained, knowing that he sounded like a small, whiny child but not caring at the moment.  
"Yes, we will lie on the sofa, watch some more movies and if you behave well, we might play a game of chess or two," Lucius commanded and stood up to pull his trousers and shirt on.  
"Can't we at least go for a walk? Nagini has to eat," he tried, knowing that it wouldn't be successful.  
"Nagini ate three sheep only a couple of days ago, she will be fine for at least another week," Lucius retorted.  
Glaring, Harry stood up as well, picking up his pants.  
"Do not bother, you will lie down anyway," his mate commanded and Harry dropped his pants in annoyance, snapping: "But I will not be carried downstairs again!" He didn't wait for an answer and stomped down the stairs in his long sleeping shirt.  
Light floated out of the kitchen and into the hallway as he came down. Snape sat behind the Daily Prophet, expression gloomier than ever.  
"Has something happened?" he asked as he made his way to the refrigerator, maybe he could at least make some breakfast for the man...if he was lucky.  
"I told him some uncomfortable truths last night," Lucius drawled as he sat down at the small kitchen table adding: "What are you doing, Harry?"  
Ignoring his dominant's question for now, he went over to the stove and asked: "What kind of truths?"  
"That I will not tell you, it is not my story," Lucius explained and then repeated his earlier question, but Harry's stubborn streak had sprung to life and he ignored him once more, pulling a bowl from the shelf to prepare pancakes.  
"Harry, what are you doing? Didn't I tell you that you would rest today?" Lucius' voice had gained a growling undertone, but it had little effect on Harry; in comparison to other submissives, vampire submissives were not very obedient when they truly didn't want to be, so he only turned and glared at Lucius. Harry knew instinctively that Lucius could use 'compulsion' on him, to literally force him to oblige, but he also knew that Lucius' instincts would warn him not to do so, because compulsion would make him into a mindless puppet for a short moment, but not stop the huge argument and the breach of trust that would most likely cause. The dominant's compulsion was only meant to save the submissive from an otherwise dangerous situation and thus Lucius would not dare to use it on him.  
The loud growl that vibrated through the small room told Harry that he been right with his assumptions. He gave another smirk and turned back around.  
"If you at least let me do this, I will lie down afterwards like the good little submissive I am," he promised sweetly.  
Snape made a choking sound then that sounded like suppressed laughter, and Harry was proud of himself; he had stood his ground against his overprotective dominant and made his stiff Potions Master laugh.  
He started to pour flour into the bowl and added three eggs and milk. Snape, who must have caught on what he was doing after putting his paper to the side asked:  
"Is that for me?"  
"Yes," Harry just answered and started to mix the ingredients.  
"There is no need to go to such extents for me," the Potions Master's voice sounded behind him, a bit strained.  
"It is no problem," Harry answered smoothly."  
"Severus wants to tell you in his polite manner, that he is not hungry," Lucius elaborated.  
"Yeah," Harry just said, he had gathered as much, but he would not stop cooking after his mate had finally given up.  
"Well?" Severus asked in a drawling voice.  
"I don't care, I want to cook and Snape is the only person present who still needs to eat actual food, so I will cook for him."  
Severus groaned, but Harry paid it no mind. He had always loved cooking, even for the Dursley's. They had left him alone in the kitchen and it had always relaxed him and even more importantly: It was the only thing besides lazing about he would be allowed to do today, so Snape would just have to eat. The man could use the added calories anyway, there really was no reason to be so thin unless someone was starving him as Harry had been starved in the past, but he really didn't believe that someone could do that to the grouchy, but powerful wizard. It was more likely, that the man just forgot to eat on a regular basis, when he was once again engrossed in a potion.  
Pouring the dough into a heated pan, he quickly baked a whole pile of pancakes. After he had piled them on a big plate and added syrup, he put the plate in front of his professor, smiling happily down on him.  
Severus only glared at his meal, but to Harry's joy, started eating without any more complains.  
"Well, I will go into the living room then," he announced and wandered off, leaving two stunned wizards behind.  
Sitting down comfortably, he spread the thin sofa-blanket over his legs. It really made no difference for his body temperature, but it was still comforting to snuggle into the soft material. He started the TV and the DVD-player with the remote and started the first episode once more; he had fallen asleep in the midst of it after all.  
Skipping forwards, he searched for the last scene he could remember.  
"You want to watch them again?"  
Harry startled, he had been so distracted, that he had not heard his mate approaching.  
"Yeah, I did not get to watch much yesterday, but the beginning had been really good. Do you want to join me?"  
"Later, I have watched the entire season. I will just ask Severus to join me in a game of chess for now," Lucius answered.  
Harry blinked in surprise; he would never have thought that Lucius could have the patience to watch an entire season of a muggle series. "Really? Did you like it?"  
"It was not as boring as I imagined, neither was it as bad."  
Harry grinned broadly and angled his neck so that he could look into his mate's face.  
"You liked it," he teased.  
"I did not say that," Lucius huffed.  
"Yeah, but it was as good as an admission," Harry smirked.  
Scowling down on him, Lucius sneered: "Surely not. I could never like a muggle movie," and then turned and left Harry to his own devices.  
Snickering, Harry turned back to the TV. His mate came back only ten minutes later, a grumpy potions master in toe.  
"I really have no time for chess, I still need to find a cure for your sunlight problem," Snape complained.  
"You should spend at least an hour with something else other than potions," Lucius retorted and Harry could hear him setting up the chess board.  
"And why, pray tell, should I do something else?"  
"Because," Lucius drawled "I have seen the movie Harry is watching already and I cannot stand another of those stupid novels; and for the last few days I only played against Harry and I need a real challenge for a change."  
"Hey! I heard that!" Harry shouted indignantly. "I am getting better, you said it yourself!"  
"I did and it is true, but you still have much to learn until you will be a serious match for me," Lucius replied and Harry could hear the smirk in his mate's voice.  
Harry assumed that Lucius and Snape had started their game, because the two men fell silent. He ended the first episode and started the second one, but the game still seemed to be in full play, because no one had called 'check' yet. As he had finished the third episode, he finally got curious and made his way over to the two adults, who were frowning equally fiercely, obviously deep in thought.  
Eying the board, he tried to decipher, which man was winning, but the pieces were so mixed that he could not even say who was playing white and who was playing black.  
"Are you black or white?" he asked Lucius curiously, but his mate only silenced him with a muttered: "Hush, Harry, I need to concentrate."  
That at least sounded as if his mate was losing. Hoping that Lucius would not turn out to be a sore loser, he decided to take the chance and sneak into Dudley's room to play some Playstation.  
Silently, he climbed up the stairs, only to jump in surprise as he nearly tripped over Nagini.  
 _"Hello little Master. Do you feel better?"_ his familiar asked.  
 _"Yes, thank you. How did you know that I was ill?"_ he asked, opening the door to his late cousin's room and letting Nagini in first.  
 _"I could smell it. You smelled like my old master's followers after he punished them."_  
 _"Well, I kind of was hit by the same curse,"_ Harry scratched the back of his neck and sat down on the soft bed.  
Nagini seemed to frown; at least as much as a snake could. _"I did not notice any attack and I surely would have, if anyone had intruded on your home,"_ she hissed, sounding as if she was annoyed with herself.  
 _"There was no intruder, I had a vision about Voldemort and because of our mental link, I felt every curse he inflicted on his followers,"_ he explained quickly, he didn't want Nagini to start believing that she was a bad familiar.  
 _"Did your mate help you?"_ she asked.  
 _"He did thankfully, or I would have lost my mind,"_ he said silently.  
Nagini eyed him intensely and then nodded: _"Your mate really is strong."_  
 _"He is,"_ Harry agreed and started the console. _"Do you want stay with me for a bit?"_ he asked and smiled happily when Nagini curled around his body, before laying her heavy head into his lap.  
He was just about to meet his final opponent, when the door flew open and Lucius stomped inside, an unhappy scowl on his face.  
"Did you lose?" He asked, stopping the game.  
"No, it was a tie," Lucius said, looking as if the outcome was just as bad as an actual loss.  
"So, why are you so gloomy then?"  
"Because, I told you to rest, but instead of listening, you have wandered off," Lucius growled.  
"I am resting, the only difference is, that I am resting in another room," Harry then stood up to cuddle his grumpy dominant, who sighed at the contact.  
"I am only worried about you," Lucius admitted softly.  
A pang of guilt pierced Harry's heart and he nuzzled Lucius' chest.  
"I am sorry, I was a lousy submissive today and that after you have taken care of me a whole day and night without even sleeping," he apologized softly.  
"You were, but I forgive you, my stubborn little submissive. I think I should have expected that your famous stubbornness would show up at some point," Lucius chuckled and kissed his head.  
Harry chewed on his bottom lip; it didn't feel right that Lucius would forgive him so easily, he wanted to do something for his mate, so he asked: "Is there something I can do to make it up to you?"  
"Let me carry you downstairs, wrap you in a blanket and place you on my lap," Lucius answered and smiled softly, one hand coming up to stroke over his neck with a sharp claw. Harry shivered in pleasure as he felt his skin being sliced open and a single droplet of blood making its way down his sensitive skin. Lucius scooped the precious liquid up and licked it from his finger, a low groan leaving his throat. Harry wrapped his arm around his mate and waited until Lucius had gained control over his senses again. He was picked up easily, but instead of being carried directly downstairs, Lucius went over to the shelf and retrieved the second season of Sherlock.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

The next day was the twelfth day since their arrival at 4 Privet Drive. Lucius had finally declared Harry fully healed and now he currently sat curled up in Lucius' lap, reading yet another ancient book to try and find a solution to their problem of the Horcruxes.  
Snape was down in his lab, and he was glad to have some time alone with Lucius, even when they just sat together on the couch. Lucius was once again stroking Harry's neck. The skin there already looked very abused. It always sent little tingles down his spine, right to his lower abdomen and cock whenever Lucius pierced his skin there, marking him. Of course it hurt him when his mate drew blood and marked his white skin with another lilac bruise, but as long as his mate inflicted this sensual pain, it felt good. If someone were to ask him, he would probably answer that it hurt just the right amount to make his body tingle and feeling alive, but truth to be told, Harry didn't know if Lucius could hurt him too much; as far as he could tell, the pleasure only grew with the amount of pain inflicted. He could never explain his feelings to any of his friends, because they would be shocked and would never be able to understand; and truth to be told, before his transformation he would not have been able to understand it either.  
The fact that only Lucius was able to leave permanent marks on his body anymore, just as he was the only one able to heal his skin, made the marks that much more precious to him and they never left permanent scars anyway. Every scratch simply disappeared after a couple of days.  
It worked the other way around as well, but Harry, as a submissive had no wish to mark Lucius' skin. He was content to wear the bruises and scratches that marked him as a mated submissive as clearly as his mating mark; it was something to be proud of.  
Something heavy lay down in his lap and he closed his book to see what it was.  
 _"You once said that you would keep me safe from my old master. Do you stay true to your words?"_ Nagini hissed, looking up at him with unblinking eyes.  
Confused, Harry nodded. Of course he would help the snake, who had suffered so much already under Lord Voldemort.  
At the next moment, the reptile struck. She wound her heavy body around Harry's smaller one, pulling him from Lucius' lap and onto the floor. Harry's dead heart was pounding rapidly and sudden fear clouded his mind. He had thought that Nagini had become a friend; was she still loyal to the Dark Lord in the end?  
Through blurry, tear filled eyes he saw that Lucius had sprung to his feet, his wand already in his hand, aiming at Nagini.  
"Stop, Lucius!"  
Harry believed it was Severus who had shouted, but from his place on the ground, he could not see him. He heard him saying: "She is binding herself to your mate, let her be!" before a searing pain erupted from just beneath his collarbones. He screamed in agony when the snake's poison entered his system. It could not harm him, but the poison of a magical snake was still very painful, even for a vampire. Nagini restricted his convulsing body; it was as if liquid fire was burning his organs. His vision went blank and his voice broke under his agonized scream.  
Harry didn't know how long he had laid on the floor, writhing in agony, until the pain subsided and his vision returned. Nagini was still curled tightly around him and he would have suffocated if he had still been alive.  
When the reptile noticed that he was fully conscious again, she let him go hissing: _"Master."_  
Harry sat up, his whole body shaking and nodded once in acceptance of the service Nagini had just promised him. The snake laid her head on his lap and he finally looked up to see Severus barely restraining an aggravated Lucius.  
"I am fine," he croaked out, trying to reassure his furious mate.  
"She has hurt you, it doesn't matter why," Lucius growled through flashing fangs.  
"Please Lucius, she has offered me her services as my familiar, don't hurt her," Harry pleaded, standing up and going over to his mate, who instantly scooped him up into his arms, taking deep breaths of Harry's scent. It really had not been the wisest move of Nagini to bind herself to him in this manner, but maybe there were bonding rituals for a magical snake as there had been for him and Lucius and therefore, he would not accuse her of wanting to hurt him, he honestly doubt that it had been her goal. It was more likely that the pain of Nagini's venom had been an unavoidable side effect.  
Lucius looked as if he was not sure if he should agree or not, so he gave Lucius a chaste kiss on his cheek: "Please?" he put on his best puppy-eyes look, before nuzzling his dominant's neck for good measure.  
"Would it make you happy, if I restrain myself from punishing her?" Lucius hissed.  
"Yes," Harry answered, nuzzling his dominant's neck.  
"Then I will do that, even though she deserves death for the pain she has caused you."  
"Thank you," Harry gave the thick vein on Lucius throat a thankful lick and the man shuddered.  
Lucius carried him over to the sofa and laid him down gently before pulling his shirt over his head, revealing two angry, red marks shaped like the two halves of the yin and yang symbol, lying next to each other, just beneath Harry's collar bones. Harry shivered, when his mates tongue soothed over the irritated skin. Lucius hands started to roam Harry's half naked body, searching for any other spot that might be hurt. Harry flushed, when a thumb brushed his right nipple, sending small shivers directly down into his groin and eliciting a quiet whimper from his mouth, pressing automatically into that wet muscle.  
Snape cleared his throat and Harry bolted up-right, he had forgotten that the man was in the room with them. Lucius only growled under his breath and grabbed Harry, placing him in his lap and crossing his strong arms in front of his body. Sighing contently, Harry snuggled back into his mate's strong chest. Lucius was a good and strong mate, he was glad to be his submissive.  
"What do you want, Severus?" Lucius snapped, not even trying to control his emotions like it would be for a proper Malfoy.  
Snape cleared his throat again, his cheeks flushed, but trying his hardest to not show his embarrassment over seeing his best friend nearly devouring his student:  
"I think I have successfully brewed a potion, that will allow you and Harry to live during the day again," the man announced.  
"Really? So quickly?" Harry beamed, happy that he would be able to enjoy the sun again soon.  
"Of course, you forget that I am the best Potions Master in Britain," Snape huffed.  
"Not only in Britain," Lucius drawled, but Harry ignored his comment in favour of another question:  
"Can we drink it now?" Harry asked eagerly.  
"You should take it before you go to sleep so that your bodies can rest while the potion takes effect. I will give it to you before sunrise and try to wake you two up around noon," Snape announced.  
"Thank you, Severus. It means a lot to us," Lucius inclined his head politely.  
"It is important to us all that you can resume your old lives," Snape retorted, scoffing.  
"Then we can take a break from all the boring research for the rest of the night!" Harry exclaimed, happily bouncing on Lucius' lap.  
"It is not boring, it is necessary," Snape glared at him, but Lucius just asked: "And what do you propose we could do?"  
Harry jumped from his lap and ran up to his late cousin's bedroom, searching for a moment; he came back with a slim box in his hands.  
"Interview with a vampire?" Lucius asked, one elegant eyebrow raised.  
Harry grinned broadly: "Yes, it's good!"  
"Have we not watched enough nonsense on the black box in the last two days?" Lucius scoffed.  
"It is called a television, or telly, or just TV and don't try to tell me that you have not liked Sherlock," Harry retorted and started the DVD player.  
"But a vampire movie?" Lucius sounded pained.  
Harry only rolled his eyes.  
Snape tried to turn around without drawing suspicion, but Lucius growled: "You will not leave me alone with the silly fairy tales muggles make up about vampires! Sit down and watch; after all, you at least know exactly what a telly is!"  
Glaring at his friend, Snape sat down in one of the armchairs.  
He decided not to comment and started the movie and then climbed back into Lucius' lap, where he snuggled comfortably into his mate's warm body.  
It didn't take Lucius long to start making snide remarks: "Stupid vampire, why is he giving a muggle an interview?"  
"It is the reason for telling his story," Harry explained.  
"He should tell his story to a friend, it would be much safer for him, muggles are incalculable," Lucius replied dryly.  
"It is just a movie," Harry rolled his eyes.  
"I certainly hope so, otherwise the wizarding community could be in great danger."  
"Stop spoiling the movie and just relax for once," Harry huffed.  
"There is nothing to spoil," Lucius muttered.  
"Of course there is, 'Interview with a vampire' is a great movie, with great actors!"  
"They are not as good looking or as intelligent as I am," Lucius glared at the TV, where Louis just awoke after his transformation.  
"Mh...I don't know, he sure is hot as well," Harry teased, but quickly noticed that he had gone too far. Lucius slid a hand under his shirt driving his sharp claws down Harry's back, from his neck down to his tailbone. A shiver shook his body and he arched into the touch. Biting his bottom lip, he desperately tried to stifle a groan, but he lost the battle when Lucius' index finger slid fluidly into his trousers scratching teasingly at the beginning of Harry's crevice, but not going any closer to his now quivering hole. It was telling about the trust he had developed for his mate that he didn't panic anymore at Lucius' touch.  
"Do never forget who your mate is," Lucius whispered into his ear.  
"I...I will never forget ...who my mate is," Harry gasped.  
"Good," Lucius said pulling his hand from Harry's pants.  
When Harry had calmed down a bit he threw a quick glance over at Snape. Luckily, his Professor had not witnessed any of his and Lucius' exchange. Harry tried to concentrate back on the movie, but didn't really succeed. His skin was still tingling from the spot where Lucius had touched him, especially his crack felt highly sensitive right now. He wanted to fidget, to hopefully get rid of the feeling, but he had learned his lesson about fidgeting. The caressing touches on his neck weren't helping either. Harry became hyper aware of his whole body and that was not a good experience when one of your professors sat only a few feet away from you.  
He couldn't say if Lucius was aware of his predicament or not, but he had the suspicion that the aristocrat was all too aware of what he was doing to his mate. The man was just too intelligent to not notice. The only good thing was that Lucius had stopped to comment on the film. In the end, the movie was nearly over, when Harry succeeded to concentrate again.  
"Well, that was interesting," said Snape in a voice that suggested that he had not liked the movie in the least, when the credits started.  
"It sure was an experience," Lucius agreed falsely and with a wicked smile. Harry just knew that he didn't mean the movie at all.  
"I liked the film," Harry huffed and glared at the two men.  
"We will not forbid you to like such... 'undemanding' free time activities," Snape drawled.  
"At least I do other things than just brewing potions until I reek like a bloody apothecary," Harry retorted dryly.  
Snape didn't even grace his retort with an answer.  
"We will retire now," Lucius announced and lifted Harry from his lap, who thought that it probably would be the best for when they would be woken by Snape after only the half of their usual sleeping time.  
Don't forget your potion," Snape stopped them and pulled two small glass vials with an oily black potion from his robe pocket.  
"Thank you," Lucius said and took the offered bottles. Laying a hand on the small of Harry's back, he firmly but gently guided him upstairs. In their room, Harry started to undress. He exchanged his shirt for an older one, one he would not dare to wear to school anymore and then stepped out of his trousers, leaving his lower half naked when he climbed under the covers. He had no problem to sleep like this, knowing that Lucius liked him exposed and he had slept like this since the day Lucius had asked him to not wear boxers beneath his trousers. He knew his mate would like to have him completely naked at night, but he still needed one layer of clothing as a barrier.  
Harry could feel the silver-red eyes lingering on his thighs and butt when he crawled over onto his side of the bed. It showed him how trustworthy his dominant was that he had not overstepped Harry's boundaries, even so the aristocrat clearly wanted more than to watch him.  
"I want to discuss something with you before we take the potion and go to bed," Lucius announced, still sitting on the bed frame. Harry, who had already laid down the blanket pulled up until it reached his nose sat up again, curious as to what his mate had to say. He could see in Lucius' eyes that it was something very important and he wanted to make an impression of being attentive.  
"I would like to explain to you what it means to be mated on a legal level. Am I right to assume that you have do not have much knowledge about wizarding rights?" Lucius asked in a business like voice. Harry shook his head; the only thing he had picked up (of course from one of Hermione's lectures) was that wizarding rights were even more complicated than the muggle ones.  
"Mates, no matter their species, are considered a unit, even more thoroughly bound to each other than a married couple," Lucius explained.  
Harry nodded again, as a sign that he was listening and understanding so far.  
"By now all our possessions, be it vaults or estates will be fused together."  
Harry's eyes widened in fear. That meant that someone knew, that he and Lucius were mated, but no one should know. It was important for their safety and for their plans to end the war quickly. What would happen if Dumbledore found out or even worse: the Ministry?  
Lucius seemed to have noticed Harry's distress because he stroke gently over his mating mark, pulling Harry from his horrifying thoughts. "You do not need to worry. Severus has dealt with the Ministry archives and the only other creatures who will know about our mating are the goblins, but they are very secretive and will never give the Ministry information about their customers, especially if they are creatures like themselves."  
"Are you sure?" Harry questioned. He never had to deal with goblins before, so did not have much knowledge about the little creatures. He only knew that they loved gold and jewels.  
"I am sure," Lucius reassured him and motioned for Harry to stretch out one hand. Harry obliged immediately and Lucius dropped a small golden key into his hand. He blinked confusedly at the object and asked: "What is the key for?"  
"This," Lucius drawled "is the key to the Malfoy family vault. Your money would have probably transferred there already due to the fact that you are the submissive and thus have, in legal terms, married into my family. If I had been your submissive, it would be the other way around."  
Harry gulped, that was a lot to take in: "Does that mean that my name is now Malfoy?"  
"Not unless we get married in the traditional wizarding way. For creatures who can recognize mates by their scents, it is not important to have the same name. So they often keep their last names," Lucius elaborated.  
"That's a relief," Harry sighed, for a moment he had feared that his father's family had died out because of his mating.  
"Why is it a relief? Do you not like to be mated to me?" Lucius voice was harsh and Harry could hear hurt hidden in it. So he hurried to explain:  
"No, it's just that would have meant that the Potters had died out and I always wanted to continue my father's line, even if it is through immortality and not through children and heirs."  
His mate's features softened. If there was something a Malfoy could understand, then it was the love of a family name and the wish to continue the line: "If this is important to you and we wish to marry at some point in the future, I would offer you to hyphenate our names, so that neither family line has to end."  
Harry flushed, he had never thought about things like getting married before, but for Lucius who came from an ancient Pureblood family and had already been married once, it seemed to be natural to talk about those things.  
"I will keep it in mind," Harry mumbled, non-committedly. He stared at the small golden key, wondering to himself if it had been Narcissa's or even Draco's once, but he didn't ask. Instead he questioned: "Does that mean that I am allowed to take whatever I want from your vault whenever I want?"  
"It is not only my vault, but ours and yes, you are allowed to take as much money as you need. Even without your own money I would possess more than you could ever spend. But I warn you: There are many artefacts in the Malfoy family vault and many of them should not be touched carelessly, they are of a dark nature," Lucius said sternly.  
"Don't worry; I am not so stupid as to randomly touch magical objects, especially if they are from a Malfoy vault. The only objects I would try to touch even less are those from the Black vault," Harry smirked. It was a well known fact that both families, the Malfoy's and the Black's were tightly connected with the Dark Arts, but until now, the Ministry had never found any evidence; surely because of their many allies in the Ministry who always warned them in time, before the ministry officials and Aurors came for a raid.  
"It is also possible, that you develop a certain talent for the Dark Arts, because every Malfoy is born with it and as the mate to the main heir the Manor's magic will provide you with new powers, so that you can adapt easier to your new family. The provision can come in the form of new spells and theoretical knowledge you did not possess before," Lucius continued his explanation.  
"A Manor can do something like that?" Harry asked wondering. The whole business to being mated to a Malfoy seemed to have much more consequences than he had anticipated, but it was kind of exciting. He only hoped that he would be able to live up to the proud family name.  
"Of course it can. It is a magical building, nearly as old as Hogwarts. There is no comparison to a muggle family home."  
"Yeah, I know that," Harry muttered, feeling stupid that he knew so little about the wizarding world, even after four years living in the magical community.  
"Thank you for explaining everything to me," Harry crawled over and gave his mate a soft kiss on his cheek. So close he noticed that Lucius intoxicating scent had become even more delicious and water gathered in his mouth, but he didn't want to think about what that meant this evening. The day had been eventful enough.  
Lucius slid under the covers next to him, as always only wearing his tight black boxers. Harry always tried not to look down, because then he could see how huge the man really was. During their first mating Harry's mind had been too clouded to notice it, but he was sure he would clearly notice it next time.  
Lucius gave him one of the vials and Harry uncorked it, eyeing the shimmering liquid with suspicion, but when he sniffed at it, thankfully he could not smell anything. Collecting all his courage, he downed the potion with one large gulp; he really hated potions. Blinking in surprise he commented: "It tasted like water,"  
"Thank Merlin," Lucius muttered before drowning his own.  
They lay down, but the sun was not yet rising and thus the numbing tiredness had not started to cloud over Harry's mind yet.  
"Do you not want to come closer?" Lucius asked neutrally, but Harry could see his raised eyebrow in the dark. Chuckling, he skidded over, nuzzling his mate's smooth chest. He felt a bit giddy and tilted his head upwards, looking at the underside of Lucius chin. Suddenly feeling brave and needy for more closeness to his mate, he pressed his body against his mate's taller one and started to carefully nibble along his jawline.  
Lucius' skin tasted almost as good as he smelled; rich and clean, because they both didn't perspire anymore. His mate hummed in appreciation and started stroking lazily up and down Harry's back. Giving a purring sound of his own, Harry concentrated harder on his task at hand, which was making his dominant feel good. Licking a trail downwards over his vein, Harry felt a tingling sensation rising in his stomach, followed by happiness. He was so glad that Lucius let him explore his body; even though he probably was very clumsy and did just a fraction of thing his mates wished for.  
Leaving his mate's throat, Harry propped himself up on his forearms and looked down at Lucius. The blonde aristocrat met his gaze with his own contented one. Even in private his face was very guarded, only a bit more open than in public, but it was enough for Harry; it showed him that Lucius trusted him. Hopefully in time it would become even more open for him.  
Leaning forwards, he carefully touched Lucius' smooth cheek with his small hand. The situation was something very intimate, even without much touching and kissing, but Lucius' patience with him meant the world to Harry.  
He traced Lucius' lips and cheekbone with his eyes, letting them wander upwards to his elegant eyebrows, which were so expressive when you knew the subtle differences in their movements. His mate was so beautiful, like a marble statue, and like a statue he would continue to be this beautiful, for all eternity and by his side. Sometimes, Harry could still not quite believe it, that he had ended up with the most gorgeous and richest pureblood in the wizarding world. Surely, his money didn't matter to Harry, but his attractive physique was a huge plus.  
"Tell me, what is on your mind?" Lucius demanded to know quietly.  
"That I am happy," Harry answered truthfully, chewing nervously on his bottom lip. He wanted to kiss Lucius, but he was not sure how to go about it or even if he was allowed as a submissive to kiss his mate so bluntly on his lips; it was after all something different than giving the man a quick peck on his cheek.  
"Harry, you can do whatever you like. You are my mate and as such, I am fond of your touches," Lucius lifted his own hand and cupped his cheek gently. Shifting one last time, Harry bent down and pressed his lips against Lucius', only to notice that he still had no idea what he had to do next, until now, his mate had always taken the lead. Lucius opened his mouth and Harry's tongue slipped inside. The arousing taste of him quickly made Harry forget all his previous nervousness and he pressed down on his dominant's chest, starting to explore his mouth. Clumsily, he caressed his mate's long fangs and stroked the roof of his mouth with his tongue. Lucius groaned beneath him and Harry closed his eyes, fully drowning in the kiss. He could feel his mate's blood sluggishly pulsing through his lips where they touched.  
With another groan Harry was suddenly roughly pushed from Lucius' chest, only to find his mate seconds later pressing his heavy body down on him. He gasped when he felt Lucius' throbbing hardness on his thigh, but before he had realised it fully, his mate attacked his mouth hungrily.  
"Harry, you are such a temptation," Lucius groaned into his mouth and bit harshly down on his lower lip. Harry moaned in painful pleasure, the combination never failed to let his skin tingle all over.  
Lucius claimed his mouth again, and Harry could do nothing more than to submit to the fierce kiss. It felt so good to be covered by his dominant's larger body, the fact that he could barely move any more made the experience that much more exciting. A strong hand grabbed his thick hair and pulled painfully on his locks, tilting his head until Lucius' tongue could slide down his throat all the way. Harry's throat convulsed with the unknown sensation of having something thrust down in it. He would have gagged, if Lucius hadn't held him firmly in place, not allowing him to move an inch whilst he claimed Harry's mouth. It was good that neither of them needed air, because otherwise they would have been forced to end the kiss much sooner. As it was, there was no need to part their lips and intertwined tongues. A hand stroked the side of Harry's throat and as suddenly as Lucius had started to ravish him, he was gone again.  
Blinking in confusion, Harry sat up. "Have I done something wrong?" he asked carefully.  
"No, Harry, but I would have done something wrong soon if I had not stopped. I promised you to not pressure you into more than you are willing to give and I will keep my promise," Lucius answered, combing reassuringly through Harry's hair. The man lay down and pulled Harry to his chest.  
"I can feel the sun rising," Lucius said and kissed the top of his head softly.  
"Sleep well," Harry mumbled and nuzzled his chest, before drifting off.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

"I really had hoped to find you two more decent; after all, I have warned you that I would try to wake you up!"  
Harry opened his eyes, blinking a few times to focus his vision. Next to him lay Lucius, glaring up at the speaker."But at least it looks promising; I doubt that I would have been able to wake you up, if the potion had not worked. Get dressed and come down, but carefully. I would not want you two to burn to ashes, in case I am wrong after all."  
Harry recognized the voice as Snape's. The sound of fading footsteps told him that the man was gone and he slowly sat up. It was still dark in their room, due to the roller blind in front of the window. He still felt as if he had awoken from death, but that was probably a side effect of being a vampire and most likely came very close to reality. Lucius sat up next to him; he looked gloomy and grouchy, an expression he would normally never show so openly, he had not even shown his dismay so clearly two days ago when Harry still had been ill and escaped from the living room, but being awoken from an unnatural vampire sleep achieved it, even for a Malfoy.  
Without wishing Harry a good morning, he stood up and went over to the chair, on which he had hung his two trousers and shirts.  
Harry watched his mate glaring down his legs, as if the garment had offended him personally, but he was currently very happy with just watching his mate, despite his bad mood, Lucius was after all still a breathtaking sight. His eyes roamed the well defined body, his pale and smooth skin, which covered every strong muscle so perfectly. He could never decide whether he liked to eye his mate's chest more than his long, slender but strong legs or his back, with all the muscles that stretched and tightened with every movement and those wonderful, sharp shoulder blades. Even his dominant's throat was attractive, it was as strong as the rest of him and Lucius' alluring scent was especially strong there.  
Harry remembered the kiss they had shared yesterday, the kiss he had initiated and blushed, the odd tingling sensation came back to his throat.  
Lucius must have smelled his thought, or more probably his reaction to his thoughts, because he turned around and his gloomy expression changed into a hungry one.  
"Seeing something you like? Or remembering something you like?" he all but purred, before stalking like a tiger towards Harry.  
Harry gulped and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Lucius' intoxicating scent filled his nostrils and water gathered in his mouth, whilst heat rushed to his lower region.  
"Answer me Harry. I am your dominant and I demand that you tell me your thoughts," Lucius growled.  
"I...I... was looking at you and then I remembered our kiss," Harry stuttered, feeling utterly mortified.  
"And?" Lucius prompted.  
"I liked the kiss," Harry said and licked his lips, his eyes fixed on his dominants throat, directly at the spot where his carotid artery lay beneath and his heart began to race in hungry anticipation.  
Lucius' eyes flashed and his nostrils flared: "You smell so delicious this morning. I would like nothing more than to devour you right now, but I believe that our first shared 'meal' should be consummated with more time to spare and without Severus waiting for us downstairs. I would not wish for any interruption. But tonight..." Lucius didn't finish his sentence but let it hang in the air.  
Harry could do nothing more than to nod in a daze. Lucius' eyes and voice had something of a hypnotic effect right now and his whole body felt like a big pile of pudding. It didn't help when Lucius bent down and licked a long trail over where his own carotid lay. He shuddered and gasped, but before the sensation in his lower body could grow even stronger, Lucius pulled back and stepped away from him.  
"Get dressed, Severus is already waiting and probably fantasising about what we are doing to need as much time as we are taking to come down to him."  
Harry hastily obliged and was ready only two minutes later. The vampire genes had provided him with more speed and even a bit more grace. Of course, his grace would never be able to rival Lucius' and he was still clumsy most of the time, but he was at least stumbling now with more elegance when he did than before.  
"Well are you finished?" Lucius asked, sounding slightly bored. "I certainly will buy you new clothes as soon as I am able to," he added with a calculating glance over at Harry.  
Harry didn't respond, he had heard that sentence enough times in the last couple of days; instead, he went to open their bedroom door and step out of the dark room, but the strong hands of his mate held him back: "Wait here, I will go first, it is the duty of the dominant to protect his submissive and not to send him out like an unworthy lab rat."  
Harry wanted to protest and tell him that he had no problem with going out first. He was indeed the submissive, but that didn't meant that he was weak, in fact, as a vampire he was likely even stronger than Ron now, but Lucius was gone already. He peered into the hallway and saw that the aristocrat had gone until he reached a point where light fell through the open bathroom door. Carefully, the man stretched his hand out and held it into the sunlight for a moment. When nothing happened, he turned back to Harry and gave a curt nod.  
Feeling relieved, Harry quickly ran over to catch up with his mate, who was by now already at the stairs.  
"Ah, finally," Snape greeted them when they entered the living room. "I almost thought the potion had not worked," the dark man added.  
"So far your potion is working just fine. Do we have to drink it every day? You have not explained how exactly the elixir works," Lucius said accusingly.  
Snape scuffed, but pretended as if he had not heard Lucius' reprimand: "No, one portion is enough. The potion alters your vampire genes. Simply put it works like this: A vampire and everything in his body is dead, that means even his genes, but there is one gene what can be considered alive and this is the gene which makes you vulnerable to sunlight. It is very logical, if you think about it, if this gene would not be a living one, than your bodies could not die in the sunlight. To be able to die, there has to be something living. My potion merely kills this gene as well, making you two even more dead than your fellow vampires."  
Harry blinked irritated, he was as usual, not able to understand a word of the Potions Master's explanations when it came to his area of expertise, but of course his mate only hummed:  
"That sounds very logical," giving him the feeling that he was the only stupid person currently present in the house.  
"But I think, we should go on a walk and test the strength of the potion, before we resume our normal lives once again," Snape mused loudly.  
"That's a good idea; I have to buy groceries anyway, we can all walk together," Harry suggested, but only earned himself a glare from Lucius.  
"I will not go into this muggle store again." the man refused sternly.  
"Please Lucius, we have to go outside anyway and it is so boring to go alone and this time, Severus will accompany us as well," Harry begged, widening his already large eyes to go for an even more effective puppy eyes look.  
"I am appalled to admit this, but Potter's suggestion is not bad, we have to go outside anyway," Snape admitted.  
"Well then we shall go. The sooner we go, the sooner we are back," Lucius commanded idly.  
Harry retrieved the money from the safe and they all stepped outside. It was hot, but the sun was not burning his and Lucius' skin; even so, he had the feeling that he would get sunburn much faster than in the past. He had been tanned once, but that time was over since his transformation.  
Snape blinked into the sunlight, as if he was the vampire and not Harry or Lucius, before pulling something from his pocket and handing it over to them.  
"Sunglasses?" Harry asked irritated.  
"Yes," Snape drawled.  
"But why?...Oh!" Harry grinned sheepishly as he remembered the red ring that now adorned his green irises.  
They took the same way as last time, but they got even more attention. Harry thought it was because of Lucius, but this time he got as many glances as his mate. The vampire genes had made his features more elegant and that in combination with his huge green eyes was breathtaking. But Harry didn't realize that. Instead, he glared at the passing people, grumbling under his breath:  
"Why do they have to stare at me like this? I know that I am not the adequate companion, let alone mate for a Malfoy, but there is no need for all that starring!"  
Lucius chuckled quietly: "I believe this time they are staring at you, because of your cuteness."  
"I am not cute!" Harry snapped back. He knew, that he would never be as attractive and in the same way as Lucius, who with his tall lean build, long legs, muscled stomach and chest and broad shoulders the wet dream of every witch and wizard's who preferred guys, but he sure as hell would not be called cute instead. He would accept 'ordinary', but not cute.  
"They are glaring, because I destroy the perfect picture you two make, Potter. It is a fact, that all vampires are very attractive, because they are highly sexual creatures. Some wizards and witches even believe that they need sex to live as much as they need blood," Snape mused.  
Harry huffed. Sure, his looks had improved after his transformation, but he was still far away from being as attractive as Lucius. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, Harry had never liked that much attention. Unconsciously, he took a step closer to Lucius, who automatically placed one hand at the small of Harry's back. Sighing contently, Harry relaxed and was finally able to enjoy the walk. He had missed the sun; even though she could not warm his skin anymore. He could still tell if it was warm or cold, but it didn't affect him anymore, only Lucius' touch did.  
He watched the birds and the children in their parent's gardens, whilst they slowly strode down the street. When they reached the store, Lucius slid his hand from Harry's back and they stepped inside.  
"Just pick anything you like," Harry invited Snape and beamed up at the man, who just raised an eyebrow, his face stern as ever.  
"I will not require much, after all, this will be our last day together," the man answered.  
"What? Why?" Harry felt as if something heavy had dropped into his stomach. He had known that he and Lucius would have to split up, at least for some time, because he needed to go to 12 Grimmauld Place to confront Dumbledore and his mate needed to get back into his old Lord's graces, but he had not expected that it would be this soon. He tried not to show his sadness; he had just found Lucius, they were not even bonded for an entire week and they would have to part already, but of course Lucius, as well as Snape saw through his mask.  
"Harry, would you like me to join you at the headquarters? You could announce me as a new member after you have become the head of the order, maybe a spy like Severus," Lucius asked gently and a hand settled on Harry's neck. Harry shivered, quickly distracted by the touch, but then he realized, what his mate had just offered:  
"But what if the others say that one spy is enough?" Harry asked, chewing on his bottom lip, he really wanted to invite Lucius to 12 Grimmauld Place, but it would not be easy with the history the man had.  
"Then tell them, that I do not only spy on Voldemort, but the ministry as well," Lucius suggested.  
"But we have members there as well."  
His mate snorted: "You have famous Aurors and such. But I know other people within the ministry, people who are too intelligent to open their mouths in front of Moody or Arthur Weasley."  
"You would really do that for me? I mean, there are many people you don't like...it will surely not be the best place for you to live..." Harry asked, when he could not think of another reason for Lucius to stay away.  
"Potter, I have known Lucius for a long time now and he has always kept his promises, so if he suggests that he will do this for you, then he will, it is part of his Malfoy pride," Snape added unusually gently.  
"I know that... and I believe you...thanks" a small smile crept onto Harry's face. It would be hard until his mate joined him, but at least he would see him again before he had to go back to Hogwarts. He turned abruptly around then, not wanting to have a breakdown in a muggle grocery store: "Let's pick up something to eat for Snape."  
The two men, who luckily understood Harry's need for distraction nodded and followed him quietly.  
Snape picked a tuna salad from the refrigerator and a cup of vanilla pudding. He also fetched a bottle of red wine, holding it up with a questioning raised eyebrow to Lucius. Lucius nodded and they went to the cash point.  
To Harry's annoyance he saw the same girl sitting there as the last time. She started to smile and beam up at Lucius as soon as she saw the blonde aristocrat. Snape dumped the groceries in front of her, leaving Harry enough time to watch the girl batting her lashes seductively at his mate. Anger rose inside his small chest, even as a submissive, Harry would not just stand by and watch as someone else flirted with his mate. Lucius was his and it was outrageous that someone else tried to steal the aristocrat from him. With his vision getting red, he stepped next to his mate, grabbing his arm tightly, when it was not enough to interrupt the girls attempts on Lucius, he started to growl threateningly. Lucius turned to him with his usual calm Malfoy mask and lifted his right eyebrow: "Do not tell me that you are jealous," he whispered, so quietly, that only Harry was able to hear it with his enhanced senses. Harry was not calmed down at the least by his mate's aloof comment and increased his growling, only noticing that his mate was bending down to him, when a nose nuzzled his neck and Lucius whispered: "There is no need to be jealous. She is not as beautiful as you are."  
Harry's growl immediately stopped and a luckily invisible flush crept up his neck.  
"I love it when you blush, it makes me want to ravish you right here on the counter," Lucius purred seductively, before righting himself in. Harry's breath would have hitched, if he still was breathing. He collected himself and glared a bit more at the teller, who stared at Harry in shock, flushing crimson.  
Feeling smug, Harry grinned evilly at her, turning his head slightly in the direction of his mate and licked his lips meaningfully. The poor girl nearly choked on her own saliva and hastily scanned the three items.  
"You two are unbelievable!" Snape snapped as soon as they had left the store. "Lucius, she could send the police after you for an inappropriate relationship with an underage child!"  
"She could, but then I would deal with them; I do still remember that I am a wizard, even though I am not alive anymore," he drawled.  
"She had no right to flirt with someone who is mated!" Harry huffed. He still felt very protective about his relationship and his strong vampire instincts had yet to subside.  
Snape sighed exasperatedly: "Potter, she is a muggle; she has no idea that you two are mated. She probably would get a stroke, if she found out that something like mates and vampires actually exists."  
Harry frowned, a part of him knew that the professor was right, but the knowledge could not connect to the rest of his body, so he just clutched Lucius' arm tighter.  
They went back and settled once again in Harry's living room to read, Harry next to Lucius. Nagini came from the garden and slithered into Harry's lap, who started to pat her gently, whilst reading yet another dark arts book. Even now they still did not know how to get rid of his and his familiars Horcrux.  
 _"You smell upset, little Master,"_ Nagini hissed, her tongue flickering and tasting the air.  
 _"I am, but it is getting better now,"_ Harry admitted quietly, anger still evident in his voice.  
 _"What happened?"_ Nagini asked, her heavy head lying soothingly on his thigh.  
 _"A girl flirted with Lucius!"_ Harry hissed sharply.  
 _"Another female flirted with your mate?"_ Nagini's voice sounded suddenly upset as well.  
 _"Yes!"_  
 _"Why did she do that? Couldn't she smell that you are mated?"_ she asked irritated.  
 _"No, she was a muggle,"_ Harry explained.  
 _"Stupid muggles, they have even less senses than a common wizard,"_ the female snake huffed.  
Harry knew that he probably should tell Nagini that muggles were no lesser people than wizards and witches, but at this moment he couldn't. His blood still started to boil when he thought about that stupid girl. He would never take Lucius to shop there again, just to be safe. Harry didn't believe that his mate would actually respond to the assistant's attempts, but who knew with what ideas the girl could come up with? Maybe she would one day just kiss him, the thought was unbearable. Huffing to himself, he picked up a random book.  
 _"Why do you read all this books?"_ Nagini changed the topic.  
 _"We are searching for a way to free you and me from Voldemort's piece of soul,"_ Harry explained.  
Nagini lifted her head curiously: _"Have you found anything yet?"_  
 _"Not really, only a passage saying that someone needs the purest element to capture something impure, at least I believe that the author meant an element, because it was written in a book about alchemy and alchemy is all about elements,"_ Harry sighed.  
 _"What is an element?"_ Nagini inquired.  
 _"Fire, water, earth and air are considered elements, but I believe that some metals are elements as well,"_ Harry tried to explain.  
 _"A pure metal?"_ Nagini mused.  
Harry nodded.  
Without another word the snake rose and slithered from Harry's lap. Harry tried to call her back, but she only continued on her way.  
"Is something wrong?" Lucius asked, eyeing Harry over the rim of his book.  
"No, I just told Nagini what we are looking for and in the next moment she slithered away," Harry explained.  
"Peculiar," Lucius mused but turned back to his book.  
"It is a snake, what do you expect?" Snape sneered.  
"She is not only a snake, she is a magical creature and thus far more intelligent than a normal snake," Harry defended his familiar.  
"Harry is right," Lucius mused, his face already behind his book again.  
"But that doesn't mean that she understands magical theory," Snape muttered.  
At that moment Nagini came back in. Harry turned his head in an angle he could only manage since he was a vampire. From the corner of his eyes he noticed Lucius studying his stretched neck in this position. The hunger had crept back into his eyes, they probably had to drink soon, Harry mused, before concentrating on his familiar. She had something sparkling in her mouth and Harry recognised it as Dudley's gold necklace.  
 _"This is a sort of metal, isn't it? It smells very pure,"_ Nagini hissed.  
Harry took the necklace and held it up: "A necklace?" he asked out loud and Snape looked over to him. The professor's eyes widened comically; Harry had a hard time to hide his amusement at that expression, because it surely would not be appreciated.  
"How could we be so blind Lucius?" Snape snapped irritated. Lucius looked up again and his eyes, too, widened in realization.  
Harry had yet to catch up with the two men: "What do you mean?"  
"Gold is the purest element in the alchemy," Lucius explained calmly.  
"Not like this necklace of course, it is mixed with some other metal to make it stronger. What we need is pure gold," Snape added.  
"And then?" Harry asked, still not understanding.  
"I think what Severus means is that with a spell or a potion as connector, the gold will be able to pull the piece of soul from your bodies," Lucius had put down his book and was now frowning in concentration.  
"I think it will be a potion we need, but I do not know which one yet," Snape hummed. "At least we have a concrete idea now," he added.  
Harry bent down and patted Nagini's large head: _"Thank you girl, you helped us a lot!"_  
 _"Thank you Master,"_ the reptile hissed.  
"I think we can take a break at this point," Snape announced and stood up to go into the kitchen. He came back a minute later, his tuna salad and a fork in his hands.  
"I think you two should retire for the night and 'drink', before you have to separate tomorrow," the man cleared his throat; a red tint was creeping up his neck. Harry furrowed his brows at the Potion Master; why would the man blush about Lucius and his new eating habit? Had he forgotten something that Snape had told him about the drinking?  
"We shall retire then," Lucius agreed evenly and stood up.  
Harry followed swiftly and together they walked upstairs. Harry was quite nervous, somehow the concept of exchanging blood seemed fairly intimate to him. Feeling unsure, he started to change, as if it were any other night where they would just lay down and sleep. He pulled a fresh shirt from a basket and stepped out of his pants, trying not to think about what they would do. He was torn in two quite frankly. Harry could quite clearly remember the luxurious taste of Lucius, but back then he had not really been aware of what he was doing. Now he knew that he had to bite his mate and drink his blood. Would it be as easy as it sound?  
Two warm hands lay down on his shoulders and Lucius stepped close behind him, so that their bodies were touching. He could feel that the aristocrat was naked with the exception of his boxers.  
"Are you nervous?" he asked quietly.  
"A bit," Harry confessed.  
"There is no need, your instincts will help you, and I too." Lucius whispered and pulled his shirt off his body. "I want to have good access to your throat," he explained, seduction heavy in his voice.  
Harry gulped and nodded, he would not deny his dominant his body. He trusted Lucius to not force him to participate in anything he wasn't ready for.  
The hands guided him backwards until they reached the bed. Harry took a deep breath and his lungs filled with the alluring scent of his mate. His body began to tremble in a mixture of anticipation and fear. Lucius pulled him into his lap and stroked the side of his throat gently, teasingly scraping over the hidden vein. Harry gave a quiet whimper, his body was heating up and the familiar tingling sensation gathered in his lower abdomen. Lucius tongue glided over his throat, his free hand came down to stroke Harry's sensitive neck.  
He gasped: "Lucius!"  
Lucius hummed low in his throat. Harry didn't know what he wanted, his whole body was tingling by now and all his blood seemed to gather in his lower region, he could feel that he was getting aroused rapidly.  
"Hush Harry," Lucius whispered and laid him down on the mattress, his long fangs nipped his neck seductively. Harry gave another whimper, the heat in his body was already getting too much and Lucius' bare skin seemed to burn his own.  
"Please," Harry mewled; sounding pathetic in his own ears and Lucius sank his fangs into his throat.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**  
The pain was so unbearable and so beautiful at the same time. Harry knew that he would never be able to live without the sensation. He screamed in pleasure, his mind clouded with lust. Lucius' fangs in his throat were cold, the perfect opposite to his burning skin. He arched into the touch to push his mate's fangs even deeper into his body and his now, painfully throbbing cock brushed against the thin material of Lucius' boxers. He moaned loudly; the material felt so rough against his heated flesh. One of Lucius' hands was stroking down his back and Harry could feel his blood rushing from his body, heightening the pleasure with every second. He bucked his hips, searching for something, he didn't know what. And then his mate's strong fingers wrapped around his aching cock, squeezing it gently.  
Harry moaned, he wanted to push into Lucius' touch and fangs simultaneously, but that was impossible. Luckily, Lucius started to stroke up and down his length, teasing his slit by every downwards motion.  
"So good," Harry hissed. "Please Lucius, more!"  
Lucius obliged and his fingers moved quicker over Harry's throbbing member, adding a bit more pressure, which drew another moan from Harry's mouth. He could feel the tingling sensation tightening in his stomach. It took only another stroke and Lucius sharp claws scratching harshly over Harry's slit to push him over the edge. He cried out, bucking uncontrolled and spurting his hot semen over his mate's hand and his lower abdomen.  
Lucius pulled his fangs from Harry's flesh, but before the haze in his mind could clear was he was guided to his mate's throat. Harry's gums were itching and without further thinking he opened his mouth and sank his fangs deep into the carotid. The taste of Lucius' blood exploded in his mouth. It tasted like sweet wine; at least, Harry imagined that wine would taste like this. He moaned and closed his eyes; his cock was already stirring again. Growling eagerly, he pulled himself higher on Lucius' body, until he lay completely on his mate's chest. Absentmindedly, he noticed that Lucius was painfully hard as well, but he was too overwhelmed and to inexperienced to offer any relief at this point, it didn't even register very clearly in his mind.  
He sucked again deeply and started to rub his once again hot member against Lucius' abdomen. The aristocrat flipped him over so that he lay on his back, his arms tightly clutching around his mate's neck. Lucius' fingers returned to his aching prick. This time the man used his claws and ran them up and down Harry's small length. He groaned and pressed into the claws, mewling in pleasure when they pierced his sensitive skin. Never had he imagined that pain could feel this good. He took another gulp and the tip of one of Lucius' claws pressed into his slit, just a bit, but it was enough to evoke another moan from Harry. He humped against the tip of this claw, the friction at the head of his cock nearly driving him insane. Speeding his hips up he took one last gulp, the claw slid into the inside of Harry's slit, just a fraction of a millimetre, brushing the inside, but it was enough. With a muffled shout Harry came the second time that evening. Lucius stroked him all the way through his orgasm until he was fully spent.  
The haze in Harry's mind and the heady feeling in his body subsided and a feeling of utter satisfaction filled his body. His fangs were still buried deeply in his mate's neck and he needed a moment to realize it. Carefully, he retracted his fangs and licked the puncture wounds once to stop the bleeding.  
He blinked up at Lucius, feeling as if he was just awakening from a wonderful dream.  
Lucius chuckled quietly and bent down to give him a deep kiss. Harry accepted happily and opened his mouth to give his mate's tongue entrance. He could still taste his own blood in Lucius' and hummed in appreciation. When Lucius had pulled away, he sat up and smiled sheepishly, only now realizing how many embarrassing noises he had made and how needy he had humped his dominants hands. Fidgeting awkwardly, he lowered his eyes, only to notice the state of his lower body. His abdomen was drenched in cold cum and his penis was covered with dried blood.  
Lucius conjured a wet cloth and gave it to Harry. "I could smell your blush even downstairs in the kitchen," the aristocrat chuckled and pressed a kiss to Harry's cheek.  
Harry took the cloth and started to clean his belly before proceeding with his limp member. He hissed, when the small towel came in contact with it and a twinge went through his cock. It gave an involuntarily but very excited twitch and Harry blushed even harder, he wished the ground would open to swallow him completely, he was so mortified. Refusing to look up and meet Lucius' gaze, which he could feel prickling in his neck, he cleaned himself thoroughly and eyed his abused member. A couple of long claw marks marked his soft flesh and an even deeper one adorned his slit. It still hurt, but as always nowadays Harry liked the feeling.  
Finally, he had no reason to stare at his lap any longer and looked up. Lucius was watching him intently. With a flick of the aristocrat's wand the wet cloth was vanished and he drew Harry into his arms.  
"You make beautiful noises," Lucius hummed and combed through Harry's thick hair.  
"I...I..." Harry didn't know what he should say and started to fidget again. His thigh brushed against something hard and he looked questioningly downwards, only to see that Lucius was still very much aroused. Biting his lower lip, he asked: "Do you want...shall I...?  
"Do you feel ready to give a handjob?" Lucius inquired and added. "Be honest."  
Harry chewed his lip a second longer before shaking his head, he really didn't feel ready to do such a thing yet; he was still overwhelmed by his own first handjob he received.  
"Then you do not need to do it. It will go down soon enough on its own."  
Harry flushed and gave the large bulge a last look before leaning back against his mate's arm and snuggled against his strong chest. He felt sated and relaxed like he had never felt before.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

Lucius' blood hummed through his veins and he could feel that his vampire powers and instincts grew even stronger. He could also feel that his vampire side felt even closer to his mate now, thinking more of Lucius as his dominant now than before. It was probably because they had only just exchanged blood for the first time now really; whilst mating it had only been a small sip they had taken from each other. Now, with his mate's blood pulsing through his veins, he knew why mates were nearly considered one person, you could not get closer to another being. This closeness could not be achieved even through sex. Harry was curious about how much he would change again after this first consummation of blood.  
"Are you afraid of tomorrow?" Lucius asked after a long moment of content silence.  
Harry started to trace small patterns on the nobleman's smooth skin and noticed it felt dry under his fingertips; neither of them perspired anymore.  
"A little. It is more like a drowning sadness, the thought of leaving you so shortly after our mating," Harry mumbled.  
"I promise you I will find a way for us to meet regularly," Lucius promised softly.  
"But please don't do something that could endanger you," Harry requested.  
"I promise. Anything that would put me in danger, would endanger you as well now that we are mated," Lucius said.  
"Good," Harry retorted and laid his head down on Lucius' shoulder.  
They talked quietly for a while longer, relishing being in each other's company. It was already dark outside and they would have to go to sleep soon, but neither of them wanted to waste the last hours of each other's company with sleeping.  
But in the end, Harry fell asleep in Lucius' strong arms. Smiling softly, the older vampire extinguished the light and pulled the covers over their intertwined bodies, without waking Harry, who stayed unaware of everything.

 **Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 07: Back To Grimmauld Place

**Chapter 7: Back to Grimmauld Place**

 **HP**

When Harry came downstairs the next morning, closely followed by Lucius, he immediately noticed that Snape looked grumpier than the last couple of days. He almost looked as bad tempered as he was in Harry's potions lessons. Glancing suspiciously over at his mate, Harry saw that Lucius had noticed it as well. With a raised eyebrow the Malfoy patriarch strode into the kitchen asking: "Have you botched up a potion?"  
Harry was glad that he still stood in the shadows of the doorway when Severus glanced up from a small notebook and glared fiercely at Lucius. Naturally, the vampire was not very impressed.  
"I never botch up a potion, but I spend over an hour yesterday involuntarily listening to you and Potter! Use some silencing spells next time!" Snape snapped.  
Harry flinched, he knew that Lucius had been quiet last night during their first exchange of blood but he had been very vocal. That was so embarrassing! His professor had practically witnessed him receiving a handjob!  
Lucius meanwhile seemed unruffled by his friends scolding or the fact that the man had heard his young mate getting off on drinking blood.  
"Do not hide in the shadows like a criminal," Lucius commanded him with an elegant wink. "Severus is only jealous, because he does not such a beautiful young mate as I have."  
Snape snorted: "Young indeed. A child would be more accurate."  
"But a very beautiful and eager one," Lucius smirked and turned to glare commandingly at Harry, who finally stepped into the kitchen at his mates disapproving glare, giving an apologetic mewl. Harry flushed in irritation, he had never made such a submissive noise and he never had the urge to apologize in this way to his dominant for not directly following his orders either. He sat down between the two men and Severus pushed a small leather bag at him and Lucius each.  
Harry sniffed curiously at the bag and could smell the scent of blood, but it was certainly not Lucius'.  
"What is this?" Lucius asked curiously.  
"These are Blood Drops. Not the cheap one for wizards you get in Honeydukes, but the original one. I made them after a recipe from a notebook my late vampire relative wrote. They won't taste as good as your own blood, but better than any food," Snape explained.  
"Thank you, why did you make them?" Harry asked.  
"You will be separated for at least a few days, maybe even a week and I hope that they will help you two to keep calm. Blood Drops are Vampire Candy. There are different flavours; my relative wrote down that vampires can taste the difference between the different blood types used, so I made a selection. You can tell me which one you liked most, when you have tried them all."  
"What kind of blood did you use?" Lucius had narrowing his eyes suspiciously.  
"Do not look at me like that Lucius! You should know that I would never give you something made from rat blood or some other lowly and dirty creatures. But thinking about it, if I ever have the joy of killing that disgrace of a wizard named Peter Pettigrew, you two might get some Rat Drops after all," the Potions Master smirked evilly and Harry had the peculiar feeling that he would not kill the Death Eater before opening some wounds to gather his blood.  
Lucius had wrinkled his nose, a disgusted look on his face: "I will never eat something that is made with his blood."  
Harry snickered and took a small candy from the bag. They really did taste quite good, not as good as Lucius' blood; Severus had predicted that already, but better than anything else he had tried to eat since his transformation. Rolling the bonbon around in his mouth for a moment, he decided that it tasted like some kind of bird; which one he could not say, but he was sure that the knowledge would come given some time. Maybe after drinking some of Lucius' blood; he had felt that he had gotten stronger this morning.  
"So, what animals did you use?" Lucius asked again.  
Snape sighed: "Cats, a dog, some duck and even a kneezel. Nothing disgusting or even special, it was my first try to brew Vampire Candy after all."  
"You brewed it?" Harry wondered.  
"Yes, you need to melt the sugar and to mix the blood with the other ingredients."  
"They really are good. It tastes like real blood, only a bit sweeter," Harry grinned, happily sucking on his bonbon.  
"Good. Have you already packed?" Snape enquired.  
"We have," Lucius said, eyeing Harry's lips, which were currently even redder than usual due to the Blood Drops. Harry of course, didn't notice anything and just frowned at the mention of packing.  
"I would suggest, that you perform your glamours now, so that I can see if they work properly," Snape suggested.  
Harry eyed Lucius intently, he really hoped that not too much of his vampire characteristics would disappear. Lucius looked back at him with equal sullenness, before concentrating. Harry watched in sad awe, as his mate's beautiful fangs and claws disappeared and the red ring around his silver irises. Otherwise, luckily, he looked the same. He was still paler than before, his hair had grown about two hands during his change and his enhanced elegance still remained as well.  
"Can't you make it that the glamour only works for people who don't know about us yet? He asked hopefully. Hermione had once told him that powerful wizards could do such things.  
Lucius' face hardened as he concentrated once more and Harry watched him eagerly. He nearly thought that nothing would happen after a minute of watching, but then Lucius' fangs and the red ring around his eyes appeared again.  
"Did it work?" Lucius asked and Harry and Snape nodded in unison.  
Now Harry concentrated, but in contrast to Lucius, he closed his eyes. Feeling inside his magic, he tried to remember what his bushy haired friend had once told him about glamours. Besides the spell, one had to imagine the result he wished. He mused that he would not need any spell, because the glamour was a natural power of a blood mate and just concentrated on his image without fangs, claws and red encircled eyes; making sure to keep his wish in mind that Lucius would still be able to see his true form. His magic flowed over his body and he opened his eyes again.  
Snape studied him with a frown: "It will be enough, even though it is still clear that you have changed anyone who sees you regularly will notice the differences. It is even more obvious with you than with Lucius."  
"What do you mean it is even more obvious with me?" Harry asked a bit annoyed that his glamour apparently was not as good as his mates.  
"You were very toned before and being a submissive, your eyes have grown to an unnatural size for a human," Lucius explained calmly, staring into Harry's green orbs. Harry flushed and lowered his gaze quickly before Severus could notice something, the man had witnessed enough already as it was.  
"The only problem is that you two are obviously unable to glamour your mating marks," Severus said. Harry looked down on his right hand and then at Lucius' and saw that the Potions Master was right, their marks were still very visible.  
"We should have guessed as much," Lucius mused idly.  
"Well, any suggestion on how to erase the problem?" the Potions Master sneered, obviously getting impatient.  
"We have to cover them, obviously," Lucius stated the obvious.  
Harry rummaged his mind for a solution. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Wait here!" he exclaimed and ran up to the bathroom, quickly coming back with two rolls of bandages.  
"We will use these until we find something better," Harry announced, holding the items up.  
"I will not be seen with bandages around my hand, let alone muggle bandages," Lucius scoffed.  
Harry rolled his eyes at his stubborn mate: "No one will notice that they are muggle."  
"Lucius, your house is under supervision. I know that you would prefer your gloves, but you will have to go to the Dark Lord first thing, or the death eaters will try to kill you and find out that you have betrayed their master and this would endanger your mate," Snape said calmly.  
Glaring at Snape, Lucius snatched the bandage from Harry and spelled them to wrap around his right hand, before ensuring its hold with a sticking spell, then he did the same for Harry. Harry gasped when his mate's magic washed over him and send little tingles through his whole system. Lucius raised a questioning eyebrow at him, but Harry refused to elaborate in Severus' presence. An understanding and very smug smirk spread over his dominant's face. Unfortunately, this time Snape had noticed something and eyed Harry with open disgust: "Potter, there are some things I really didn't want to know about, including all your kinks."  
Harry spluttered at the word kinks, but had to admit that Severus' description was right; at least if he interpreted the very interested stirring in his lower region the right way. The Potions Master cleared his throat and said: "I will leave you two alone for a moment, so that you can say goodbye in private." The man walked out and closed the kitchen door behind him.  
Harry stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, he wanted to run to Lucius and hug him, but the man was always so correct about what was adequate and what was not, that he didn't know if he would be allowed to do that.  
"Harry, you do not have to hold back when we are in private," Lucius said and opened his arms in an invitation.  
Harry ran over and clutched the taller man around his midsection: "I don't want to leave you!" The time they would have to spend apart already felt too long and it hadn't even started.  
"I do not wish to leave you either, but we have to separate, at least for a short while," Lucius whispered and bent down to give him a tender kiss on his head.  
"Do you promise me that it will be only for a short while?" Harry hiccupped, trying not to cry.  
"I promise, it will never be more than some days; neither this holiday, nor after you have gone back to Hogwarts. We will still find time to see each other, I already have a plan," Lucius said and lifted Harry's face gently to stroke over his cheek softly with his thumb.  
Harry flung his arms around his mate's neck and pulled himself up, to press his lips to Lucius'. Lucius hummed in appreciation and let him dominate the kiss for a moment, before taking the lead and deepening the, so far, innocent kiss. Harry enjoyed the strong hands roaming his body and the sharp claws scratching over his sensitive neck one last time, leaving yet another mark there. All too soon Lucius pulled back and stepped a small step away from him.  
"Do we really need to go now?" Harry asked silently.  
Lucius only nodded.  
Sighing, Harry grabbed his small leather bag and tied it to one of his belt loops, before giving Lucius one last peck on his cheek and opening the door again. Snape waited for them in the living room; he had apparently used the time to accio their trunks from their shared bedroom.  
Something nudged his leg: _"Are we going somewhere?"_  
Harry looked down and saw Nagini eyeing him curiously.  
 _"Yes, we will go to Grimmauld Place,"_ Harry explained sadly.  
 _"Why are you so sad? Is your mate not coming with us?"_ the intelligent snake asked.  
 _"No, he has to go to his old Master so that he can work as a spy for me,"_ Harry explained.  
 _"I will comfort you when you feel lonely little Master,"_ Nagini promised and slithered up Harry's body to wind herself around Harry's slim frame a few times. Luckily, he was now stronger; otherwise he would have fallen under the weight of his familiar.  
 _"Thank you, Nagini,"_ Harry smiled softly at her and patted her head thankfully.  
"Are you ready Harry? You will go first, after that Lucius and I will apparate to the Dark Lord's hideout," Snape said.  
Harry nodded and grabbed a hand of floo powder from a small bag that the man offered him. He wanted to step closer to the fireplace when Lucius grasped his shoulder and pulled him back. Harry could feel his heart speeding up when his mate leaned over his shoulder whispering: "I will miss you, Harry."  
Harry wanted to say that he would miss him as well, but his mouth was dry and his throat seemed to be closed off; before he could regain his ability to speak, Lucius had already let go of him and pushed him gently but firmly to the fireplace.  
"I will visit the headquarters as soon as I can," the Potions Master promised, but Harry barely heard him. He was concentrating too much on not turning around and clutching onto his mate, refusing to leave him, despite all promises, they didn't help the rising desperation in his chest and heart.  
Closing his eyes, he threw the powder into the hearth and said: "Grimmauld Place Number 12!"

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

He was swirled around and his landing was even more ungraceful than usual, due to the huge reptile wrapped around his body. He landed with a loud thud and face down on the old rug in front of the fireplace. For a second silence filled the room and then chaos erupted.  
"Harry!" shrieked a voice and he was sure that he would be crushed by Hermione in a moment, but the attack never came, instead a second shriek and then:  
"Sirius! Remus! Harry is back but he needs help, hurry!"  
Harry barely had time to scramble to his feet when his two guardians appeared in the doorway to the dingy living room, wands outstretched and pointed at his new familiar.  
Nagini, who obviously thought that the threat was meant for Harry rose high above their heads, hissing and spitting acidic venom threateningly.  
"Stop, everyone!" Harry shouted and repeated the command in parseltongue for Nagini's benefit. His voice must have sounded demanding enough because Sirius, Remus, Ron and Hermione lowered their wands and Nagini relaxed immediately, curling once around his waist and laying her heavy head on his shoulders.  
"Harry what happened?" Hermione asked.  
"I would explain everything if you would all just give me the chance and not attack me at first sight," Harry snapped irritably; the rough landing after floo'ing and the far too early separation from his mate making him short-tempered.  
"We didn't attack you, just that evil snake," Sirius protested, crossing his arms in front of his chest.  
"That is stupid and unnecessary as well, Nagini has bonded herself to me as a familiar," Harry explained with a sigh, he really wished that they could just sit down and talk in peace for a moment; they would not accomplish anything like this, standing in an dirty living room, wands down but still at the ready.  
"What?" Ron asked incredulously.  
"Well, it's a long story," Harry muttered and scratched his head.  
"Are you sure that you can trust her?" Hermione asked carefully from her place by the couch.  
"Yeah, I am. She listens to my orders, she did that even before she bonded to me as her master and behaves more like a human friend, than a reptile," Harry mused, not sure how he should explain his trust in the snake.  
"Well, she was Voldemort's snake; you should be careful, she is poisonous after all," Hermione reminded him unnecessarily.  
"Mione, I lived with her alone at Privet Drive for two weeks, don't you think that she would have already killed me or brought me to Voldemort if that was her plan?"  
"But how do you know that she really bound herself to you? Maybe she has just told you a lie," Hermione prodded.  
Harry rolled his eyes, sometimes Hermione really should give him more credit: "She marked me," he answered and pointed at the spot beneath his collar bone where the mark laid hidden beneath his t-shirt.  
His brainy friend gasped and took a step in his direction, as if she wanted to pull his shirt down and examine it thoroughly, but Harry quickly backed a step further away from her. He could not let Hermione touch him, or she would notice his low body temperature and think that something was wrong with him, which wouldn't be too far from the truth.  
At her irritated and worried look he muttered: "It's still very sensitive."  
She nodded after a moment of hesitation and Harry covered the mark once more.  
"Okay Harry, let's go downstairs and sit down and talk," Remus proposed suddenly, luckily noticing that this useless argument could go on for hours if nobody interrupted Hermione.  
"Finally!" Harry sighed and the little group went into the kitchen. Harry took his usual spot and not the one at the head of the table, which he would claim soon enough. He grabbed an empty mug from the middle of the table and poured himself some hot chocolate, not intending to drink it, but to keep up appearance; he had always loved hot chocolate and it would be odd to ignore the pitcher. When he was seated as comfortable as he would get without Lucius next to him, he turned to Remus.  
"So Harry, could you tell us what happened?" Remus asked, pouring himself and the others a mug as well.  
Harry thought for a moment, he could not tell them everything yet, or more accurate, he could not tell them much at all, so what should he tell them? Maybe he should find out what they already knew first:  
"Yeah sure, but what happened after I left?" Harry asked non-committedly.  
"We are not sure about all the facts ourselves yet," Remus mused, his brows furrowed.  
Well, Harry thought, how could they be if they only knew a fraction of what had happened?  
"Dumbledore told us that he believed that Snape took you somewhere safe, but because he had never given the man direct orders, he wasn't really sure where he might have taken you to and he couldn't contact the greasy git either," Sirius huffed.  
"And we found out that the Malfoy's have been killed, at least Draco and his mother, but no one has seen Lucius Malfoy since. Father thinks that he is somewhere in one of his family's Manors, hiding until everything has cooled down. He believes that the arrogant bastard is too clever to let himself be killed by Voldemort and of course, far too loyal, " Ron scoffed, wrinkling his nose with no ounce of sympathy in his voice.  
Harry wanted to snap at his best friend for being so cruel and insulting towards his mate, but he hastily bit his tongue to hold himself back and instead asked: "But you don't know what has happened with Lord high and mighty?" He could not start to defend Lucius Malfoy passionately, at least not until he could give them an good explanation and he could not do that, until he had the order under control and even after that, he had to be careful in order to keep their relationship a secret. It was all really annoying.  
"No, there has been no word, not even Snape could give us any information," Remus answered, confirming what Ron had said earlier.  
Harry sighed in relief, that would make everything easier for him, he could just tell them he didn't know anything either and introduce Lucius as a spy later. Hopefully not too much later; already his body felt cold as death itself, even colder than when he was not touching the aristocrat, but only in close proximity. Sadly he had to ignore the uncomfortable feeling for now.  
"Well, I don't know anything about that arrogant bastard either," he began; it hurt to call his mate such names. Every time he insulted the man, a piercing pain shot through his dead heart, like a punishment.  
"But Dumbledore was right; Snape took me away to the Dursley's house to be precise. The problem was that the Death Eaters had been there and they had killed my relatives. And Nagini had somehow grabbed onto me before Snape apparated me away, so we had to secure the blood wards and deal with her; there was no safe possibility to come back earlier."  
"So, you lived with that overgrown bat for nearly two weeks?" Sirius eyes nearly fell out of his sockets and Hermione made a sympathetic face.  
"Mate, I really feel with you; that must have been the two worst weeks of your life!" Ron exclaimed.  
Harry's head spun around at the word mate and he glared fiercely at Ron, no one other than Lucius had the right to call him that.  
Ron backed away at Harry's look and lifted his hands in a calming gesture: "Wow, calm down, just say if you don't want me to call you my best mate anymore." Ron's gaze was more calculating than Harry had ever seen and he had the unsettling feeling that his best friend had just caught up on something. A short glance over at Hermione told him that she was still none the wiser; that was strange, because she always caught up to everything before he and Ron did.  
Turning back to Ron, he mumbled apologetically: "Yeah, that would be nice, Snape mocked me nearly two weeks with that title; I can't hear the word mate anymore. Sorry."  
Ron obviously didn't buy his explanation but nodded anyway and a wave of love towards his friend flooded over Harry. Ron was the best friend he could wish for; no one else accepted his obvious lies as easily for what they were: The unspoken confession that he couldn't or didn't want to talk about the matter right now. Ron knew that Harry would come to him as soon as he was ready and tell him everything; that trust was the basis of their friendship.  
"Harry, you just said that you ensured the blood wards, how?" Remus interrupted his train of thoughts.  
"I did a strange ritual, using my blood on the Dursley's grounds. It was a ritual in parseltongue;" Harry explained.  
Sirius eyes darkened: "That sounds like dark magic... I will kill the git! Teaching you those kinds of spells, he should be thrown out of the Order!"  
"Would it have been better if Voldemort could have just apparated into my bedroom?" Harry asked irritably, sometimes his godfather was too narrow minded. His hate of everything considered dark, made him a good wizard, but not the most helpful Order Member. Sometimes, it would be more helpful if he knew just as much about that stuff as Snape and Lucius did.  
"No, of course not!" Sirius exclaimed. "I am only worried, Harry. Dark Magic can be tempting like a drug if you are not careful. Believe me; I have seen the effect on my brother Regulus. He had always been slightly drawn to dark magic, no real wonder as a Black son, but after he joined the Death Eaters and started to use it regularly, he changed and not in a good way."  
Harry's face softened. Sirius had never told him about his late brother before, but by the tone in his voice he could hear that he had loved his brother like a brother should.  
"It's okay Harry, you can't just know all of this yet, that is why we are all here to help you," Sirius smiled at him.  
"Harry?" Harry turned his face to Hermione, who chewed thoughtfully on her bottom lip. "How exactly did you end up with Nagini as your familiar?" she asked him.  
Harry had to think carefully about the answer he would give her, but after a moment of contemplation noticed that it really wasn't so difficult. He would just tell her the truth and leave the part with their matching scars out:  
"Well, we could not let her go and therefore spent some time together. I think she just started to trust me when I treated her nicely and some days ago, she told me that she had never bound herself to Voldemort. He apparently captured her and forced her to stay with him. I told her that I would protect her, if she wanted my help and she just...bit me."  
Hermione gasped. Harry winced, maybe he should have put his explanation into nicer words, but since his change he had lost the feeling for what others would consider shocking and brutal. Sure, the marking had hurt, but he had not died; of course not. But considering his friend, it had probably been the right, but not the best way to describe the binding ritual to her, but luckily, Remus laid a calming hand on her shoulder:  
"Don't worry too much Hermione; it is quite normal for a familiar to mark its master."  
"I know, but Nagini is poisonous, I just feared that it could have harmed Harry in the beginning."  
Harry wanted to snort; if they all just knew that he had been long dead by his marking... but they didn't and it was better this way.  
"Pup, would you show us where she has marked you?" Sirius asked and Harry nodded after a moment of hesitation, pulling the collar of his t-shirt down; it wasn't as if they could see his bond to Lucius in this one and with the table between them, no one would be able to touch him so easily. The ying-yang shaped mark appeared and everybody leaned forwards to get a better look.  
"Very impressive; it looks like a strong binding, otherwise you would only have two small scars," Remus mused. When Harry frowned he explained: "The more powerful a bond is the more detailed the mark is."  
Harry had to think of his beautiful and detailed mating mark and flushed; luckily they could not smell his flush in the way Lucius always did and noticed nothing. So, did that mean that he and his mate shared a very strong bond? Harry hoped so, he had not yet thought about what exactly he felt for the aristocrat, thinking that Lucius would give him some time to sort his feelings out, after all, he was very inexperienced with relationships and their past had not been a good one, but he definitively liked the sound of a strong bond.  
"Harry, what happened to your right hand?" asked Hermione worriedly at that moment.  
'Speaking of the devil,' Harry thought, inwardly sighing. Nagini nudged his hand and he began absentmindedly patting her; earning a few curious looks from everybody, using the time everybody was distracted to think up a lie.  
"Voldemort hit me with a nasty curse. I ducked, but it still caught my hand. Snape already examined and healed it, but it has left a gruesome scar..." Harry explained in way of an answer.  
"But Harry, there is no need to be embarrassed of a scar, it doesn't makes you uglier or anything," Hermione advised him.  
"I know, but I already have a bloody scar and I don't want to be famous for a second one," Harry apologized to himself. Her face softened in understanding and she squeezed his shoulder softly; Harry barely noticed her touch, his body needed more force to feel these days, but it was nice to know that his friends cared for him so much nonetheless.  
Remus cleared his throat and pulled Harry from his thoughts: "There is something else, we need to tell you."  
A lump dropped into his stomach, Harry knew this particular tone of voice; it never meant anything good.  
"What is it Remus?" he asked, forcing his voice not to shake; he had to appear strong if he wanted their support after he had taken over the order.  
"It's Hedwig," Sirius said quietly.  
"Has something happened to her?" Harry's hands started to tremble, he didn't know how he would react if his owl had been killed. She had been his first present and a friend, even before he had gotten to know Ron.  
"She was injured by the attack of Kings Cross...she is alive, but she won't be able to fly long distances anymore," Sirius told him.  
His already dead and cold body seemed to freeze. How could someone have attacked an innocent owl? He wanted to find the culprit and rip his throat apart. Red-hot anger boiled in his veins and his vision went red for a moment, but he suppressed his rage quickly, before his glamours would not be strong enough to hide his changed body anymore.  
"Where is she?" he asked, his voice cold like ice. The others gave him a worried look, but he ignored them.  
"In our room," Ron answered and stood up.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry followed him and they went, with Hermione at their heels, up to their shared bedroom. When Harry opened the door, he saw his snowy owl sitting on a perch on the windowsill. She hooted happily as soon as she saw him, but Harry's heart clenched painfully. Hedwig looked battered. Her beautiful feathers were dishevelled, there were bare spots on her wings and a scar ran from her left eye to her beak. He ran over to her and she hopped onto his outstretched arm, hooting welcomingly. Patting her back, he turned to his two friends: "I can't understand why someone would attack an innocent owl."  
"I think, it was just the fact that she belonged to ...someone of the light side," Hermione whispered, sadness in her voice. Harry knew that she had wanted to say: 'That she belonged to you', but didn't comment on it, he was past the point where he drowned in sadness whenever someone was hurt because of him. Sure, he still felt sorrow and anger, but he had decided to take matters in his own hands instead of wallowing in sadness and despair.  
 _"Is she your other familiar?"_ Nagini hissed, she had glided off his body and was now curled up on his bed, Harry mused that she had smelled that it was his.  
 _"Her name is Hedwig, she is my oldest friend, but she got injured by your old master,"_ Harry answered her.  
 _"You will revenge her one day,"_ Nagini hissed matter of factly, coaxing a smile from Harry.  
"It is really scary to hear you talk with Voldemort's snake so casually," Ron muttered from his seat on his own bed.  
"Her name is Nagini and she was never Voldemort's snake," Harry explained sternly, he wouldn't let his new familiar be harassed only because of a past connection to Voldemort she had never wished for. That would similar to someone saying he was a Death Eater only because of his cured scar.  
"I think she will be a great help," Hermione said. "I mean, Voldemort would have never captured a weak familiar and she must have a lot of inside information on him and his servants, even though she was not there out of her own free will."  
"No, he wouldn't," Harry agreed, wondering slightly about her sudden mood change in regards to his new pet.  
Looking around Ron and his shared room, he noticed for the first time that there was a third bed. "Why is there another bed?" he asked.  
"I am sleeping here as well. Ginny and Molly, Arthur, Fred, George and even Charley will arrive later today and it will be very crowded here," Hermione explained.  
"Yeah, even the greasy git has requested a room to sleep in. I really can't imagine why... Snape never wanted to stay here," Ron muttered darkly.  
Harry could think of a reason, but he would not share his assumption with his friends, so he just asked: "How do you know that?"  
"He sent an owl this morning, telling us that he would arrive tomorrow and needed a room and basically commanded Sirius to give him entrance to the old Potions Lab in the cellar," Ron elaborated.  
"This sounds like him, even Private Drive now has a Potions Lab," Harry grimaced for good measure, even though he just wanted to laugh, he had learned to appreciate the man's intelligent and sharp humour in the last weeks. Snape really was not a very pleasant person and they would never be considered friends, but after their peace-agreement, Harry had realized that he was a good and loyal ally; after all, you didn't have to like your ally's, but Ron would never understand his new point of view.  
"Really?" Hermione asked curiously. "But you can't just change a room in a house which doesn't belong to you," she advised him. Somehow, Harry mused inwardly, he should have expected that she would pick up on this one point of the whole story. Other people might have asked him why he had given his hated professor a room in the first place, but not Hermione.  
"Good then that I am my late family's only heir," Harry grinned back.  
"What?" Ron asked. "But wasn't there that scary aunt of yours that you blew up before our third year?  
Harry snickered, remembering the incident with aunt Marge. Now that he knew that he would not be expelled because of his independent acting magic, he could laugh about it.  
"She died because of a stroke and now everything is mine, the house, their money and even their car." His eyes widened in realization: "I have a car! And a good one at that!"  
"Yes, and you are still not allowed to drive it," Hermione said sternly.  
Harry ignored the fact that he would in reality never be old enough to drive a car and grinned back at Ron, who looked all too happy in an evil kind of way.  
"Harry, that is brilliant, they would be so mad if they knew!" the redhead laughed.  
"They would," Harry agreed.  
"Maybe my dad can teach the car to fly? Or at least enlarge the space, so that we don't have to borrow one from the Ministry every time we need one?"  
"Sure, we can fetch it one of these days, I have the key with me, it is on the key ring of my uncle," Harry mused.  
"But you won't fetch it yourself?" Hermione asked in a voice that told him the expected answer.  
"No, of course not. I don't need any more problems with the Ministry because the muggle police caught me. Maybe I can ask the greasy git; after all, he is a Half-blood and grew up in the same town as my mother did; they were even childhood friends," Harry smirked, thinking about forcing Severus to drive his uncle's Mercedes.  
Ron's eyes nearly fell out of his sockets: "What? Your mother and that over large bat? That makes him nearly your uncle!"  
Harry made a face, sure he had come to an understanding with his professor, he even trusted him in some way, but that still sounded too close to a personal relationship for him to be comfortable with. He could never imagine the man anything else other than his teacher and ally against Voldemort  
"No, I don't think so, they had a fall out in his seventh year," he explained.  
"Harry, you have come to know him quite well," Hermione commented.  
"Not really, but we could not insult each other day after day; it would have become tiresome at some point."  
"I really don't know what I would say if I found out that you were friends with him now, it would be nearly as bad as befriending a Malfoy," Ron commented lightly, but Harry winced. If Ron would not like him being friends with a Malfoy, what would he say if he found out that he was mated to the older one? They both had considered Lucius even worse than his son, because in contrast to Draco, the man was really intelligent, powerful and cunning. Deciding that he would think about how to break the news to his best friends when he really needed to, he dropped the thoughts.  
"Harry, would you like to lay down for a bit?" Hermione asked suddenly and he looked at her questioningly: "Why?"  
"You look awfully pale and exhausted; I have never seen you like this. It must have been some rough days..." she broke off.  
"Yeah, sure..." Harry said, he was not tired in the slightest and laying down would not help his pale complexion either. "But I am honestly not tired at all."  
Ron eyed him again as if he knew something he shouldn't, but said nothing.  
"Well, if you are sure. Ah! I just remembered, your Hogwarts letter arrived a few days ago," the girl said and walked over to a very small desk, pulling open the top drawer. She handed him the letter and he opened it quickly. It stated nothing new in particular; the term would start as always on the first of September, eleven days from now and it contained the book list for next year. He noticed that there was no book for DADA and furrowed his brow:  
"Do we have no DADA at all next year?" he asked.  
"I don't think so," Hermione answered. "I believe that Dumbledore hasn't found a competent teacher yet and therefore doesn't know which book we will need. The list is probably charmed to update on its own."  
"Well, I hope he doesn't give the job to a second Lockhart," Ron muttered.  
"I hope there will be no second Moody," Harry added darkly.  
Silence fell over the room; it was uncomfortable, everyone was thinking about the horrible end of their last year and Harry's depressed state of mind afterwards. That had luckily changed since his mating and his time with Lucius and Snape. The men had helped him to see things in a different light and to not only blame himself for what had happened.  
Hermione cleared her throat and said: "We will go to Diagon Alley sometime this week. Ginny will be so happy to see you again."  
Harry winced, he knew that Ron's little sister had a huge crush on him and hoped that she had not become any bolder this summer; he didn't know how he would react to an open attempt to flirt with him, the thought alone made his skin crawl. Something must have shown in his face, because Ron said: "I will help you with her if she goes too far."  
"Thanks, Ron, that would be a big help," Harry sighed in relief.  
"But why?" Hermione asked. "She is a nice girl and maybe a relationship would cheer you up."  
"She is like a sister to me Mione, I could never date her," he half lied.  
Hermione frowned: "I would have thought that you would wish for Harry to date your sister, after all, he might become a real relative to you someday then, Ron," Hermione mused.  
"But you can't force him to fall in love with her," Ron said wisely.  
Hermione blinked in surprised at him: "You are right, but I had hoped for a second girl in our clique." She sighed, but dropped the topic.  
"Hey Harry, what would you think of a match of Quidditch once my brothers arrived?" Ron changed the topic.  
"I would like that," Harry grinned widely. "I will unpack then so we can start after lunch."  
He lifted his trunk onto his bed and opened it only to stare at the upper garment. It was a crisp white button down, one they had bought for Lucius in London. He picked it up and absentmindedly lifted it to his nose, inhaling the scent of his mate. He instantly relaxed a bit more, imagining that Lucius was holding him in his strong arms, but Hermione pulled him out from his blissful state:  
"Harry, that is not one of your shirts," she stated matter of factly.  
Looking through the room for any idea as to explain how a much too large shirt ended up in his trunk, he hastily said: "I did not have a lot of clothes at Privet Drive without my trunk, so I borrowed that one from Dudley as a night shirt, he doesn't need it anymore anyway."  
Ron made a disgusted face: "You are wearing the shirt of a dead person? Harry, that is gross!"  
Harry would have to admit that it would have been if it really was Dudley's shirt, but it wasn't and he therefore only shrugged. Besides, he was dead as well, just not the decaying type of dead.  
"Ron, I don't think that he pulled the shirt from his dead body, it was most probably a clean one from his wardrobe," Hermione chided him.  
"Yeah...well, but still," Ron shivered.  
Meanwhile, Harry had hidden the shirt under his covers and started to dump socks into a small drawer. Their cupboard was magically enlarged so that the clothes of all three of them would fit in the small piece of furniture. He was soon finished, after all he didn't own much, but maybe he could buy some new clothes when they were at Diagon Alley. After all, the Dursley's could not steal his money anymore and it would be nice to have some fitting clothes for a change, and maybe even some that Lucius would appreciate. He blushed at that thought, thinking about what his mate would like. Harry honestly had no idea. Sure, he knew how the man dressed himself and even how his son had dressed, but that didn't mean that he found these things alluring or even arousing.  
He blushed even more. Did he want to be arousing for his mate? He thought about it for a moment and came to the conclusion, that yes, he wanted that. But wouldn't that be a bit unfair? After all, he was not yet ready to take their physical relationship too far, no further than last night anyway. Would Lucius appreciate it despite that fact? His mate had mentioned that he would buy Harry some new clothes as well, so he could wait until then and see what kind of clothing his mate would choose for him; if he really would buy him new things.  
Lucius probably would, but he was at Grimmauld Place now and there was no way that the man would stroll in here and give him a huge package and Harry didn't know when he would see his mate again. Hopefully at least for a few days before next term, that was if he succeeded in taking over the Order and introducing the aristocrat as new spy; but after school had started, he would be lucky to see him now and then in Snape's office or at Headquarters.  
He felt himself getting agitated at the thought of the next few months and quickly took a bonbon from his small leather bag on his belt, remembering Snape's words that they might calm him down and they did, at least a bit. The taste of blood was so good and soothing after the tasteless hot chocolate.  
A knock sounded at the door and Ginny stepped inside, her eyes instantly landing on him.  
"Are you here already?" Ron asked curiously.  
His sister just nodded and then said: "Mum sent me; lunch will be ready in fifteen minutes."  
Harry watched her going over to her brother's bed and flopping down. He felt slightly annoyed; she was still eyeing him with those big brown orbs that were far to soft for his liking. He wanted to look into eyes of silver that were cold like fire made from ice and sharp like a double edged knife, promising him forbidden pleasures and a fierce protector.  
Harry was horrified to notice that he had been staring back into her eyes, when the girl suddenly blushed and the strong smell of shy embarrassment reached his nose. He forced himself to not wrinkle the offended appendage and quickly smiled before turning back to his empty trunk, closing it and shoving it under his bed so that it would not stand in his way. Then he sat down and pulled Nagini into his lap.  
 _"She smells wrong, she has her eyes set on you,"_ the large reptile hissed.  
 _"I know, but she is my best friend's sister and I have to keep my mate a secret for no, or he will be in danger, so I have to cope with her,"_ Harry explained.  
Ginny's eyes landed on his familiar and widened, but someone had obviously warned her, because she said nothing about her, instead she mumbled:  
"You look good, Harry. Have you grown or something?"  
Harry wanted to snort; so much had changed with his body, everybody could probably see that, even with his glamour, but he had certainly not grown. "No, I haven't," he simply said and then turned the conversation away from himself: "How has your summer been?"  
She smiled brightly at him and Harry hoped that she would not misinterpret his interest. Sure, he liked her; she was nice and his best friend's sister, so it was just natural to ask those type questions, wasn't it? But her happy face was all too bright:  
"It was great! I spend a lot of time with my friends and I even got my own pygmy puff. Her name is Stella and she is currently in my room taking a nap, but if you want, you can come over later and I can introduce you to her, she is really nice and cuddly. You will like her!" She told him at an inhuman pace and Harry had some trouble processing all her words. Finally it caught up to him that she had practically invited him into her room and he shuddered inwardly, thinking that her motives were anything but innocent and even if she really just wanted to show him her new pet, he guessed that he didn't find pygmy puffs as interesting as she did. The animals were quite useless and stupid, nothing in comparison to Nagini or even Hedwig. Seeing, that she waited for an answer he said non-committedly: "I will see if I find the time later."  
Ron who had caught his helpless look quickly helped him out: "We plan on playing a game of Quidditch, so I don't think that he will have time today."  
Ginny pouted, but then her face brightened again: "I will join you guys, after all, there needs to be at least one girl."  
"Yeah, sure," Ron said, looking apologetically over at Harry, who shrugged, not knowing how to politely get rid of her either.  
"I think we should go down now," Hermione interrupted their conversation with a glance at her watch. "fifteen minutes are nearly over."

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

They left the room and went downstairs. When they entered the kitchen, Arthur, Fred, George and Charley were already around the table, waving when they saw Harry entering.  
"Hey Harry, we heard you had to live with our favourite Potions Teacher for the last two weeks?" Fred grinned.  
Harry made the same face he had made when Ron had asked him about his last weeks:  
"Let's just say, you can learn to live with anyone," that was at least not a lie.  
"Sure, as long as it is not a Malfoy," Charlie chuckled.  
"You are speaking wise words," George laughed.  
What problem did they all have with the Malfoy's? He would even agree to that statement for Draco and probably Narcissa, but Lucius was really different than the other two. His mate was very caring and protective, a true family person if you gave him the chance. Sighing inwardly, he realized that some day in the future his mating would turn out to be a scandal.  
Molly had turned around to put a large pan on the table and hurried over when she saw Harry and pulled him into a hug, pan still in one hand: "Harry my dear, how have you been? We were all so worried, when we could not find you or Severus. I feared the worst!"  
Harry hugged her back: "Snape kept me safe; there was no way that Voldemort could have gotten to me. Dumbledore distracted him long enough luckily."  
"Arthur said the same, but still..." she drew in a shaky breath and Harry realized for the first time that Molly really had adopted him into her family. He hugged her even tighter, until she squeaked in surprise: "Not so tight! Harry, have you gotten stronger?"  
Harry blinked in confusion, before quickly letting her go and sitting back down. In comparison to his dominant he was so weak that he had not realized how strong he had gotten until now.  
"I am sorry Molly, I just was so happy to see you again."  
Molly's eyes softened. She patted his cheek before returning to the stove. Harry swirled his bonbon around in his mouth and turned to the pan, eyeing the tomato sauce with vegetables. He really was not hungry, even less when he looked at the food and the smell started to make him slightly queasy. How could he eat something like this when the memory of Lucius' delicious blood was still so fresh in his mind and he could still almost taste him on his tongue? The chocolate had been bad enough for one day.  
"It smells delicious, doesn't it?"  
Harry turned his head only to see that Ginny had sat down next to him. Mentally sighing, he said: "It does, your mum is a better cook than I am," he said.  
"You can cook?" Ginny asked with interest, a sweet smile on her lips.  
"I can. My aunt taught me," he described the situation at the Dursley's place carefully. "I had to cook the last two weeks, or Snape would have probably starved down in the new Potions Lab he had set in my relative's cellar."  
Ginny wrinkled her nose: "It would have been no great loss."  
A wooden spoon landed painfully on her head and she turned to glare at her mother, who only glared back: "Ginevra Weasley! I will not hear such foul words from your mouth again, is that understood? I know the man from my own school days, he was a bit younger than your father and I and he was never a bad person! Moody, yes, especially after...that doesn't matter, but he is a great man and the Order would not save half as many people without him!"  
"But mum!" Ginny whined. Harry was pleased that at least one other person did not hate the Potions Master; the man really deserved some more appreciation.  
Sirius, Remus and Arthur came down as well and Molly placed a large bowl with rice next to the pan, before they all started to fill their plates.  
"So, who wants to play Quidditch after lunch?"Ron asked loud enough for everyone to hear. Sirius grinned widely and said: "I am on a team with Harry and Remi!"  
"What?" Remus asked incredulously.  
"Don't try to argue, you are a decent player, you will join us," Sirius commanded.  
"We will join you, too," Fred and George smiled, shortly followed by Charley and even Arthur, which made Molly raise a concerned eyebrow. In the end, it was only Molly and Hermione who didn't want to play and they were persuaded quickly by the others.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

So after lunch they all went outside and they split into two teams and it was decided, that Harry, Sirius, Remus, Ron and Hermione would have one player less than the other team, because Harry's talent apparently counted for two; at least, that was what Fred declared loudly and the game started.  
Harry had never seen Remus, Sirius, Molly or Arthur on a broom before and their skills were quite different. Remus was a steady flyer, not as good as Sirius or even Fred and George, but a far cry from bad. In contrast to that, Harry could not watch Arthur on a broom, he always feared that the man would drop from his flying vehicle, so unsteady was his flying. Molly had been a beater herself she told the others, who gaped at her. She was very good and had a hard punch and Harry wished he could add the fierce women to his Gryffindor team so that they would wipe the floor with the Slytherins next year. Sirius was quick and agile and the best chaser he had ever seen. Once he had the quaffle, he never let the red ball go.  
Ginny had changed her jeans to a more fitting pair of sports trousers, the only problem Harry had with that was that the shorts were really short, especially considering that she was sitting on a broom. He had a feeling that she had chosen the pants with a purpose. Harry noticed that Sirius and Remus turned always away in disgust, only to search for the others eyes, making Harry wonder if it was because of Ginny or because of her being a girl.  
He as well turned always away from the sight of her. If he wanted to see smooth skin, he would just go to Lucius, he had smooth skin as well and his legs were even muscled and strong, hard and unyielding like the rest of his mate's perfect body.  
In the end, both teams were equally strong and it was only Harry's outstanding talent as a seeker which granted his team victory.  
"Well done mate!" Fred flung an arm around his shoulders and patted him.  
"Very formidable!" George added, but Harry was growling again. He knew he should not react so violently whenever someone called him their 'mate', but it was like a primary instinct.  
"You shouldn't call him that," Ron appeared suddenly next to him.  
"Why..."  
"...not?" the twins asked curiously.  
"He doesn't like it. Apparently Snape taunted him with that title the whole of the last two weeks."  
Harry was glad that, whatever suspicion his best friend had about his extreme reaction, he didn't voice it out loud. The twins winced in sympathy and nodded their consent.  
"Just call him man or something like that, I try to get used to it as well," Ron suggested.  
"Harry, you should know that we don't mean it as an insult. Don't let Snape get to you like this," Hermione said, climbing from her broom.  
"I know," Harry sighed. "But I can't control myself. It is stupid, I shouldn't react like this, but at the moment I just do..."  
His bushy haired friend frowned, but said nothing more and they went back to the town house in comfortable silence. Molly passed them hurriedly, announcing that she would prepare some sandwiches and that they all should come downstairs in half an hour.  
"Hey Harry, wanna see my pygmy puff now?" Ginny chimed and Fred and George, who saw his tortured expression and always looked for an opportunity to tease their little sister grinned wickedly:  
"Wanna see my pygmy puff?" George echoed.  
"That just sounds so wrong, dear little sister..." Fred cringed and George ended for good measure:  
"Like a code for: Shall I show you my tits?"  
Ginny grew beet red and she glared angrily at her older brothers: "That was not what I meant! You know that dad bought me a new pygmy puff!"  
"Yeah, yeah," the twins snickered.  
Harry, who really didn't want to visit the girl all alone in her room and thought that the twins were probably right with their assumption, quickly said: "Sorry Gin, but I really have to take a shower. I am smelling."  
"But maybe afterwards?" She asked and Harry quickly nodded before hurrying of. He could agree to a maybe.  
Up in their shared room he collected his toiletries, just as his friends stepped inside.  
"I still think you two would make a cute couple. But when you can't see her as a girlfriend, there is nothing we can do, not even Ginny herself, she should realize that," Hermione sighed.  
"She should realize it soon," Ron muttered, obviously annoyed with his little sister.  
"Well, I will go get a shower, see you later," Harry said and left the two to their own devices, going upstairs to another landing for the main bathroom.  
Luckily, it was still empty and so he quickly locked the door behind him, just to make sure that nobody could follow him. He really didn't need to take showers anymore. Being dead, meant not only that he was always cold unless he was in the arms of his mate and that he could not differ between temperatures very well anymore, but also that he did not sweat or perspire in any way. The only time he really needed a shower after an activity was after a sexual encounter with Lucius. He was not sure if he could only smell the scent of sex so strongly because of his new powers, or if others could as well and he would not take the chance of them finding out anything anytime soon. Furthermore, Remus also had a keen nose due to his werewolf Moony.  
Ten minutes later he was cleaned and dried and back in his clothes.  
He met Nagini in the hallway in front of his room; the reptile was just rising to open the door when she noticed him coming:  
 _"I had to hunt some garden gnomes for lunch. They taste awful, but at least, you don't have to worry about feeding me,"_ she announced.  
 _"Thank you, Nagini. How many are some?"_ he asked, eyeing the huge snake.  
 _"Maybe fifteen...they are so small. Not much flesh,"_ Nagini mused.  
 _"Well, no one will miss them, least of all Mrs Weasley. Maybe we should take you to her garden some day, the gnomes there really are a plague."_  
The reptile pushed open the door and slithered inside, Harry following her quickly before the door could close again.  
"I still have to get used to her. She is a frightening sight," Ron said, but eyed the snake without any hate or fear.  
"She really is nice. It's just sad that you can't talk to her, or you could prove it yourself," Harry said and dropped his wet towel over a chair.  
"It would really be interesting to talk to a snake. I would have so many questions," Hermione sighed dreamily.  
Harry rolled his eyes inwardly, sometimes it seemed as if there was nothing more important to Hermione than to gain more knowledge.  
"Harry," Ron called him and he turned around to face the redhead.  
"I think you should really go and visit my sister," he said, smiling.  
Harry sighed exasperatedly, he had thought that Ron was on his side, but apparently he was wrong.  
"Why?" he asked dryly.  
"Because she asked you so nicely and for the second time already and because I still have some clothes of hers in my trunk that would not fit in her own and I need to take them to her."  
A wide grin spread over his face and he nodded eagerly. This way, Ginny could not say that he had not visited her and he would not be alone with the freckled girl.  
"That is actually a good solution," Hermione praised him.  
"I know, that's why I suggested it," Ron smirked and opened the door. Ginny's room was just at the end of the dark hallway.  
 _"Where are you going?"_ Nagini called after Harry.  
 _"To Ginny,"_ he answered and when his familiar only frowned he elaborated: _"The girl who wants to mate with me."_  
It seemed he had chosen the right words, because the snake nodded in understanding and followed him: _"I will come with you. There will be no threat to the mate of my master."_  
 _"Okay,"_ Harry agreed and after a curious look from Ron they went over to the other room. Hermione caught up to them just as Harry was about to knock, explaining: "Even if I think that a relationship would do you some good, you are my best friend and I will help you no matter what."  
Harry smiled thankfully at her and finally knocked.  
Ginny opened with a bright smile, which disappeared quickly, when she saw not only Harry, but the entire small group in front of her room. She glared over Harry's shoulder at Ron, who wasn't impressed in the least, but then said: "Come in, I almost thought you couldn't make it after all."  
"I was faster than I thought I would be," Harry smiled and flopped down on the bed. Ginny made a step in his direction, but before she could sit down next to him, Hermione shoved her to the side:  
"Make some room for me, please. I am so tired after the match." To underline her words, she let herself fall backwards, spreading her arm across the mattress and sighing heavily.  
Ginny's look darkened and she turned to his brother to snap: "So, why did you all come?"  
"I still had some of your stuff," Ron pushed a pile of shirts in her arms. "Really, I don't understand why you need so much clothing for only two weeks. You have to go over to the Burrow to pack your school trunk anyway; there was really no need to pack all these things."  
"Of course you don't understand, you are a boy after all," Ginny hissed.  
"Actually, I do not understand it either," Hermione shrugged.  
"Well, you are... a different kind of girl than I am," Ginny said nonchalantly before asking: "And you Hermione?"  
"We are friends, why should I not visit you as well?" Hermione mused; she really could pull off this stupid act if she wanted. Of course, Harry mused, one would only believe it if the topic had something to do with feelings and interpersonal relationship and not with stuff you could learn from a book, but that was not required right now.  
"So, you wanted to show me your new pet?" Harry asked, drawing Ginny's attention back to him.  
"Yes," she turned searchingly and finally went over to a pile of shirts that lay on the ground to pick up something very pink and fluffy.  
"This is Stella, isn't she cute?" she asked, holding the pink thing, that clashed horribly with her hair, out to Harry; he didn't need to be a Malfoy to notice that she should have picked one in another colour instead of this bright neon pink. He pet the small creature, who eyed him through half lidded eyes. It really was a boring animal. The pygmy puff barely moved, contend to sit still and be petted and it made no sound either.  
 _"It looks more like a snack than an adequate familiar,"_ Nagini hissed from the ground, making Ginny screech as she had not yet noticed the large reptile.  
"I really can't understand how you could choose such an ugly familiar. A snake is not cuddly, or cute and everybody is scared of her. Even if she had not been Voldemort's pet before, she would not suit you. You are a Gryffindor and should not be accompanied by the symbol of the Slytherins," she huffed.  
Harry's eyes flashed angrily: "Nagini is intelligent and friendly and yes, she is dangerous and everybody is scared of her, but that makes her the ideal familiar for me, after all, I am still hunted by a mad man."  
He was really angry with her. Sure, she was Ron's sister, but she had gone too far and even if she had been his girlfriend, she would not have the right to question his choice of pet like this. He was still his own person and not an accessory for a girl to show off. Lucius would never try to change him like this.  
"But you can't be sure that she would protect you against her old master," Ginny argued.  
"Voldemort was never her master, only her captor and I can be sure of her loyalty, because she has been tortured by him as much as myself, maybe even more," Harry said harshly.  
Ginny recoiled and took a deep breath, clearly noticing that she was making her crush seriously mad at her. Smiling sweetly she said: "I am sorry, Harry. I should not have doubted you; after all, you always did the right thing until now. You are brave and intelligent and always had the right intuition when it came to people's loyalties and true intention. Why should you be wrong with a snake? Do you accept my apology?"  
Harry knew it was only sweet talk and it made him nauseous; he smiled back, he had to live with her in close proximity for the next couple of days, after that he could keep out of her way, Hogwarts was big enough for that.  
"I accept your apology," he confirmed and at the next moment she was hugging him.  
"Thank you Harry," after she had righted herself she suggested all too innocently: "I have packed the things away, so you can go back to your room Ron, and relax a bit until dinner and I think mum would appreciate your help with the dinner, Hermione."  
Harry watched Hermione's chest rise and fall, a sign that she was trying to suppress a heavy and probably annoyed sigh.  
"I am really tired right now, but Harry, you mentioned that you know how to cook. Could you go downstairs this time?" the brainy witch asked and Harry knew that Ginny was really badly annoying her with her refusal to take the hint that he was not interested in her.  
"Sure Mione," he agreed and stood, picking Nagini up and wrapping her around his body, before leaving his friends behind who would surely annoy Ginny for a little while longer.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

The dinner turned out to be a loud and happy affair, with everybody still excited about their earlier match. Only Ginny was grumpy, but no one took much notice. It was already late when they were finally finished with eating and Ron and Hermione went to their room, but Harry was not yet tired. As a vampire he didn't need as much sleep as a human, especially since the sun didn't force him into unconsciousness any longer. When he had been at Privet Drive at the Dursley's, he had loved to cuddle up to Lucius and let his mate's body warm his and fall asleep in the safety of the man's strong arms. Without all that, sleep seemed only unnecessary and unappealing as well.  
So he walked into the dusty lounge, where he found Sirius and Remus, and sat down in an old armchair.  
"Hey kiddo, tell us a bit more about your joyful week with Snivellus," Sirius greeted him with a wide grin.  
Harry wished he could tell the man that the two last weeks, or at least the last one had been one of the best he ever had, maybe even the best of all of them, even with Snape being there, but that was once again not an option. Instead he said for the third time that day:  
"Privet Drive is now in possession of a Potions Lab. I believe it is one even I cannot enter."  
Sirius made a face and Remus chuckled. The werewolf had always been more accepting of Snape, even though he didn't like him much either, but Remus was able to see Snape's talents and his value for the Order.  
"It was not that bad, really. At least in the end we came to some sort of understanding," he finally said, because he really wished to defend the man who had helped him so much in the last days at least; a bit and honestly: Snape deserved it, at least, the man had always been honest with him.  
"Really?" Remus asked curiously and Sirius growled.  
"He will still pay for insulting you so often, even if it was not his duty to save you and stay with you, you still gave him a bed and cooked for him and were probably even polite," his godfather snapped.  
"It really was not as bad," Harry tried to calm Sirius down, but without much success, instead Remus agreed with him:  
"Harry, Sirius is right, it must have been bad if you still cannot stand to be called someone's best mate."  
The familiar growl was rising in his chest once again, but he quickly stopped it; this would be the worst moment ever to growl over the title. If he gave into his instincts now, he could just stop to defend his Professor.  
"But we really came to a understanding in the end," Harry argued once more.  
"Has he at least checked your hand thoroughly? I can't imagine that there is nothing he can do about the scar. As much as I hate him and as much as I hate to admit it, he is the best at potions," Sirius grumbled.  
"He has," Harry lied smoothly. "He searched for days and I had to try all kinds of healing potions and salves, but nothing helped," He shrugged nonchalantly, sticking to the story he had told earlier: "But it was a curse of Voldemort's, I really didn't expect that he could do something about it."  
"It probably was a very dark curse," Remus mused darkly.  
"Yeah," Harry agreed.  
"Let me see it cub, it can't be so bad and I am your godfather after all," Sirius reached for his hand, but Harry hastily cradled it against his chest.  
"No, it is really nasty," he refused and scooted into one corner of his armchair.  
Sirius sighed heavily: "You can trust me Harry."  
"I know, but if I show it to you, I have to see it myself and I don't want to see it," he protested vehemently.  
Remus opened his mouth to help his friend, but at that moment the fireplace lit up with green flames and Severus Snape stepped out like a large shadow into the room, a small trunk in one hand. Harry watched him smoothing out his robes; the man had not yet seen him or Sirius and Remus for that matter.  
"I thought you wouldn't arrive until tomorrow," he said in a way of greeting. His professor turned around, a carefully neutral expression on his face, but no sign of his usual sneer, he had given Harry all the previous years.  
"Hello Harry," he greeted smoothly and Harry knew at that particular moment that the stress wasn't over yet. He glared at the Potions Master, who had until now not taken his offer to call him by his first name and he could clearly see that the man had just done it to get a rise out of Sirius, and he was succeeding:  
"Harry? Since when does the git call you by your first name?" Sirius bellowed.  
"Since I offered him to forego my title and he accepted," Snape said patiently, a small smirk on his lips.  
"What?" Sirius roared and Remus had to grab him by his arm quickly to prevent the man from harming the other.  
"Sirius please, I told you that we came to some sort of an agreement," Harry pleaded exasperatedly, but his godfather didn't listen:  
"You have no right to call him Harry. You could not help him with his scar and you taunted him so much, that he cannot stand it anymore when his best friend calls him mate!"  
Harry hoped that the man would pick up on his lies and support him with his excuse for not wanting to be called mate by anyone. He had some luck, at least partially. Obviously ignoring the comment about his taunting Harry he asked:  
"Which scar?"  
"The scar on his right hand!" Sirius exclaimed.  
"Padfoot, please calm down! Harry told you, that he tried everything to heal it, but it is a dark curse. Not even Snape can make a scar disappear inflicted by the darkest wizard alive, or he would have done something for Harry's lightning bolt scar long ago!" Remus growled and pulled his friend a bit further away from the Potions Master.  
Harry saw understanding flashing in those black eyes and Snape sneered at Sirius: "What else do you expect of me? As a member of the Black family, you should know that there are some curses which cause permanent damage. But you always cared about ignoring your upbringing, wanting only to be a perfect Gryffindor and thus making yourself useless for the Order."  
Harry winced. Need the man go so far to back up his story?  
"Take that back you slimy bastard!" Sirius was growling by now.  
"Can't stand the truth, mutt?" Severus sneered, clearly determined to drive the knife in further:  
"If you had listened to your parents sometimes, you could be of much more use, but as it is, you are not even able to recognize the most common dark curses. Why Dumbledore even allows you to work for the Order is a mystery to me, even Arthur has more knowledge. But at least you provide us with a headquarters and as for insulting Harry: If the boy is so fragile that he cannot stand some taunting, how do you expect him to survive the war? Or do you not expect him to at all?" Without a glance backwards he picked up his trunk once again and disappeared upstairs.  
Harry sighed heavily, he had wanted to ask Snape how things had gone with Voldemort, but after the little row with Sirius, there was no need to go upstairs now, Snape would currently not even answer him probably. Hopefully, Snape's quick disappearance meant that everything had gone according to plan, he surely would have told him otherwise. Wouldn't he?  
Looking up again, Harry could see that Sirius was seething. His godfather's fists were clenching and unclenching and his chest was rising and falling rapidly. The strong scent of rage filled the room and Harry wanted to go upstairs or visit a nice smelling flower garden. Luckily he could not smell every emotion, only those which were very strong, but sadly that often meant that he smelled the bad ones, they tended to be more abundant than the really strong good ones.  
"One day I will kill him!" Sirius growled.  
"Enough!" Remus snapped, who had apparently reached the end of his patience: "Harry has told you often enough that he has finally come to a understanding with his professor and you are on a strong path to destroy that understanding once again! Do you want to make your godson's life even more complicated than it already is?"  
To Harry's surprise Sirius seemed to deflate at the words. The animagus hung his head and dropped back down onto his seat: "No, of course not Moony, but everything he says..."  
"I know. I don't like him either, but Harry has to see him every week in class and it would be much easier for him if Snape doesn't insults him all the time or at least not as harshly as before," Remus said.  
"I don't think that their understanding will make a lot of difference. Harry still is a Gryffindor and Snivellus has to favour his Slytherins after all," Sirius scoffed and Harry actually had to agree with that. Silently of course; he would not destroy all the work Remus had done of calming the dog- animagus down.  
"Harry will never find that out if you jump the man at every opportunity. Just stick to your usual insults, but don't blow up like this. He could think that Harry has complained about him, even though he tried to help him and we cannot forget that he did save Harry at King's Cross," Remus had let go of Sirius' arm and was now patting the abused appendage, where a bright blue and purple bruise was forming. Remus really was strong, Harry thought absentmindedly.  
"But I won't be polite to him!" Sirius huffed, sounding like a pouting child.  
"No one expects that," Remus reassured him.  
"No one would think you capable of being polite to him," Harry grinned and stood up. "I think I will head off for bed now. It has been a long day."  
"Good night, Harry," Remus said, and Sirius winked at him.  
Ron and Hermione were already fast asleep and Harry noticed for the first time how loud breathing could be. Hopefully he would get his own room at Hogwarts, because if he had to live with Neville and Seamus' snoring for an entire year he would go mad with his keen vampire hearing. Going silently over to the bed, he undressed and wanted to climb under the blanked naked, when luckily he remembered that his friends would certainly notice it the next morning and quickly pulled Lucius' shirt from under the pillow. He cast a preserving spell on it, so that Lucius' scent would not fade or be overpowered by his own and slipped it over his head. It nearly reached his knees and covered all his assets, so he didn't need to search for a pair of underpants. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he possessed any at this point. He had thrown many away at Hogwarts, thinking that he could get new hand-me-downs from his cousins or even buy some new at Diagon Alley, but he had not done that in the end and he thought that he might have seen Lucius going to the trash can with a suspicious pile of white clothing.  
Laying down in the darkness, Harry found himself still not very tired and on top of that now, without any distractions he realized just how much he missed Lucius. His skin was so cold without the warming touch of his mate and the comforter didn't help any. He missed his smooth, velvet like voice and the strong arms that would pull him against an even stronger body.  
Harry also missed the quiet company, the fact that he could always go to the aristocrat and snuggle into his lap or just talk to him or persuade him to play a game of chess he would surely lose, and those sharp nails stroking his neck.  
He wanted to know what Lucius was doing right now and if he missed him as much as he missed the older man. Surely he would, they were mates after all, or at least, he hoped that he would miss him. Harry knew that they still didn't know too much about each other and that he was still a bit shy and didn't do as much physical explorations as Lucius might wish, but at the same time, he was sure that it didn't bother his dominant. At the beginning, he had asked himself if he would be able to satisfy the older man who had so much more experience, but after their first exchange of blood, his instincts had become much stronger and they reassured him of his relationship. He was as important to Lucius as the man was to him. Maybe, it was not quite love yet, but that would come and there was no way that their relationship would break up.  
A heavy weight settled on his bed and slithered over his small body. Harry pulled Nagini to his chest; who sensed his loneliness and curled protectively around him, hissing soothing noises, like a mother would do or a very good friend. Burrowing his nose in his mate's button-down, he closed his eyes and imagined that it wasn't Nagini's long body wrapped around him, but Lucius', and finally drifted off to sleep.

 **Please Review!**


	8. Chapter 08: Days Without Him

**Chapter 8: Days Without Him**

 **HP**

When Harry awoke the next morning he sat up, still half asleep and turned with his closed eyes to kiss his mate awake; only to realize that Lucius was not next to him but Nagini instead and that he was at Grimmauld Place with Ron and Hermione sleeping in the same room. His mood dropped immediately, but at least it explained why he felt so cold all over.  
 _"Have you slept well, little Master?"_ Nagini hissed, her head still lying lazily on the mattress.  
 _"Yes, thanks to you. I don't think that I would have fallen asleep so easily without you being there. I didn't feel as lonely as I felt before you came to cuddle."_ Harry thanked her.  
 _"I did not come to cuddle. Snakes don't cuddle, I came to accompany you. You were sad and lonely, I could smell it and I promised to help you as long as your mate is not yet here."_ She huffed.  
 _"Then thank you for accompanying me."_ Harry corrected himself with a small smile. Nagini could be a proud snake apparently and it definitely had been cuddling, even if she would not admit it.  
 _"Of course."_ The reptile hissed back.  
"Harry, are you awake already?"  
Turning, he saw a very dishevelled Hermione sitting up and rubbing her eyes.  
"Just woke up." He answered.  
"I didn't hear you come in last night." She told him and stood up, gathering her clothes and toiletries.  
"I tried to be quiet." Harry answered as he climbed out of bed himself.  
"Why did you wear the shirt?"  
"I didn't want to search for my PJ's in the dark, it would have only woken you and Ron up and I slept in these kinds of shirts for two weeks, one more day won't matter." He explained.  
Hermione nodded in understanding. "I'm going to the bathroom to get changed. Could you try and wake Ron?"  
"I'll try my best, but I can't promise anything." He grinned. They both knew how deep a sleeper Ron could be.  
Hermione disappeared and Harry decided to get dressed first, so that Ron wouldn't notice his half naked state. Going over to the cupboard he pulled out a pair of fresh shorts and a t-shirt, quickly slipping into the garments before going over to his snoring friend.  
"Ron, wake up!" He said with a slightly raised voice, but didn't get any reaction. Sighing he grabbed his friend's shoulder and started to shake him, but that didn't seem to help either.  
"Ron! It's time for breakfast!" He tried again, his voice even louder. It was really annoying trying to wake his best friend up. He slept nearly as deep as a vampire did, no doubt that was probably the reason why Hermione had asked him to wake up the red head.  
 _"What are you trying to do?"_ Nagini slithered over to him, eying him curiously.  
 _"I'm trying to wake Ron up."_ Harry sighed. _"But he sleeps like the dead."_  
 _"Shall I help you?"_ Nagini offered, her voice neutral. Too neutral in Harry's opinion. But he really had no patience this morning. He was still in a bad mood after waking up without Lucius next to him and Ron didn't help matters right now.  
 _"You won't harm him?"_ He asked to make sure. He didn't believe that Nagini would harm any of his friends, but better be safe than sorry.  
 _"I will not harm him."_ She answered in response and rose up to her full height, until she was staring directly into the sleeping face of one Ronald Weasley. Lifting up her heavy tail she brought it down hard on the boy's stomach. A loud slapping sound echoed through the room and Ron bolted up, cursing, only to freeze when he opened his eyes and came face to face with Harry's familiar.  
Harry couldn't prevent himself from laughing as he watched his friend move away from the large reptile, pale as a ghost.  
"What the bloody… By Merlin's stinking socks!" Ron spluttered, glaring over at Harry.  
Nagini only gave a snickering sound in response as she hissed, _"That was for snoring the whole night."_  
Harry laughed even harder.  
"What did she say? Did she threaten me?" Ron asked, slightly panicked.  
"No." Harry snickered. "She said that this was her revenge on you for snoring the whole night. I think you kept her awake."  
"It's not my fault that I snore; all Weasley's do that, even Ginny." Ron huffed in defence.  
Yet another reason to stick with Lucius, Harry thought to himself.  
"Too much information!" Harry exclaimed and this time it was Ron's turn to snicker.  
Hermione came back a few minutes later and they all headed to breakfast together. Harry was the last to enter the kitchen and his eyes immediately fell on his godfather and one bad tempered Potions Master, both of whom were currently engaged in their private glaring match. He sighed and flopped down next to Sirius, shoving the man as he did so; which thanks to his new found strength succeeded in breaking the eye contact of the two childhood enemies.  
"Oi, Harry! Why did you do that? Now Snivellus believes that he won!" Sirius complained.  
Snape indeed had a victorious grin on his face and Harry rolled his eyes at the men. Really, as soon as Snape and Sirius were in close proximity, they transformed into little children.  
"Have you slept well?" Sirius asked whilst he pulled a bowl full of scrambled eggs closer, heaving a huge amount on a plate before putting it in front of Harry.  
Harry had really hoped that he might have a chance to skip breakfast this morning; eating had become quite a hassle for him. Not only did it taste like nothing to him, but he could also feel that his body didn't like to digest the eaten food. It always lay like dead weight in his stomach and made him tired afterwards. On top of that, he believed that he would need to drink Lucius' blood sooner as a result, since he had to use up so much energy for the whole process.  
Sighing in defeat he took a fork full of eggs and started eating, maybe Sirius would be satisfied after he ate half of the portion on his plate.  
"I slept well, Nagini cuddled with me." Harry answered after he had swallowed.  
His godfather raised a questioning eyebrow as Remus asked, "Doesn't it feel kind of strange to cuddle with a snake?"  
"Actually no. Her scales feel like warm water and I rather like the feeling." Harry explained.  
"I would prefer a cute puppy." Sirius shivered before adding, "Want me to buy you a cute little puppy when we go to Diagon Alley?"  
"Padfoot, Harry has no time for a dog as long as he is in school. Nagini at least, can go for a walk on her own." Remus scolded him.  
"And I think no dog could ever be as good a guard dog as Nagini is." Harry grinned. He honestly believed that even the Slytherins would be wary of attacking him, as long as she was with him. He watched as Sirius eyed the huge reptile that had come slithering into the gloomy room before admitting, "You could be right, I certainly wouldn't want to prank you."  
"You see." Harry pat his hand and took another bite of his breakfast, wishing all the while that he could get rid of it somehow. Maybe a dog wouldn't be a bad pet after all.  
"So, is there anything planned for today?" He inquired, looking around curiously.  
"Well, we still have to buy all of your school supplies, but the books for DADA have to be added first." Arthur mused, pouring himself a large cup of coffee.  
"You, Ron and Hermione can help clean some of the guest rooms, so that we can actually use them some day. I'll check them out first and tell you which ones you should clean. I believe there is at least one that we should let Snape handle. The dark magic leaking through the door is quite strong and worrisome." Molly instructed.  
"I'll take a look after breakfast Molly." Snape agreed.  
"Thank you, it would be such a great help. Maybe you should take someone else with you, just to be safe. Sirius' mother did a fine job of cursing and trapping nearly everything in this house." Molly suggested, seeming irritated at the fact.  
Harry snickered: "I never would have thought that your marauder streak came from your mother."  
That comment earned him a fierce glare from his godfather, who looked anything but happy at the thought that his talents for pranks could be inherited from his mother.  
"I have nothing in common with her or the rest of my crazy family." He huffed.  
"You sure look like a typical Black, mutt." Snape sneered. "But you're right, you lack the magical talent everyone else in your family possessed, misused as it was."  
Sirius started to growl at the snide remark and Harry wanted nothing more than to go over to them both and whack them on their heads. Hard. As soon as he had a say in things within the order he would try to force the two to at the very least be polite to each other. They were both intelligent and capable wizards who could be far more helpful if they could at least work together on occasion.  
"Severus, Sirius! No fighting at the table!" Molly threw them both a stern look, one that could rival Snape's own in its vehemence. Thankfully, to Harry's relief and ongoing sanity they turned back to their meals after giving each other one final glare.  
Harry pushed his own plate away from himself; he could not eat another bite. His stomach was already making protesting noises and churning quite heavily, he really wasn't sure if he was still able to eat normal food.  
Molly had caught his action and frowned unhappily at the still very full plate. "Harry, you should try and eat a little more dear, you look even more thinner and paler than usual after your stay at Privet Drive." Harry could hear the concern in her voice and had he not been feeling as though he would retch all over the place should he attempt to eat even one more bite, then he would have continued his meal for her sake. Instead he shook his head, still feeling a bit queasy. "I feel really full Mrs. Weasley."  
"Has someone checked you over? You're looking rather ill..." She trailed off, motherly concern shining in her eyes.  
He threw Snape a pleading look, making said Potion's Master look back at him in annoyance. "I already checked him over. The boy is fine." Snape said in response, waving off her concern.  
"But isn't he a bit thin?" Ron's mother asked, still not sounding all that convinced.  
"He is, but not so thin that you need to worry. In fact, I myself am thinner in comparison, so you can leave him alone."  
"You are much too thin as well." Molly commented, frowning in response but thankfully dropping the topic for now.  
"Hey Sirius, Remus..." Fred called out.  
"...would you tell us about some of your pranks?" George asked.  
"Sure we can, but only if Harry joins you two, he still has to step into his father's footsteps." Sirius grinned and bent over to ruffle Harry's wild hair.  
"We do not need another bully at Hogwarts and I will make sure to make his life a living hell should you teach him your infernal pranks. The brat already is enough like his father." Snape sneered and gave Harry a look that clearly advised him to decline the offer.  
Harry looked from one demanding adult to the other. Sirius face clearly told him how happy and proud he would be if he decided to become a prankster as well. But he remembered the cold expression on Snape's face when he had mentioned his father a few days ago. Something felt wrong. So he neither agreed, nor declined, but instead asked, "What kind of pranks did you do?"  
Fred and George scooted closer, as did Ron, but Hermione frowned, mirroring Harry's feelings.  
"We did all kinds of pranks. One year at Christmas, we charmed all the mistletoe so that everyone who was kissed beneath one would be stuck to the lips of the other person for three hours. The mistletoe had already been charmed by Dumbledore that year. We had to kiss the one passing the leaves with us, or we would not be able to go on, so there were some really hilarious couples glued together."  
Harry grinned; he would have liked to see that. "So, who was the most hilarious couple?" He asked curiously.  
"I'm not sure. Maybe Dumbledore and the one ministry official that came to visit the school... Oh wait! The most hilarious was your father and Lucius Malfoy! I'm sure that your father would have been more observant, but he had overslept that day and was late to class."  
Harry nearly choked on his spit. His father and his mate had kissed once? For three hours? He tried to decipher how he felt about that piece of information, but couldn't really decide. Normally he would be jealous about everyone who had kissed his mate in the past, but James had been his father and with him dead it made his feeling on the issue unclear.  
"Urgh! How can anyone stand to kiss Lucius Malfoy! He's even worse than his son!" Ron exclaimed horrified, making Harry wince. Lucius' and his mating would not go down well, whether his friends found out or he told them.  
"Wonder of wonders, how astonishing that even some of your jokes were harmless, or could be considered funny." Snape hissed angrily from the other end of the table.  
"What does he mean by that?" Harry asked, sobering up again. He knew that Snape was a proud man, one who could deal with almost any obstacle thrown his way, seeing the man this irritated made him wonder if whatever his father, Sirius and Remus did to him could have been considered far from humorous.  
But Sirius dismissively waved off his concerns with his hand. "We reserved the best pranks for him. There was this one spell, I can teach it to you, that lets the victim dangle upside-down in mid air and the person can't do anything to free himself. We succeeded in attaching the spell to some doorways and it only triggered when the git went through one of them. We also combined the spell with a funny little charm, one that made his robes and every other garment with the exception of his underpants disappear. I would have never imagined that the famous dungeon bat wore white boxers. But on the other hand; white fits an all time virgin."  
Harry felt sick. His dad and guardians had done something like that? No wonder Snape had hated the sight of him so much. And Sirius still found their actions funny, even though they had only been cruel and degrading. Neither he nor Draco had ever tormented the other like that. That was not just bullying anymore, that was far worse.  
Across from him, Snape was silently seething and Harry could not help but wonder about his reaction. He would be angry as well if someone dragged his humiliating past out for everyone to hear. In fact, Harry believed that he would have long since blown up, but Severus had always been rather composed.  
Everyone else wore similar expressions to his own, even the Weasley twins, who considered themselves the heirs to the marauders looked very green. Sure, they were pranksters as well, but their pranks never humiliated or harmed anyone seriously. The worst they had done in way of humiliation had been last year, when they had exchanged all of the shampoo's in Slytherin for their prank dye, succeeding in colouring everyone's hair red and gold for an entire week.  
Sadly, Sirius didn't notice his disgust and started another story. "Once, I tricked him into going to the shrieking shack on full moon, but unfortunately your father got to him first..."  
"Sirius, that's enough. You know that you had gone too far with that one and James regretted it for years, until he had found a way to pay his debt back to Snape for not stopping you earlier." Remus cut in, looking haggard.  
"Potter never did anything to pay his debt back; he was far too arrogant to see his mistakes." Snape hissed venomously.  
Harry felt his neck prickle when Remus turned with serious eyes to the Potions Master. "He did. James never told me what he did for you, but I clearly remember how happy he was to finally be able to pay you off. He told me that he honestly hoped that you would be able to forgive him one day and that you would find happiness with the gifts life has granted you."  
"As far as I know, life has granted me nothing." Severus rose and stalked out of the kitchen, leaving Harry to stare after him. He just knew that Remus' story contained a big and important secret. The only problem was that he could not even begin to guess what kind of secret it could be. But he swore to find out, somehow.  
Feeling shocked, shaky and disgusted with the things he had just learned about his three biggest idols, he stood up. "I think I'll go upstairs, I have no interest in learning about your pranks."  
Sirius face fell, just now catching up on the current mood, the man looked pained and worried; but Harry was not in the mood to comfort him. Turning quickly he left the room, his two best friends and Nagini close behind.  
Up in his room he pulled Lucius' shirt from underneath his pillow, hugging it to his chest and burying his nose into the fine material. He missed his mate so much right now. Lucius would comfort him, hold him and stroke his neck; if only he were at Grimmauld Place. Harry felt so disappointed and lonely, he had never heard more than the kind hearted stories everyone around him told about his parents so he could get to know them. He had always been proud of his courageous father with his Weasley-like tendencies, but his picture of James Potter had been shattered. It had always been difficult for him to imagine the man at all, as it wasn't easy trying to develop feelings for his dead father, but pride had always been there. Now, he couldn't be proud anymore, in fact he felt as if he had to be as embarrassed about his father in the same way he was about the Dursley's.  
Were there only bullies in his family? Maybe his mother was the only exception? It was bad enough to not have a father, but to not even be able to be proud of him and his godfather; the only person he considered a living relative anymore, was even worse. He felt lost, as if he didn't belong to anyone or as if someone had cut the connection he had once held to his late father. He knew next to nothing about his mother; her likes and dislikes, who she had been as a person. Nothing.  
So who was he? And why couldn't Lucius be with him right now? A sob threatened to escape his mouth, but he quickly bit his lips. He wanted to go to his dominant and curl up in his lap, waiting until his mate has made everything right again. It was so hard being without him. In the past he had never allowed himself the luxury of comfort, but since he had become Lucius' submissive, the part of him which yearned for the soothing and reassuring touch of someone had gotten stronger and it hurt physically to not be able to seek out his mate at that moment.  
"Harry." A soft voice sounded from behind him, pulling him from his thoughts. "At least he tried to make up for his mistake." Hermione stepped up from behind him and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. He turned around and buried his face in her shoulder, Lucius shirt between him and his friend's body so that at least his mate's calming scent could fill him.  
"Oh Harry!" Hermione wrapped her arms around him and started to comb through his hair. "My family is so horrible! All of them were so cruel with the exception of my mother and I don't even know anything about her! The Dursley's and my father were the same!" cried Harry.  
"Hush, Harry. You father might have been a idiot as a teenager, but Remus told you that he tried to pay back his debt and I'm sure that whatever he did, it will turn out to be enough that he can be forgiven for his past mistakes."  
Harry hiccupped; he had tried for a snort, but he wasn't even able to make that sound anymore. "Sure, like Snape will forgive my father after about an eternity of hate."  
"Harry, I'm sure..."  
"No Mione." Harry interrupted her; there was no way that everything would sort itself so easily. "He'll start to hate me again and we had just come to a truce last week. I even started to appreciate his snide ways… at least a bit and now..." He didn't finish his sentence.  
"Try to talk to him later, when you've calmed down. He must have realized that you are not James, or he never would have agreed to a truce with you in the first place." Hermione tried to reassure him, but he only started to sob harder. The shirt beneath him was getting drenched, but he didn't care.  
"Harry..." Ron started hesitantly. "As much as I don't like the slimy git and it's really painful for me to say this, but Mione is right; he won't hold this against you. Don't worry too much, he'll come around."  
"I have to talk to him." He suddenly said and wiped his tears away.  
"I think you should wait a bit longer, give him time to calm down." Hermione advised.  
"No, I have to try..." Harry didn't quite understand why he wanted to talk to his Potions Professor so badly. It shouldn't matter to him if their relationship changed again. After all it had only evolved a little during their forced stay together. The man still refused to call him Harry, with the exception of when Sirius was nearby and could hear it. But he really had started to appreciate the man, or at least his work and he surely hadn't deserved to be treated so cruelly in the past. Nor had he deserved having Sirius drag these horrible stories back out in the open.  
Furthermore, Severus was Lucius' best friend and he didn't want his mate to be disappointed in him just because he had not tried to help him. After all, Snape had helped him a lot and truth to be told; he honestly felt sick at the thought that Sirius had never apologized, so he would do it instead.  
"Do you know where his room is?" He asked.  
Ron shrugged but Hermione sighed in response. "I believe it's on the second floor, second door to the right."  
He nodded and left the room, climbing up the creaking stairs until he stood in front of said door.  
Stopping, he tried to listen for a moment, maybe he would hear something that could give him a hint about the man's current mood, but honestly he could easily imagine what Snape's mood must be right now. In any case, no sound reached his sensitive ears. Taking a deep breath that he didn't need, he knocked quietly, as if afraid that the man might actually hear him.  
The door was wrenched open and he came face to face with a snarling Potions Master.  
"Potter!" Snape spat, the name sounding like the insult it was meant to be.  
"Snape..." The professor sneered again and Harry quickly corrected himself. "Sir..."  
Before he could say anymore, the man snapped at him. "Feel better after you have come to know how your precious father harassed me?"  
"No Sir-" Harry stuttered, but was interrupted once more.  
"Do you still wonder why I always hated you so much? He tortured me in school, the one place that should have been my asylum. His mutt of a friend nearly had me killed and in the end he even...he even..."  
"Stole your best friend?" Harry asked silently, thinking about the story of Snape and his mother.  
"Yes!" Snape hissed and Harry had to retreat a step in order to avoid the flying spittle.  
"Sir, I just wanted to say how wrong it was what they did to you and I really wish that I could have another family right now." He said quickly and to his astonishment, Snape deflated a bit.  
"Potter… Your parents were not terrible people, not even James, loathe as I am to admit it. They loved you and Lily especially was a wonderful woman. Courageous, graceful, intelligent and talented. You should be proud of her, of their sacrifice."  
"But you are also powerful, talented and intelligent." Harry countered.  
"That I am and I'm also the greasy git of the dungeons, the overgrown bat as they like to call me." Snape sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Listen Potter, I want to be left alone right now. You told me what you wanted me to hear and I acknowledged it, I know that you do not wish to become like your father. But I can't look you in the face right now. Give me some time, so that the little understanding we have gained about each other does not shatter."  
Harry nodded, unable to deny the man his request and next the moment found himself standing in front of a closed door again.  
Turning, he thought that hopefully their fragile… whatever their relationship was, would survive this involuntary excursion into the past and went back downstairs.  
"What did he say?" Hermione asked as soon as he was back in their shared bedroom.  
"Did he open the door at all?" Ron questioned.  
"I told him what I thought about the pranks my father's did with the Marauders while in school and I think he accepted it. But he said that he couldn't look me in the face right now and that I should leave him alone and give him some time to think things through."  
"What a git!" Ron huffed, but Hermione nodded in understanding.  
"Why are you being so sympathetic? He could have been nicer to Harry. I mean, he went all the way upstairs to talk to that slimy..."  
"Ron!" Hermione snapped. The red head shut up and she sighed in exasperation. "Just imagine that you had been humiliated like Professors Snape was and then, years later, when you finally believed that phase of your life to be over; someone would come along and tell a whole room of people what they have done to you. On top of that, in said room is a boy sitting there who reminds you strongly of one of these men that made your life a living hell for years." She reasoned.  
"That would be horrible!" Ron exclaimed.  
"See." Hermione replied, glad her point had sunk in.  
"I honestly think the fact that Professor Snape and your mother had been friends make the whole situation even more complicated. I have the feeling this is the true reason for Snape's hate towards your dead father and the two remaining Marauders." The bushy haired girl mused.  
"That could be possible. Whenever he mentioned my mum, he starts to hesitate, as if he wants to say something else or something more, but he never does." Harry mused. It had not occurred to him until now, but after Hermione mentioned the topic, it suddenly was kind of obvious.  
"Hopefully I will find out everything one day." He mused.  
"I'm sure of it; there is no secret that could be kept a secret forever." Hermione stated wisely.  
"Should we go downstairs to the library and play a game of chess? I think we could all do with a distraction." Ron proposed.  
A warm feeling filled Harry's chest and he smiled. His friends always knew how to reassure him or knew what he needed.  
"Sure. Just wait a moment." He agreed and went over to his nightstand to tie his bag of blood treats back to his trousers, before putting one into his mouth, sighing in contentment, when the sweet and metallic taste soothed his ruffled nerves.  
His friends looked curiously at the small bag, but he pretended not to notice and didn't offer them any. They would not appreciate the taste in any case, or might even start to wonder why Harry now had an addiction to blood candy. Those were questions he would rather avoid.  
"Let's go then." He said and opened the door. The house was strangely silent. Normally you could always hear Fred and George joking, or Molly yelling for someone, but the incident in the kitchen had lowered everyone's mood.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

When Harry entered the living room he saw that Sirius was sitting on the sofa, but rose as soon as he saw him. His expression was pained and desperate, with guilt written all over his face. Remus was not in sight. The animagus made a motion, as if he wanted to grasp hold of Harry's arm, but with a quick step to the side he avoided his godfather. He had no intention on talking to him right now. Maybe when his mood wasn't as bad anymore and he could be sure that Snape would still want to talk to him, but not any earlier. Right now he just wanted to get his mind off of things.  
"Not yet Sirius." He shook his head and strode over to the library door at the end of the room. Sirius slumped back down, a lost look in his eyes.  
"Give him some time, it was a shock for him to hear all of those stories you know..." Hermione said in way of explanation.  
They closed the door behind them and went to the far corner, where a huge chess board made of white and black marble was placed on a small elegantly designed table. Harry sat down in an old armchair in front of the white pieces as usual with Ron across from him while Hermione just sat crossed legged on the ground, ready to watch their game.  
Without any more words spoken between the three, Harry started his first move. It had been a good idea to play a game, not to mention he was curious to see if his few chess lessons with Lucius might be able to help him win in a game against Ron. After only ten minutes it became obvious that he really had gotten better. Never before had he lost so few game pieces at this point in their match and Ron was starting to frown in concentration.  
A warm, fuzzy feeling filled Harry's chest and he hummed happily. Lucius would surely be proud of him. Maybe he could send him a message later? Or would it be too dangerous? Did Voldemort watch the owls that arrived at the homes of his servant's? Would he even recognize a strange owl? He probably shouldn't take the risk, but he could still tell him personally at some other time.  
"Did someone teach you how to play chess?" Ron asked curiously after a couple more minutes.  
Harry just hummed happily.  
"Who?" Ron asked, clearly not happy that there might be an even better player than himself.  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ron, there was only one other person with Harry for the past two weeks."  
"The git?" Ron asked, sounding unhappy at the thought.  
"Yep." Harry said, remembering the one game he had witnessed between Snape and his mate, knowing that Severus was a formidable chess player in his own right. He'd probably played against Lucius since their schooldays and he'd already accepted being Harry's excuse for everything that was related to Lucius.  
"You really have gotten better." Ron admitted grouchily.  
"Maybe you should ask Professor Snape for a game?" Hermione suggested, but Harry and Ron only eyed her incredulously.  
"Mione, just because Harry has caught some kind of strange flu and is now all goody-goody with the greasy git, doesn't mean that he won't hex me within an inch of my life with such a suggestion." Ron wrinkled his nose.  
"I am not all goody-goody with him, though I still think that you really shouldn't ask him." Harry snorted.  
"But we all should work on inter-house relationships and where better to start than with the head of Slytherin?" She argued.  
"Hermione, you really believe in miracles, don't you?" Ron sighed in exasperation.  
"No, but I do believe that peace between the houses are possible." Hermione stated back with a small but stubborn frown.  
"Harry, please help me to bring her back to reality." Ron pleaded.  
Harry pondered the question. Did he believe in peace between the houses? Peace between Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw was possible, it almost existed, kind of. But he really couldn't see Gryffindor and Slytherin becoming friends any time soon. True, he and his mate had no major problems with each other, despite being a former Slytherin and a Gryffindor respectively, but he believed that their bond helped with that aspect immensely. All former doubts and prejudices had been swept away by their bond and instincts.  
With him and Snape it was clearly much more complicated. Even after their talk, their 'relationship' was still very fragile, he'd just witnessed it an hour ago and realized that they would never be able to have a real friendship with each other. The most he could hope for was the compromise they now shared to be able to help them work together. So, what would it take to join the two houses together?  
"Maybe if someone who is trusted by all Gryffindors befriends someone who is trusted by all Slytherins and were able to set aside all their former prejudices, then they would be able to set an example for the rest of their house." Harry mused carefully and then blinked in realization. He had just described Lucius and himself. Lucius was highly respected among the members of his former house. The Malfoy's were the purest of all Purebloods and surely the wealthiest on top of that. Furthermore, his mate was a school governor while he himself was the Gryffindor's golden boy, the boy-who-lived and symbol of the light side. But they wouldn't be able to unite the houses because no one could know about their intimate relationship and surely they would never be seen together at Hogwarts. Lucius could not just leave his Manor for a quick tryst in a broom closet or something equally ridiculous. It was far too risky and Snape would surely kill them both if he ever found out that they had done something like that.  
He concentrated on his friends once more. Hermione was smiling up at him while Ron waited impatiently for his next move. A comfortable silence settled around them all; the game going on for much longer than they had all expected. In the end Harry still lost, but not as badly as before his chess lessons. Ron was honestly impressed with his new found skills and he had to promise his friend that they would play a game soon again.  
By then it was already lunchtime and they all went down to the kitchens for a very strained meal. Severus sat grumpily in the furthest and darkest corner while Remus gave Sirius an annoyed look every few minutes. Sirius seemed intent on ignoring said looks, while not daring to meet Harry's eyes. Molly tried to push for a light hearted conversation, but sadly failed. Ginny tried flirting once more with Harry but failed as well and even the twins were subdued.  
No one said anything when Harry barely touched his food and then, together with his friends, soon escaped back to their rooms.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

On entering Harry noticed a huge and majestic Falcon sitting in front of their window.  
"Who's bird is that?" Ron asked, following Harry's gaze. "He looks as if he belongs to some stuck up, Pureblood prick." The red head huffed.  
"I don't know." Mione mused, but Harry's eyes widened in comprehension. He hurried over to the window and let in the bird, who screeched at Ron and Hermione, before settling down on Harry's outstretched arm. He pet the ruffled Falcon who gave him a look as if to say he was above such mundane levels of comfort before holding out his leg with another screech.  
Harry winced; the bird was far too close to his sensitive ears, causing him to wince in pain each time it squawked at him.  
 _"Shall I eat the impertinent creature?"_ Nagini asked from her spot on his bed.  
 _"No, I believe he's from Lucius."_ He answered quickly, seeing that she was already moving to do just that.  
She looked disappointed, but Harry was positive that he would be in big trouble if he allowed her to eat the bird. The animal was probably one of the best breeds and worth its own weight in gold and galleons.  
Looking down, he saw a small package attached to the Falcon's leg with a beautiful silver ribbon. He untied it and as soon as the bird was free again, the arrogant creature flew out his window, sparing Harry no further glance. Somehow, it reminded Harry of its owner and he couldn't help but smile at the thought.  
"What is it Harry?" Ron asked curiously.  
Shrugging, he pulled at the ribbon, which still held the little package closed, his eyes widening as the small box enlarged and multiplied. Blinking in confusion, he looked down at the numerous boxes in many different sizes and colours.  
"Open them." Ron pressed, but Harry was still too baffled to move.  
"Whatever these boxes contain, they look expensive." Hermione said, touching a box carefully.  
She was right. Lucius had obviously held true to his word and bought Harry what had to be a whole new wardrobe. He had known that his rich mate would stand by his word but he had not expected his mate to go to Diagon Alley the very first day he was free again. But at least that meant that everything must have gone according to plan with Voldemort.  
Bending down, he went to pick up one of the boxes, but Hermione held him back. "Harry, these packages came without a note, you should cast revealing spells on them, in case they're cursed. They can be dangerous unless you know who sent them to you."  
"I think I know the person." He answered, being purposefully vague. He still pulled out his wand for his friend's peace of mind and started to cast a few revealing spells that checked for curses, only realizing afterwards that not only had he never done those particular spells before, but he'd also never even heard of them. He wondered if these were some of the spells he'd inherited through the magic of Malfoy Manor. It had to be the case, as he was certain that he had never even heard the incantations before.  
"Harry, what kind of spell did you just do?" Hermione asked, frowning even harder. He had to be more careful or she would pick up on his secrets. Sometimes, his brainy friend was too intelligent for her own good.  
"Snape taught me." He said in way of response.  
"But it wasn't a dark spell, was it?" She inquired.  
Harry wasn't the least bit sure but said as convincingly as he could, "Of course not. He is a teacher at Hogwarts and would never teach me dangerous spells."  
Hermione flushed in embarrassment; you could only get her flustered by implying that she was doubting or suspecting a teacher. In her eyes, teachers were all knowing and without fault.  
Bending down again, he finally opened the lid of the nearest box, seeing that it contained some high quality jackets, reminding him of those that muggle men wore for special occasion. Their colours were deep and dark red, blue, green and black. He picked up one jacket and eyed the silver buttons, which looked as if they were made from pure silver and he mused to himself that they probably were. Other jackets had gold buttons or clasps or even had cufflinks made from rubies, emeralds and sapphires. The material was soft to the touch and certainly better than anything he had worn before.  
Laying the jackets back down, he opened the next box, which contained jackets in a similar colour scheme. The only difference was that they were longer, which made them look more like a coat.  
Turning around, he saw the stunned looks on his two best friend's faces. Ron was standing there with an open mouth, while Hermione's eyes seemed ready to pop out of their sockets at any moment. They didn't look as if they were able to comment on anything just yet and so he continued to open another box. This one contained pairs of shoes in black and brown. They all possessed small heels, like men wore several centuries ago. He picked one up and noticed that they were made from dragon hide and were as soft and expensive looking as the jackets were.  
Ron who had come back to his senses opened up one box near him, holding up a pair of black boots with silver laces, a heel placed at the bottom of these as well. Stepping next to Ron he saw that there were also brown boots in the box, along with several pairs that held silver and gold clasps with golden or silver laces to match them respectively.  
"I think they all belong to different outfits, which can be varied either by the length of the jackets, or by wearing boots instead of shoes." Hermione concluded after she looked into every open box, before opening another one.  
"Jackets again, but I think these will only reach your ribcage." She explained, pulling one out to show him.  
The next package Ron opened contained fairly casual looking black and white button down shirts with long or short sleeves, but their fabric naturally, was anything but normal, being made by magical means instead of muggle.  
Opening yet another box, Harry gasped in shock. He had pulled out something that looked at first sight like a waistcoat, but then he had noticed the laces crisscrossing against the delicate fabric. In the place where buttons would usually be, were small metal hoops to attach the shimmering lace to. Though he noticed there were a few actual waistcoats in the box with the same type of lovely lace added to them.  
Hermione, who had turned around to look gasped as well when she saw the contents of the box. "Are these waistcoats and corsets?" She asked, looking scandalized.  
"I don't know." Harry said in horror, carefully feeling the unyielding metal bars.  
"Who would send you this kind of clothing?" Hermione asked, looking highly confused.  
To Harry's surprise, it was Ron who gave her an answer, though without really answering it.  
"Harry, you know that I'm a Pureblooded wizard, right?"  
He nodded slowly, not yet understanding what his friend was trying to say.  
"Look, I've noticed that you've changed a bit in the past two weeks and maybe because as a Pureblood I've noticed it more than Hermione. We're taught to notice some things that Muggleborns would never come into contact with."  
Harry had a bad feeling about Ron's speech and he prayed to whichever god may be listening, that his friend didn't know about Lucius.  
"So I'll ask you; have you come into your inheritance and have someone courting you now? Is it your future mate? Because there is no way that anyone we know would buy you these kinds of things."  
Harry didn't know if he should be shocked that Ron was so close to the truth, or happy that he thankfully didn't know everything yet. But the fact remained that there was no use in lying. He would not tell his friend about Lucius, but instead would just go along with Ron's assumptions.  
"You're right." He said, his voice only slightly shaking.  
"She must be a Pureblood witch, and a very wealthy one at that, to be able send you all this expensive stuff. I think one of these jackets might be more expensive than the whole Burrow." Ron muttered with a wide grin.  
Harry just shrugged, he would let Ron keep his false assumptions; it would make life much easier.  
"Inheritance?" Hermione shrieked. "Why haven't you told us anything?" Both her arms were at her hips as she glared at him accusingly.  
Shrugging, he lied once more, averting his eyes from the two. "It's still just so… new."  
His friend's eyes softened as she pulled him into a hug. "Congratulations. So is that the reason why you can't imagine being in a relationship with Ginny?"  
He nodded against her shoulder and she sighed in exasperation. "Boys! Why haven't you told us earlier? I would have helped you out even more. So what kind of inheritance is it?"  
Harry bit his bottom lip; he really didn't want to tell the truth. Hopefully, his friends would understand. "I don't want to tell anyone just yet, I still haven't gotten used to it."  
"Take your time." Ron said before Hermione could protest. Clearly, his parents must have taught him quite a bit about inheritances and mates; either that or his brother's engagement to Fleur had made him more understanding on the subject.  
"Thanks guys. You both are the best friends anyone could wish for." He smiled softly at them, making any protest Hermione may have had die quickly as she instead just sent a small smile back his way.  
"But no wonder she sent you new clothes. Your tastes in fashion along with those hand-me-downs you wear are even worse than anything I possess; and if she's a Pureblood then she won't stand for that one bit!" Ron laughed, making him snort as the tension eased from the room.  
They started to open boxes again and Harry was shocked once more at some of their new discoveries. The pants Hermione showed him were short. Very short. Just- covering- your- arse kind of short. His horror only grew when Ron found many pairs of stockings that reached just up to his thighs. He grew beet red and nearly choked on the blood drop in his mouth. Hermione had to slap him on the back to stop his coughing. It was rather telling that even his friends could see his blush right now; after all, he was not normally able to really blush anymore.  
Luckily they also found some trousers, which thankfully went down to his knees along with shorter stockings. Lucius had also sent him some very nice black cloaks that he could wear instead of a jacket and a winter cloak made of silver fur. There were also ties which looked similar to the ones Lucius wore. He'd noticed them just because he had seen the laces wrapped around his mate's elegant neck before; otherwise he would just have guessed that they were some sort of silk ribbons.  
They all dropped down on Harry's bed, eying the many boxes that seemed to clutter the already too crowded room.  
"Where should I put all this stuff?" He asked after a moment of silence.  
"We'll have to ask an adult for a better expansion charm for our closet." Hermione sighed.  
Taking in all the different clothes he'd been given he noticed that Lucius had not sent him any undergarments. His mate really liked him naked underneath his trousers; it almost seemed like a kink.  
"You should try on one of the outfits." Hermione suddenly suggested.  
"Oh no Hermione. These things look bloody uncomfortable; I will not wear them as long as I don't have to!" He protested.  
"But you should get used to them now rather than later. Not to mention it would be impolite to deny your future mate and I'm sure that they will look beautiful on you." Seeing he still wasn't sold on the idea she added, "You'll also need as much practice as you can get in order to put all these clothes on the right way without help."  
Sighing, Harry gave up. He had wanted to know what Lucius would like on him and now he had to deal with the consequences; not to mention Mione was right, he would not deny his dominant.  
"Which outfit should I try?" He asked, looking warily at all the new clothes.  
Hermione stood up and he watched her pick out the outfit he would wear. When she handed him the garments, he eyed them warily. She had brought him a dark auburn waistcoat with golden laces at the front and a white button-down with long sleeves. She also handed him one of those coat-like jackets along with fitting stockings, a pair of very small black shorts and ended the outfit with a pair of black boots that had silver clasps and a thin silk band to tie them with.  
"What are these clothes anyway?" He asked, thinking to himself that they did not look like typical wizarding robes.  
"Hmm..." Hermione mused taking another look at the garments. "I once read about certain types of robes that were only allowed to be worn by the highest of aristocrats. Those of the most ancient and noblest lines."  
Ron's eyes widened. "You're right Hermione. Mum showed me pictures once. Bloody hell Harry, your girl must be either filthy rich and important or you must be and she knows that you need this type of clothes."  
"You mean that this is a type of ancient uniform for wizarding aristocrats?" Harry asked astonished, making Ron nod in agreement.  
"The wizarding world was never ruled by a king." Hermione started explaining. "Instead they had a council that only included the wealthiest of nobles from the purest and most powerful wizarding families. Only the ruling Lord of the family and his wife were allowed to participate. These families made up around three percent of all wizards in the realm. Unfortunately what I don't know is which families formed the council. It went out of use about two hundred years ago, but the families are rumoured to still be highly influential even to this day."  
"That's right. But not only was wizarding Britain ruled that way but many wizarding countries had this kind of council and they all wore special clothes to be recognized at first sight. The rules were really complicated as well. Dad told me that if a British witch married an Indian wizard who belonged to the council, that she would often wear the traditional council robes of her own country and not the ones of her husband, this was to show that the marriage had given the two nations a new political link."  
Harry gaped. This couldn't be true. What had he gotten himself into by mating to one Lucius Malfoy?  
"But there was something else about those clothes… I just can't put my finger on it..." Ron muttered and glared at the offending boxes.  
"We'll figure it out, I'll do some research. The Black family library will surely have some books on the matter." Hermione said before motioning to Harry to start changing into his new clothes. He looked down at them and sighed heavily. How long would he need every morning to get dressed?  
When Hermione saw his overwhelmed expression she added helpfully, "There are charms which will put your clothes right on your body without needing to change into them. Should I search for one later?"  
"That would be great." He thanked her before pulling his t-shirt over his head, taking the white button down and turning his back to his feminine friend, slightly embarrassed of his child-like figure.  
That was a mistake. She gasped and Ron drew in a sharp breath.  
"Harry, what happened to your neck?" Ron asked his voice sounding appalled.  
Touching his sensitive neck, he could still feel the scratches that Lucius had left behind. They still stung reassuringly at the slightest touch and at some movements, making him smile happily.  
Hermione stepped forward, brushing the hair on his neck to the side, inspecting the scratches carefully. "Harry, do you have a female mate, or are you the submissive?" She finally asked, her voice soft and reassuring.  
"Of course Harry's the dominant, Hermione! What do you think? That Harry Potter, the golden boy would take it up the arse for another male?" The redhead laughed, but Harry swayed a bit, feeling lightheaded. Ron would be disgusted with him, if he ever found out. Maybe he should make sure that his friend never would.  
"Harry, tell her that she's barmy." Ron pressed.  
"He's right, Hermione, I'm not a submissive. When Snape apparated with me to Privet Drive we had a very rough landing and Nagini dropped down on top of me, it must have happened then." He mumbled, not quite lying, but not telling the truth either. Looking up and meeting the girls brown eyes he saw that she didn't believe him one bit, but she nodded anyway. Telling Harry silently, that she understood; knowing without him saying anything how he didn't want to argue with Ron right now. Harry was certain that she would search him out for a serious talk later. She probably believed that his future dominant mate was abusing him based on the marks left behind on his neck.  
He quickly pulled on the button-down shirt, now with his front to his friends, feeling far too conscious over his marked neck. Next he took the waistcoat and pulled it on while Hermione took the ends of the golden laces and started to fasten it for him.  
"Tell me, if it becomes too tight. This is a variation of a corset, so it has to be tight, but you still need to be able to breathe."  
Of course, Harry didn't actually need to breath anymore, so Hermione was able fasten the waistcoat very tight in the end, giving him a very impressive and unusual figure for a boy. It didn't give him a feminine waist, thankfully, but it definitely defined his frame very nicely.  
"Harry, you have to eat more, look how thin you are! This can't be healthy for you. Are you certain that Snape examined you properly?" She asked in concern, chewing on her upper lip.  
"He's checked me over thoroughly. I just have a slim build." Harry tried to soothe her but failed miserably.  
"Merlin, Mione is right, it looks as if I could hold your whole waist with just my hands and you can see all your ribs, along with every single bone in your spine." Ron supported her, looking at him with worry.  
"You both know that my relatives never fed me properly since I was a child, so what did you expect?" He huffed, getting annoyed.  
"Yeah, we knew; but we never noticed it was this bad with those baggy shirts you always wore, at least, I didn't." Ron sounded pained and the worry in his eyes was nearly overwhelming. Harry tried to reassure him. "It was that bad, and even if I could have bought better fitting clothes, I probably wouldn't have. I didn't want to worry everyone. But Snape checked my health and provided me with enough vitamin potions to last me a lifetime. I'm perfectly fine again, thanks to him."  
Ron was stunned into silence and Hermione shocked as well, simply said, "If you say so." Before handing him the pair of shorts.  
Harry was still too busy thinking about how he could stop his friends from getting too suspicious, so didn't spare a thought on his state of dress beneath his trousers when he pulled the garment down. He only noticed something was wrong when Hermione shrieked and turned abruptly away from him.  
"Harry why...?"  
"Why what?" He asked confused.  
"Why are you naked underneath your pants." Ron clarified; a strangled sound in his voice.  
Looking down at his own body he finally noticed his mistake and instantly wished that the ground would open up beneath him. "Sorry Hermione." He mumbled quietly, feeling mortified.  
"Why are you naked?" Ron repeated.  
"I threw away my old underwear at Hogwarts. They were all old and filled with holes… not to mention Dudley wore them all before me..."  
Ron grew very green and Hermione made a choked noise.  
"I wanted to buy new ones this summer, but then the attack happened and I landed at Privet Drive without my trunk, but with Snape instead; who was still a right git back then… and I ended up never having the time to buy them in the end." He stated, still feeling slightly embarrassed and mortified. It was only half a lie, because he really had worn Dudley's old underpants and thrown most of them away at Hogwarts; so had Lucius back at Privet Drive as well, but he had a whole different reason for not buying new ones.  
"Snape is still a right git." Ron muttered absentmindedly.  
Suddenly Hermione spun around and ignoring the nakedness of his lower half pulled him into a fierce hug. "Oh Harry, why have you never told us that it was so bad!" She sobbed.  
"Because you couldn't help me, I had to go back to them no matter what and you would just have ended up worrying the whole summer had I told you." He explained calmly, patting her back in comfort. He had known that his friends would eventually ask him about it at some point. Though that didn't mean he wanted to go into detail about his time with the Dursley's.  
"But we could have helped you!" She exclaimed. "We could have bought you underwear and sent it to you!" She was shaking him now. Harry let it happened, she couldn't harm him in any case and she seemed to need a way to let go of her anger over the situation.  
"You could have done that… but they would have..." He broke off quickly, his eyes widening in realization at what he almost revealed.  
"What would they have done to you?" This time it was Ron who spoke. "Did they hit you?" The redhead asked, seeming angry on his behalf.  
Harry averted his eyes. This was something he hadn't wanted to tell them.  
"Harry, tell us!" Ron's voice had gained a commanding tone and Harry talked, before he could think it through. "Just sometimes and only with their hands, it really wasn't so bad." And it hadn't been that bad, Harry knew that they could have used a belt instead of their hands and they had never done that. But thanks to how thin and weak he always was in the summer due to the forced starvation they put him through, every hit had hurt much more and had left an even bigger bruise then it would have if he had been healthy. But his friends didn't need to know that.  
"Have they ever broken something?" Hermione asked, her voice small.  
Harry shook his head and then ended the discussion sternly. "They are dead now and I never have to see them again. So let's move on." He pulled the shorts on and then asked, "What's next?"  
"The stockings." Hermione handed the garments to him, smiling weakly.  
Harry saw her and Ron exchange a look, but thankfully they didn't ask anymore question.  
"Thanks." He said before sitting down. The stockings were even softer than anything else he'd put on and were the perfect size for him. They went right up to his thigh and ended a few inches under the hem of his short trousers, showing off just the right amount of bare skin to be seductive, but not slutty. Taking the boots, which ended just below his knees, he fastened them and then pulled the coat over, before standing up again.  
"Well?" He asked nervously. "How do I look?"  
Ron eyed him sceptically. "You don't look very masculine, intimidating or even dominating for that matter."  
Hermione grinned broadly. "It fits you and your personality very well. Whoever sent you the clothes will love you in them."  
Harry flushed and caught his bushy haired friend's wink in his direction.  
"Don't get me wrong, it looks nice and all, but I really don't understand girls. Why would she want to dress you up like this?" Ron asked.  
Harry chuckled and Hermione just rolled her eyes, but neither of them said anything.  
"Do we have a mirror? I'd really like to see myself. And how should I explain my new fashion sense to Sirius and Remus?" Harry asked, looking around.  
"Just go over to our closet. There's a large mirror on the inside of the left door." Hermione told him.  
"Really? I never noticed." Ron commented and smiled sheepishly at Hermione's incredulous expression.  
"I didn't either." Harry said and opened the door only to stare in shock at his appearance. The auburn of the fabric made his inhumanly big green eyes shine even more and brought out the paleness of his white skin. The garments hugged and caressed his body perfectly while the waistcoat outlined his slim and petite figure. His legs looked a bit longer in the heeled boots with the high stockings and Harry just knew that the free patch of bare skin, just below his arse, would drive his mate crazy. The outfit had a forbidden aspect to it. It made him look young and boyish, yet very alluring at the same time; almost like a forbidden fruit, or a petite doll. He looked nothing like himself anymore, but the thought that Lucius would appreciate him like this was more than enough to satisfy him.  
Smiling happily, he asked, "Hermione would you give me one of those other jackets and a cloak?"  
"Of course." She answered before handing over the garments.  
He gave her the coat and exchanged it with the shorter jacket. This way, the outfit still looked very elegant, but not as much as it did before. The new jacket ended at his rib cage and helped defined his corset manipulated waist, giving him a slightly naughty look.  
Ron, who had stepped up from behind him inspected his figure with a critical eye before asking, "Harry, just answer me one question about your inheritance. Are you still human?"  
Figuring that it wouldn't make things more complicated if he told his friend the truth, he shook his head.  
Ron sighed in relief at his response. "That's good, otherwise I couldn't imagine how you could still be alive with that figure of yours."  
Taking another look at his reflection, he pondered the question on if he had lost weight since his transformation. He was sure that he looked even thinner than before, not to mention that he'd always been rather slim.  
Not able to come to an answer on his own, he asked Hermione her opinion.  
The girl thought for a moment, before carefully explaining, "Magical creatures have always held the weirdest ideals for what they find beautiful. For example; the thinner and more fragile looking a submissive fairy is in appearance, the more beautiful he or she is considered by a dominant. It increases the instinct of the dominant to protect their submissive mate. The same is true with their relatives, the Elves."  
Harry gave her a thankful smile in understanding, so that meant he really had lost even more weight. Vampires were crazy, but being a vampire himself, he clearly saw the beauty in his appearance.  
But the question still remained: What to tell his guardians?  
"Sirius and Remus will drop dead if they suddenly see me like this." Harry sighed, bringing the conversation back to the main topic, whilst changing into the elegant black wizarding cloak.  
"You could always tell them the same thing you told us; that you've come into your inheritance and your future mate has given you these items." Hermione suggested, always one for sticking to the truth as much as possible.  
"Yeah, but he said he didn't want to tell them about his mate." Ron reminded her.  
"What if I just tell them that this is some sort of uniform for the creature I inherited?" Harry asked thinking about possible solutions.  
"That will work on your guardians, but not with my parents." Ron said.  
Harry sighed. "I could always change back into my old rags every time I see them…"  
"No, what if they come by for a surprise visit? And your mate will be insulted as well." Hermione cut him off.  
"Then I'll tell them the same thing I told you and hope they don't recognize the significance of the clothes. Maybe they'll believe that my mate just has a weird fashion sense and I'll ask your parents not to tell them either." He decided.  
"You should talk with my brothers then, since they'll recognize these types of clothes as well. With Ginny you don't have to worry, that sort of stuff with the clothes is mostly taught only to the sons, I don't really know why." Ron added.  
"It's because," Hermione started explaining, "woman in Pureblood society still hold little influence and power compared to their male counterparts. They can only reach such a high rank through their husbands. With submissive males it's a bit different. Mostly since when they are taught about these things, it's still far too early to tell if a son will be a submissive or not."  
"This sounds really complicated." Harry muttered, dreading all the stuff that he would have to learn as Lucius' mate.  
"Let's clean up a bit and then I'll fetch the Weasley's for you before we go researching." Hermione offered as they went to work. Harry would ask Arthur or Molly for a better expansion charm on their wardrobe, but until then they just had to pile all the cardboard boxes into one corner.  
"So, when do you plan on talking to your guardians? Or are you not mad at Sirius anymore?" Ron asked.  
"I still am, but they're my family. I'm disappointed in Sirius, but I don't want to fight with him about things that are in the past. If he can accept me like this, then I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he has matured since his school years or at the very least; that Remus has beaten some sense into his thick skull since this morning."  
"I think you have a good chance with believing in Remus'… persuading methods." Ron snickered.  
"You're probably right." Harry muttered.  
"And?" Hermione asked again.  
"And what?" He asked.  
"When will you tell them?"  
He thought about it quickly. "Tomorrow at breakfast. And I'll warn Sirius later… that I have to tell him something, I mean..."  
"Okay." Hermione agreed as she lifted the last box from the ground.

 **Please Review!**


	9. Chapter 09: Telling Part-Truths

**Chapter 9: Telling Part-Truths**

 **HP**

Hermione had just gone down to fetch Molly, Arthur, Fred and George. He stood in front of the small window, stroking Hedwig absentmindedly and looking into the garden. Ron sat silently on his own cot, leaving him space to think.  
Harry wished that Lucius could be here for this. He really didn't want to tell everybody about his supposed inheritance, even though he would not tell them everything. The truth would be that he had been turned, due to Lucius' betrayal of Voldemort and the fact that he had been bound to the man back then and that they were soul mates. That was not a story he would tell Sirius soon, if ever. The animagus would flip if he was told that his underage nephew was mated to a 32 year old man, who happened to be the former Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy.  
The knock on the door made him turn around and a moment later Molly, Arthur, Fred and George stepped in. Harry could see surprise and recognition on the older Weasley's faces, the twins needed a moment longer to take in Harry's new appearance and what it meant and then they too, were gaping. Arthur closed the door quickly, before whispering, as if afraid of being overheard: "Harry, what is the meaning of this?"  
He fidgeted nervously. If he had a choice, he wouldn't tell anybody anything; this whole inheritance and mated to one of most influential men in the wizarding world thing made him uncomfortable. Did the minister even possess as much power as his mate did? Harry supposed that only Dumbledore could rival him in that aspect, that really was a disturbing thought. How was it possible that he, who hated fame and attention, was not only the boy-who-lived but also mated to someone who stood even more in the spotlight than himself?  
"I have come into my inheritance recently," Harry started a bit hesitant. "My... future mate has sent me these clothes and that is the reason why I want to talk to you."  
Molly and Arthur nodded in understanding and Harry went on:  
"From Ron I have heard that you all know what the clothes imply, but I am sure that neither Remus nor Sirius are aware of it. Remus parents were both Muggle-born and Sirius never paid attention to those kinds of things, and I want it to stay that way."  
"Why my dear?" Molly asked softly, her face not showing whether she approved of his wish or not.  
Harry sighed: "I would not usually wear these clothes if it would not offend my mate by doing so. But I found my mate just recently and it is still fresh and I am still young. Remus as a werewolf and Sirius, because he just is like that, would want to know everything about my mate and I, especially if they found out how important my mate is. They would want to protect me from the extra burden and maybe even be afraid that I could be used. It will be complicated enough to tell them about all this, but it would be too much to tell them the rest as well."  
Molly and Arthur's eyes softened: "We can understand that."  
"Us too," the twins agreed in unison.  
"But what will you tell them?" George asked curiously.  
"I will just tell them that I have found my mate and that the person has a special sense of fashion;" Harry grinned, scratching the back of his neck. He brushed one of the scratches on his neck accidentally and a shiver ran down his spine. Blushing, he concentrated back on the Weasley's, glad that his blushes were invisible now: "I will tell everybody tomorrow at breakfast."  
Molly sighed: "Normally I do not support lying, but in this instance I can understand your concern. I hope my daughter will get the hint."  
Harry winced. He really hoped that as well, but he did not believe that it would actually happen.  
" I will try to not be harsh with her if she doesn't. Sooner or later she will give up on me," Harry said.  
"She can be very..." Fred began.  
"... thick headed," George ended.  
"I still don't understand why it so important that Sirius and Remus do not find out the meaning of the clothes," Arthur frowned.  
"There are only a few people around the world who are allowed to wear these kinds of clothes and they would be able to figure out who my mate is that way. But I am really not ready to take my relationship out in the open. I am only fifteen, that means that we will at least court for another two years, until I am off age," Harry explained.  
"This really is a huge burden," Arthur mused.  
"Oh man, you really are a magnet for the extraordinary, aren't you?" Fred laughed.  
"I guess," Harry shrugged.  
"So," George whispered and he and his twin brother stepped closer to Harry, laying their arms around his shoulders so that Ron would not hear them.  
"Who is your sugar daddy?" Fred asked.  
Harry spluttered, but the twins only grinned knowingly: "Admit it; that is the main reason why you don't want..." George said.  
"...to tell Sirius and Remus, or Ron for that matter, who he really is." Fred smirked.  
"How do you know?" Harry wanted to know.  
"Ron must not have paid attention very well to mum and dad, but your clothes are a special type, only worn by submissive males. If you were the dominant, or if your mate were a woman, you would wear long pants and not these very seductive short ones," they explained.  
Harry tried not to look too embarrassed, but failed.  
"And we have listened to your exact words; you never said that you both were still too young for mating." Fred laughed.  
"Well, I sure can understand why you don't want to tell them; your godfather can be very protective and a werewolf is always very worried about their pups," George grinned.  
Sighing Harry admitted: "You are right about everything, but I still won't tell you his name."  
The twins pouted, but let go of him.  
"We will help you then my dear," Molly promised and went over to the door, only to be held back by her husband: "Which inheritance did you receive?"  
"I really don't want to tell you... not until I have come to terms with everything as well," Harry said, an apologetic look on his face. To his relief Arthur nodded and Molly added:  
"But tell us some day, ok? You sure are no Veela, but that still leaves a lot of possibilities."  
Harry nodded, only now realizing that he had unconsciously made a very wise decision by telling everybody that he had received an inheritance. Even if someone would search for a possible creature, like Hermione would most likely do, they wouldn't find anything; the vampire gene was considered an illness, like the werewolf gene, you could not inherit it, you could only get infected with it.  
Molly motioned to Fred and George and the Weasley's left. Harry went down into the library to look for Hermione. Ron had fallen asleep on his cot and knowing that his brainy friend would want a word with him in privacy, he quietly left with only Nagini at his heels.  
His friend looked up when he stepped into the dusty room. She sat in one of the armchairs by the chess board and he settled down across of her, waiting for her to decide what to say or ask first.  
"You are the submissive, aren't you?" she finally asked.  
Harry nodded.  
"The books say that your uniform is the one worn by a submissive," Hermione elaborated.  
"I know, Fred and George told me," he answered.  
Her eyes widened and guessing what her question would be he quickly answered: "Ron still doesn't know, his brothers pulled me into a corner to tell me and I believe he had already fallen asleep at that point."  
"I am normally not one for lying, but it might be easier to not tell him about you being the submissive. His reaction earlier was..."  
"Not good." Harry finished.  
"I will prepare him slowly. You will not mate for the next two years, until then he will be fine with that belief," she sighed before her face became stern: "Did your mate injure you?"  
"No," he answered simply and in his eyes it was not even a lie. He would not consider the scratches and bruises on his neck injuries; they were markings, given to him by his dominant in an intimate moment of passion or care.  
Hermione eyed him wearily, as if she didn't know if she should believe him or not. In the end she said: "But you will tell me if he ever harms you?"  
"He would never," Harry replied calmly.  
"But you would tell me?" she pressed.  
Sighing he nodded: "If he ever harms me, I will tell you."  
"Good," she smiled, before opening the book she had been reading earlier: "I found something about the council families of Britain. They were really secretive, so it isn't much, but it is interesting."  
"Tell me," Harry prompted, he suspected that he should learn as much about the council thing as he could find.  
"There had been three families at the beginning, each one making up one of the three percent of the most noble, richest and powerful Pureblood families: The Dumbledore's, the Peverell's and the Malfoy's."  
Harry nodded to show that he understood; he had already guessed that he would hear his mate's name and even to hear his headmaster's family name was no real surprise either, there had always been rumours that Albus was just one more very talented member of an old family.  
"The Peverell's died out in the late Middle Ages and around 150 years ago the Dumbledore's lost their status in the council, due to bad marriages and money loss. Today there is only the Malfoy family left who can still be considered a part of the council that make the whole three percent, even though there is now only Lucius Malfoy left; but every other family is just not Pureblooded enough or rich enough and you need both."  
"At least we know that Harry's girlfriend is from another country," Ron suddenly appeared next to them; he had obviously awoken and come down to catch the last sentence. "I bet she is an exotic beauty," the red head grinned.  
"My mate is very attractive," Harry agreed, winking at Hermione.  
"I really want to know which kind of creature you are," he mused.  
"I won't tell you," Harry grinned and stood up to change into his old t-shirt and shorts before Sirius or Remus could find him.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **SB**

That evening, when Sirius entered the bedroom he shared with his best friend and secret long-term crush Remus, he found a folded letter on his pillow. He had just picked it up, when his friend entered asking: "What have you got there?"  
"I don't know, it's a letter," he answered.  
Remus came over and sat down across from him on his own bed, commanding: "Open it, I bet it is from Harry."  
It was indeed a letter from Harry. His godson's scratchy signature was written at the bottom of the parchment. He read the short note and frowned in confusion.  
"What did he write?" Remus asked and sat down next to him.  
"Not much. He said that he has to tell me something at breakfast tomorrow and it will depend on my reaction whether he forgives me for earlier or not."  
"I believe he wants to make sure that you can react like an adult. You should not have forgotten that his cousin bullied him," Remus patted his arm reassuringly.  
Sirius sighed, worry heavy in his voice; he had not wanted what had happened at their breakfast to escalate like this, he had only meant to tell a funny little story. "So what shall I do?"  
"Just remember that whatever he tells you tomorrow, that he is still Harry; your godson and James' son, before you react in any way," Remus advised him.  
"I will try, but I can't help my temper sometimes. It was already bad back at school, but it has gotten worse since Azkaban," he sighed, hating himself for not considering Harry's feelings this morning.  
"I know Padfoot. I know."  
"Do you think that Harry's home life might have been worse than we thought?" He asked after a minute of silence, looking up to meet his old friend's eyes. Moony only shrugged:  
"I don't know and I doubt that Harry will ever tell us."  
Nodding, Sirius rolled the parchment up and placed it on his night stand, before letting himself fall onto the bed. "I only hope he will forgive me," he mused.  
"He will, I am sure. Harry is kind-hearted and forgiving and he loves you like no one else," his friend tried to soothe him, but somehow without succeeding. Closing his eyes, he thought about what Harry might want to tell him. Was it big, shocking news; like Harry finding out that he was gay? Sirius snorted inwardly, Harry didn't seem like the type to turn out gay, not with all the hero issues; and even if it was something like that, he would not be shocked. He was in love with a man as well after all and Harry had sounded too serious for it to be something simple like that.  
So what was it then? Did he have a horrible vision about Voldemort? About some huge, horrible plan to murder them all? He honestly hoped that it wouldn't be something like that, but it sadly sounded more likely than his first thought.  
Sighing for the hundredth time, he realized that he just had to wait until the next morning and be patient.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

The next morning Harry dressed in the same auburn outfit he had tried out the day before. He had even fastened the waistcoat himself, after getting a detailed explanation from Hermione. He was careful not to tie it much tighter than Hermione had done, but he had more power than her and it was difficult. Once his friends had reassured him that he looked good, he quickly ate one of his blood drops to calm his nerves and they went downstairs.  
On his way to the kitchen, he thought about the last night. He had lain awake far longer than the night before. The feeling of loneliness increased with every day and even Nagini's soothing presence had not helped much. On top of that, as soon as he had fallen asleep; the last night with his mate, where they had shared blood and Lucius had played his body like an instrument had started to repeat itself in his dream. He had woken up with a hard- on, but to his relief, he must have been silent enough during his dream, otherwise his friends would not be able to look him in his eyes right now.  
Sighing, he tried to push his thoughts of Lucius out of his mind, but every time he closed his eyes for a moment, he could see his mate's long legs or strong chest, his piercing silver-red eyes or those beautiful fangs of his. He saw him lifting an eyebrow or smirking at him and imagined his sharp claws gliding over his neck. He shuddered and quickly fought against the tingling feeling in his lower abdomen; Remus would surely be able to smell an erection and he wanted to avoid this embarrassing situation and the even more embarrassing talk that was bound to follow.  
Another matter on his mind was his grouchy Potions Professor, whom he had not seen since the day before. Snape had told him, that he needed some time, but how long was some time?  
His musing was interrupted, when they reached the door to the kitchen. They had come down late, so that everybody would be there already.  
"Are you ready?" Hermione whispered and he nodded without conviction.  
"We are behind you, man," Ron slapped him on his shoulder and he pushed the door open. Immediately all eyes were drawn to him. His eyes searched for Sirius, who was gaping and Snape, who had raised an eyebrow, before slowly striding over to his usual seat, but didn't sit down.  
Clearing his throat awkwardly he said: "I really don't know how I should break this news to all of you... " he started unsurely. Maybe he should have written down a speech before hand?  
"I have come into my inheritance and due to a fortunate incident I have also found my future mate already."  
Silence rag through the room and so he felt the need to elaborate: "I really didn't want to tell you all so soon, because everything is still so new, but my mate has sent me these clothes and I can't just refuse to wear them only to avoid having to tell you all so early."  
Sirius mouth opened and closed like a fish, unable to form coherent words, so it was Remus who asked the first question.  
"When did it happen?"  
Harry had really not thought about the answer and he was suddenly far too nervous to make up a good story; luckily, Snape must have noticed his predicament: "He came into his inheritance a few days after I brought him to his relative's house and it was in muggle London where he met his mate."  
"And why didn't you tell us Sni...Snape?" Sirius asked, correcting himself quickly, but succeeded to put so much venom in Snape's name that it sounded like an insult nonetheless.  
"Because, it was not my news to tell. Mating is a private matter, as you should know Black," Snape bit out.  
Sirius glared at his old rival one last time and then turned back to Harry: "These clothes are... different."  
Harry grinned at him; Sirius' reaction had been so typical for the animagus: "I know, but they suit me, don't they?" He had quickly noticed that they really were not as uncomfortable as they looked. The fabric was unbelievably soft and as a being that didn't need to breathe, even the tight waistcoats weren't a problem. Besides, Hermione had been right: The garments suited his character and he liked the dollish look they gave him.  
"They do," Remus agreed, smiling softly.  
Sirius cleared his throat and then asked carefully: "Would you tell me a bit more about your inheritance and your mate?" It was clear to Harry that the man did his best to behave like a good godfather and restrain his wild temper and he appreciated the effort.  
"There is really not much I can tell you... it is still so new and I haven't figured out everything myself. But I can tell you that I am no longer human and that my mate is filthy rich," he snickered.  
"I can see that," Sirius laughed and his eyes went up and down Harry's body, making him blush uncomfortably, but Remus only sniffed the air and then frowned:  
"You don't smell different in any way. Do you wear glamours?"  
Harry averted his eyes and he could feel the accusing glares of his two best friends on his neck. He could understand them in some way, but showing them how he looked without a glamour, would have given too much away and he really didn't want his friends to panic because he had turned into a monster - which he hadn't, thanks to Lucius, but he would not be able to tell them that part and thus it was better to deal with their anger.  
"Well, yeah, I don't want everybody to know what I am, at least not yet and it would be very obvious without the glamours," he mumbled.  
"Do you really have to hide yourself at Grimmauld Place? I mean, no strange people can enter here," Sirius asked.  
"But I don't trust everyone either..." at the hurt looks on his friends and families faces he quickly said: "What if Mundungus shows up?"  
Sirius sighed; Harry knew, that his godfather could not argue with his answer.  
"Are you happy with your mate?" Remus changed the topic to something safer.  
"I am," Harry smiled broadly. "My mate is gorgeous and beautiful and intelligent and powerful and talented and nice and caring and understanding and..."  
"Yeah, we got the gist of it, your mate is perfect," the twins laughed. The others joined in with the exception of Ginny, who was frowning and Harry was sure that this meant nothing good, but he had already suspected that she would not give up so easily.  
"Enough talking, sit down and eat," Molly said suddenly and ended the conversation. Harry sat down thankfully and filled his plate with as little food as he could and started eating. For a moment they all ate in silence but then Ron's groan interrupted them all.  
"What is it?" Harry asked, looking over at his friend who was glaring at the Daily Prophet.  
"I really had hoped that the arrogant prick would be dead as well," Ron muttered and shoved the newspaper over at him. A huge picture of his mate just exiting Gringotts covered the front page. He looked intimidating and attractive as ever, even more so now where he wore his fitting and very elegant clothes and not the spare shirts and trousers they had bought in muggle London. Harry's eyes fixed on his endless legs, which were hugged by a tight, black pants and his broad chest, which was covered by a crisp white button down with silver buttons. Lucius also had his famous snake cane in one hand and there was nothing in his demeanour that indicated that anything had changed in his life. But Harry knew better. Pulling the paper closer he quickly scanned the short article:

 _ **Lord Malfoy still alive!  
After the murder of his son and wife, many people had come to believe that the most famous Pureblood, Lucius Malfoy, was dead as well. But this journalist can now tell you all that the noble man is not only alive, but after the loss of his wife once again available!**_  
 _ **Lucius Malfoy, current head of the wealthy Malfoy family is not only the richest wizard alive, but was also nominated countless times for most attractive bachelor in his youth and most attractive wizard since his marriage. He is member of the Wizengamot, on the Board of Governors of Hogwarts and it is rumoured, that he is even a member of the Unspeakables and he has achieved four completed educations as: Healer, Mental Healer, Lawyer and Potions Master.**_  
 _ **So Ladies! Don't waste any time and try to catch this famous bachelor!**_  
 _ **Rita Skeeta.**_

"Why does she think that he wishes to marry? I mean, he has just lost his wife." Harry asked, miffed about the fact that Skeeter was practically advertising his mate. He wanted to fly straight into her office and rip her throat out.  
"Of course he will," Ron huffed. "I mean, he is a Pureblood and he has not only lost his wife, but also his heir to his precious family name."  
"Your right Ron, but Harry is as well; I mean, it is early to think about him marrying again," Hermione interjected.  
"Hermione, don't forget that not only do men grow old, but their rockets as well," Sirius smirked, but winced, when Remus hit him on the head.  
"Ouch!" he complained.  
Harry meanwhile was grabbing the edge of the table tightly. After Skeeter's blunt article, his godfather's comment was nearly enough to send him into a rage. He wanted to jump up and rip Sirius' head off for insulting his mate in such a degrading manner. His mate was not yet old and he even looked years younger than he actually was, and all that didn't matter because they were both already dead. Fumbling for his little leather bag, he pulled out a bon-bon and quickly popped it into his mouth. Snape had captured his eyes and was shaking his head slightly in warning: It would not do for Harry to lose it.  
"You realize Sirius that Lucius is only two years older than you?" Remus asked, rolling his eyes.  
"Yeah, but I am sure that he is already impotent," Sirius snickered.  
Next to Harry, Hermione gasped in outrage at the breakfast topic.  
"Enough Sirius! There are children in the kitchen!" Molly finally snapped and the animagus grinned sheepishly over at Harry, who had luckily calmed down enough to not look murderous anymore; or at least to look like it on the outside, the thought of needing to keep Lucius' and his relationship a secret to protect his mate made it possible.  
Ginny obviously decided that she had heard enough about Lucius Malfoy as well and spoke up for the first time: "Mum, can we go to Diagon Alley today? Our book list is finally complete."  
"That must mean that Dumbledore has found a new DADA teacher," Hermione chimed happily.  
"Don't be so happy just yet, we rarely have luck with the DADA teachers," Ron muttered.  
"I heard that the ministry has recommended someone," Arthur mused out loud.  
Harry groaned, that did not sound good at all, he could not imagine Fudge sending someone competent to Hogwarts. It would most likely be a spy for the Minister.  
"Maybe it will not be that bad," Hermione suggested carefully.  
"I bet it will," Harry muttered.  
"At least, that would give us the chance to test our newest pranks," Fred grinned.  
"Fred, George," Molly said threateningly. "Regardless of how incompetent the new teacher might be, you will do no such thing!"  
"Yes.."  
"...mum," they said, but the mischievous gleam in their eyes said differently.  
"If he or she is as bad as the imposter Moody or Lockhart, I will help you," Harry muttered, determined to not be tortured by a bad DADA teacher this year.  
"Really?" Fred asked.  
"Really," he promised.  
"Stop talking so much and hurry up, or it will be too late to go to Diagon Alley today," Molly commanded and they all went back to their food.  
Harry decided to change back into his old clothes; it would be enough that he was going to cause an uproar at Kings Cross and he didn't want Lucius to get his first glimpse of Harry in his new clothes through the paper.  
He pocketed his new Gringotts-key and went down to meet the others. They had planned to floo into the Leaky Cauldron and start their shopping trip from there.  
The first thing he saw when he reached the bottom of the stairs was Ginny smiling up at him and waving. She had clearly decided on another approach with him; at least, Harry thought dryly, she doesn't look like a slut anymore. Instead, she wore a light blue summer dress that reached her knees and her lips were covered with pink lip gloss. Harry mused that she wanted to look sweet, cute and maybe even innocent, but that made her no more appealing to him. He wasn't the type who preferred an innocent lover; Lucius was anything but, and he liked it very much, even though he himself was still shy most of the time. Besides, he could pull off the innocent- look much better than her.  
"Hey Harry," she breathed, but he ignored her at that moment.  
"I have everything I need, but we have to stop at Gringotts first," he announced, stepping to the fireplace and grabbing a hand full of floo powder.  
"We will go there first," Molly promised and Sirius, in his dog form barked happily. Nagini suddenly slithered up behind him and started to crawl up his body.  
 _"Hey girl, do you want to go with us?"_ he asked and his familiar nodded.  
"Harry, you cannot bring her along, everybody will recognize her. Do you want to send Diagon Alley into a state of panic?" Remus asked.  
Smiling sheepishly he admitted: "Maybe it will be better if the students at Hogwarts get used to her first and once everybody has realized that she doesn't eat anyone they will not be as shocked to see me with her."  
"You will take her to Hogwarts?" Ginny asked, sounding very unhappy.  
"Of course he will. Nagini is his bonded familiar and a powerful protector; besides, the school has always been an experimental laboratory for all kind of people and things," Snape huffed from his corner in the shadows. Molly had insisted that he should come along to provide more safety for the group. Harry could see that the man was not happy about the upcoming afternoon at all.  
"And now we should leave or otherwise it really will be too late to go anywhere," the Potions Master snapped.  
Tossing the powder into the flames, Harry shouted his destination and stepped into the heath.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

The ride through the floo network was rocky as ever and he ungracefully stumbled out at the other end. Sirius in his dog-form arrived only seconds later, colliding with him and sending them sprawled to the floor.  
"Padfoot!" he exclaimed, trying to shove the large animagus off. When he was finally back on his feet, the others were gathered around him, amused looks on their faces.  
"Very graceful indeed," Snape smirked, his eyes telling Harry: 'Your mate would be so proud with you.' Harry frowned at their strange stalemate. Had Snape calmed down again? At least the man was talking to him again, so were they alright? They had not talked about their conversation the day before, so Harry still felt slightly uncomfortable in his presence; after all, the last thing he had heard from his professor had been: 'I cannot look you in the face right now.'  
That had really hurt, even though he would not consider Snape a friend; maybe acquaintances, but nothing more. The dark man lifted an eyebrow and sneered; Harry noticed that he had been staring. Feeling very uncomfortable, he mumbled an apology and turned to start leading the small group out of the small pub, ignoring Ron's sister who had attached herself to his left arm; he really had no patience to deal with her right now, maybe ignoring her would bring his point across. Sighing, he wished that Lucius could be there as well, he would rip her from his arms and probably to shreds...well, maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.  
Ron and Hermione caught up with him, eyeing Ginny at his arm cautiously. When he only shrugged, clearly annoyed, Hermione started a conversation: "The book we have to buy for DADA is really strange."  
"Why? Is it another monster book?" He asked, shuddering. He would not live down another class with a violent school book.  
"No, it is an office journal," she said, as if that would explain anything.  
"What is an office journal?" Ron asked, preventing Harry from asking himself.  
"You have one person who is the administrator, every other journal is linked to this book and whatever that person writes down or copies into their own, appears in every other book. It is usually used in hospitals so that the healers who work in the evening can be notified about what happened during the day. New medicine plans for patients and such things..."  
"That sounds really complicated," Ron commented, but Harry shook his head:  
"I think, that our new teacher doesn't believe that the usual books are advanced enough, or they are under strict orders of the ministry to teach us nothing at all."  
"So that means, we will either get a genius as teacher or a brainless idiot?" Ron asked.  
"Exactly," Hermione affirmed.  
"Great," Ron huffed.  
Harry assumed that it would be the latter; so did his friends, if their expressions were any indication, but he only sighed and said: "We just have to wait and see."  
"Professor, do you know something about our new DADA teacher?" Hermione asked over her shoulder.  
Snape stepped in line with them and furrowed his brows: "No. Dumbledore was not pleased with the person the Ministry has sent us and he refused to say anything more. I believe you could be right Harry, and whoever it is, is just a puppet for Fudge."  
"So he or she really will be a brainless idiot," he grumbled.  
"And Dumbledore didn't even mention the gender?" Hermione asked.  
"Why yes, Miss Granger," Snape said sounding irritated.  
"Why couldn't he give the position to Remus once more?" Harry wanted to know.  
"Because the parents are still sceptical of me," Remus said.  
"But you are not dangerous," Harry huffed. Why could nobody see that Remus would never harm a student?  
"I am a werewolf and I nearly attacked you," Remus said softly.  
"Yeah, but that was not..." he broke off quickly, he had wanted to say: that was not your fault, but that would mean that he would then be accusing Snape of endangering them at the end of their third year and by now he understood that the professor had only tried to help Ron, Hermione and him and that really wouldn't be a wise thing to say with the man striding just behind him.  
Snape glared at him and he ducked his head mumbling: "I said nothing."  
Harry tried to hold the piercing black eyes, but averted them after just a moment, the sudden urge to call for Lucius and hide behind him overwhelmed him and he chewed nervously on his bottom lip. This thing with being a submissive was really ridiculous sometimes, especially when he transformed into a frightened school-girl.  
They went around a corner and stepped onto the large stairs in front of Gringotts. Many eyes turned to Harry and he suddenly realized that Ginny was still clinging to his arm. There would be hell to pay if a reporter shot a photo of him and Ron's sister and spread the news that he was involved with the youngest Weasley, and he really didn't want his mate to make false assumptions, or be hurt by his careless acting in the public. Sometimes, he really was as stupid as Snape always accused him of being.  
Luckily Hermione was a clever and quick-thinking witch and grabbed his other arm, whilst tugging Ron along and within seconds they just looked like a group of friends.  
He gave the girl a thankful smile and together they stepped into the wizarding bank, heading to a free counter. Harry took the last place in the line, hoping that he would be able to visit Lucius' vault alone this way, and for once he was lucky. When he stepped in front of the goblin, everybody else had already disappeared.  
"Ah, Mr Potter," the goblin greeted him.  
"Hello Mr...?"  
"Griphtug," the goblin introduced himself.  
Harry blinked, the name sounded familiar: "Are you related to Griphook?"  
"I am, Mr Potter. How can I help you?" the small creature asked.  
"I want to take some money from my vault," crossing his fingers, he gave Griphtug the golden key, praying that everything would go well and that he would not be denied access to the Malfoy vault.  
The goblin frowned and pulled two large books from under the counter, opening the first at P and the second at M. After a while of silence in which the goblin was reading with an expressionless face and Harry was getting more nervous with every passing second, Griphtug looked up again: "Congratulations Mr. Potter for uniting your two families, may wealth fall upon you."  
Harry blinked in confusion; was that the way of goblins congratulating someone on their mating? Seeing that Griphtug was waiting for something he quickly said: "Thank you, Mr Griphtug," and the creature nodded in satisfaction.  
"Pleas sign here," the goblin placed a parchment in front of Harry and pointed at a thin line. He quickly scanned the document. It only stated that he had access to all Malfoy vaults and that he was fine with his vault fusing with the one of his dominant mate. He signed the parchment as neatly as he could, which didn't say much, and handed it back.  
"I am the personal administrator of Lord Malfoy, so if you need help with anything, you may send me an owl. I will also send you a list with all inheritances of the Potter family."  
"But I already have access to my parents vault," Harry frowned.  
"That is correct, but after your coming of age, you also have access to any other properties of your family," Griphtug explained patiently. When Harry nodded, he announced: "I will bring you to the vault now. Please follow me."  
Harry followed Griphtug to the door that leads underground, but to his surprise, the goblin stroked his fingers over another door, a silver one, he had never noticed before. The door was directly next to the one where his friends had gone through and he wondered how he had never seen this one before. Maybe there was some kind of privacy or secrecy spell on it.  
Griphtug held the door open and Harry stepped into the corridor behind it. The corridor was long and lined by many other silver doors to the left and right. Seeing no name plague, he turned around: "Which one is the vault?"  
Griphtug looked at him as if he couldn't believe how stupid a wizard could be and answered smoothly: "All of them."  
Harry gaped: "But that must be at least..."  
"57 vault chambers," the goblin informed him. Harry had to steady himself with one hand on the wall so as not to collapse from shock.  
"You may just close the door behind you when you are finished, it will lock itself," Griphtug said and with a nod disappeared and left Harry alone to his own devices.  
"Why haven't you warned me you bloody prick?...arrogant show-off!" Harry muttered and turned to the first door.  
There was an elegant M engraved into the doorknob and it swung open silently and without any effort. Harry gasped when he saw the huge chamber filled to the brim with galleons. Closing the door again, he opened the next one, deciding that he wanted to at least have a look into the first ten chambers.  
The second was filled with gold bars. Harry didn't need long to see a pattern in the vaults. The vault with Galleons was followed by the one filled with gold bars and the one with Sickles was followed by one filled with silver bars. He also found vaults that were dedicated to different kinds of jewellery or gems. He never could have imagined that one could have an entire vault filled with rubies or pearls. One chamber only contained light magical artefacts whilst the next storage chamber contained dark artefacts. He would need to come back alone at a later date and examine these vaults more thoroughly, but for now he had to go back, before anyone got suspicious about his long absence.  
After fifteen minutes of looking around, he went back to the first vault and took a not-so- small red velvet back filled with Galleons, before heading back out again.  
Still in a daze, he joined the others, who were already waiting for him and he had been right, they were wondering:  
"What took you so long?" Ron asked curiously.  
"I had to sign some papers," Harry explained.  
"Oh well..." Hermione said. "Do you have everything?"  
He nodded and Ginny once again grabbed his arm, followed by his two best friends. Harry would swear that he heard an amused snort at that moment that suspiciously sounded like his Potions Master.  
Their first stop was at Flourish and Blotts where they bought their school books. Hermione asked the owner if he knew who ordered all the office journals, but the man told her that the order had come per owl and only with the Hogwarts seal and the Ministry seal beneath it.  
Harry eyed the notebook and thought that the teacher at least had taste. It was bound in black leather and as soon as he had paid for it, his name and his school year appeared in golden letters on the front cover. Ron had complained that the book had been expensive and that he would rather buy a normal book, but everybody else was excited.  
After Flourish and Blotts they visited Honeydukes where he bought nothing at all for the first time. That made Sirius instantly worry that he could be developing an abdominal influenza, but Severus quickly cut his worried rant off by telling him that nothing could stop an illness, but he would be able to cure the boy-wonder if he really got sick.  
"Harry, do you need new school robes?" Hermione asked when they left the candy store.  
Harry shook his head: "No, I have not grown in the last year, it is really frustrating."  
"But what would we do..." George chimed from behind him.  
"If our cute and little brother was suddenly taller than us?" Fred ended.  
"I would need to grow a lot to outgrow you two," Harry muttered, but with humour in his voice. True, his small build had annoyed him in the past, but since his change he had started to like it. His small frame turned his dominant on quite a bit, Harry was sure of that, even though Lucius had never voiced it out loud. One day, he would ask his mate about it.  
Madam Malkin's was very crowded and they had to wait almost an hour until the witch had time to measure the new robes for Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny.  
They had all sat down in a secluded waiting area, with the exception of Harry, who had been dragged along by Ginny, who was determined to find a robe that Harry would like to see her in. The only problem was that he really had no sense of fashion and of course; that and he did not wish to see her in a robe someone would wear out on a date. No one had saved him this time and so he had watched her pulling one robe out after the other and made mostly unhelpful comments that left Ginny annoyed in the end.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

When they were back at Grimmauld Place, it was already late. Ron and Hermione had been ordered by Molly to help her to prepare the evening meal and so he went upstairs alone, glad that he was finally free of Ron's little sister.  
Nagini looked up when he came in and made some space for him on his bed so that he could flop down. Turning on his side, he pulled his legs up on the bed and started to pet his familiar. Nagini slithered closer to him and he wrapped his arms around his friend, laying his head on her strong body.  
 _"How was shopping?"_ she asked after a while of contented silence.  
 _"It was good. I went to Lucius' vaults, he is really bloody rich,"_ he snorted.  
 _"Is that not good? I thought that it is important for humans to be rich, so that they can get food and clothes. Wouldn't it be good to have a mate who can provide everything for you?"_ Nagini asked, irritated by his tone of voice.  
 _"It is, but he has more money than we could ever spent. It just kind of shocked me."_ he agreed.  
 _"You just realized that your dominant is far more powerful than you expected?"_ the reptile inquired.  
Harry nodded.  
 _"Then he will sire strong offspring for you,"_ Nagini sounded proud, but Harry only choked:  
 _"We are vampires, we cannot sire any offspring."_  
 _"That's a shame,"_ Nagini pouted, sounding like a mother who had just been told that her granddaughter would not give her grandchildren.  
 _"I would be far too young in any case,"_ Harry told her and continued his stroking. Her scales still felt amazing, even after he had become a vampire.  
 _"You are not young anymore, you are mated and thus an adult,"_ Nagini lectured him.  
Snakes were really strange. Not even two weeks ago, she had lectured him that he was still a hatchling, and now he was apparently old enough to bear children in her eyes, only because he had mated in the meantime. But he had not become older or more mature since then. Shaking his head, he turned to his nightstand and opened the top drawer where he had hidden Lucius' picture from the Daily Prophet. After breakfast he had succeeded in taking the paper with him and cut the picture out; this way, he could at least see his mate.  
 _"You miss him."_ Nagini stated.  
 _"Mh,"_ Harry agreed wordlessly and stroked over the picture with one finger. The miniature Lucius smiled softly at him and waved, before resuming his way.  
 _"A submissive should not be without his dominant for so long, especially when the mating is still so new,"_ his female familiar huffed.  
 _"I miss his touch so much and his presence; it feels like a part of myself is missing,"_ he whispered sadly.  
 _"Mates are_ _considered_ _one entity,"_ Nagini hissed softly.  
 _"I know,"_ sighing, he put the picture away with one last glance and a kiss.  
Just in time, because in the next instant, Fred and George came in:  
"Dinner is ready, Harry," they announced.  
Nodding, he stood up and followed them into the kitchen. Hermione was sitting bent over their new DADA journal; as if she was hoping that their teacher would write his name into his own book so that it would appear in front of her.  
Ron already looked slightly annoyed, which meant that Hermione had probably talked about the book and their future teacher the whole time whilst Harry had been upstairs. Maybe she had even chewed his ear off about school in general, or the OWL's they would write at the end of their upcoming year.  
Molly placed a huge casserole in front of them and started to fill their plates then.  
"Harry my dear, how much would you like?"  
Harry, still busy with thoughts of his mate, absentmindedly answered: "Nothing."  
"But you have to eat something, you are far too skinny," Ron's mother reprimanded him and gave him a plate with so much food on it, he was sure he would not be able to eat even half of it. Groaning, Harry took his fork and started to eat. Luckily Ron was especially hungry this evening and Harry successfully exchanged their plates only ten minutes later without having eaten much and leaned back in his chair.  
Harry zoned out of the conversation then and instead thought about another matter he still had to deal with; at least if he honestly wanted to take over the order soon, which he did: How could he end the war without an actual war?  
Thinking back to the evening at Privet Drive, Harry still found the thought that bribing Voldemort into a peace contract was the best solution, but how exactly?  
The first step obviously, would be to find all the Horcruxes. Should he keep them all or just one in the end? It probably would be safer to destroy all of them with the exception of one, which he could keep on his body at all times and thus keep an eye on it. His plan would be ruined if the dark wizard got even one back, and he would not take the risk.  
Assuming that he would succeed in finding the three Horcruxes which were left after the destruction of the one residing inside Nagini, the diary and himself; that still left the question of how, or in which way to bribe the man. Should he just go to Riddle Manor and knock on his door? Would Voldemort even be there? The wizard most likely had many hideouts.  
Sighing, Harry decided that he would talk to Ron and Hermione about this problem when the time had come; for now, he was content with his plan.  
After dinner he, together with his guardians and two best friends went outside to the garden and played a few games of exploding snap, until it was too dark to see properly. Normally, he was fairly good at the game, but not this evening. The separation from Lucius started to affect him stronger with every passing minute. His limit had clearly been reached already and Harry felt as if he was going insane with the feeling of loneliness.  
His body was so unbelievable cold by now and he shivered in the warm summer breeze. Luckily neither his friends, nor the two marauders noticed anything.  
When he finally fell down into his bed later that evening, Harry felt utterly exhausted. Luckily he didn't know that the strain on his body and mind would only get stronger from now on, or he would have run off during the night. Instead, he rolled onto his side and cuddled once more with his faithful familiar, who wrapped her long body protectively around him, once again cooing soothing words until he had fallen asleep.

 **Please Review!**


	10. Chapter 10: Slowly Going Insane

**Chapter 10: Slowly Going Insane**

 **HP**

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

Harry pushed back against the wet muscle that was teasingly licking his quivering hole. His body was trembling all over with anticipation and his cock was hanging painfully beneath him, swollen and throbbing, as he kneeled on all fours on his bed.  
"Please!" He begged, his voice somewhere between a whine and a mewl.  
"Please what, Harry?" Lucius purred; his hot breath ghosting over Harry's sensitive pucker, which the man had been abusing with his wonderful tongue for the last half an hour.  
"I need...to feel you...inside of me, please!" he gasped desperately.  
"Then I shall grant you your wish," his mate's husky voice nearly drove him over the edge on its own, but it was not quite enough.  
At the next moment he cried out when Lucius' hot tongue finally entered him, stroking his passage from the inside. He wanted to try and press more firmly onto the muscle, fucking himself on it, but his dominant held him in place.  
"Harry?" a voice suddenly asked behind him, but his mind was too clouded to spare it any thought.  
A sharp nail brushed the throbbing vein on the underside of his penis and as he hung his head he could see blood dripping from his pleasantly tingling member.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

"Harry?"  
Someone shook his shoulder and his eyes flew open. Above him the concerned face of his best friend, Ronald Weasley, hovered.  
"Everything alright, man? You had a nightmare. It must have been really horrible, you've been moaning and screaming for the last twenty or thirty minutes and you wouldn't wake up."  
Flushing heavily, and thanking Merlin or whoever was listening for his invisible vampire flush, he sat up and looked around. It was still dark outside and the clock next to his bed showed that it was only three in the morning. Hermione was awake as well, but in contrast to Ron she had caught on to the nature of his dream and was flushing quite violently, giving off a strong scent of embarrassment and... arousal?  
...well, he mused, he probably would have gotten aroused as well if he had been the one listening to that kind of dream. Especially if he had been as vocal as Ron had said.  
"Man, are you alright?" Ron asked, pulling him from his shocking revelation.  
"Yeah, I am. Sorry for waking you," he mumbled and shifted. Only then, when his blanket brushed against his nether regions, did he notice that he was still painfully hard. He gasped and Ron's face darkened even further.  
"Your scar?" he asked in concern and Harry quickly nodded, thankful for the excuse. The smell of embarrassment from Hermione grew stronger, and he wished that he would just drop dead right there and then.  
"Yes, but it's getting better already," he hissed in suppressed pleasure.  
"Shall I get someone? Mum or one of your guardians?"  
"No!" he exclaimed, only realizing that his reaction was a bit too violent, when Ron looked even more worried. Clearing his throat he mumbled, "I mean... I will be fine. I wasn't even able to see anything in my dream, just feelings; you know how it is sometimes."  
He lay back down carefully, so as not to brush his cock against his blanket once more.  
"Okay... if you say so," with one last look Ron went back to his bed, and was once again asleep minutes later. Hermione had lain back down as well, but her breathing told Harry that she was still awake, but to his relief she was too embarrassed to say anything.  
Folding his arms under his head he tried to calm himself down, but it was impossible. His cock was still throbbing and begging for attention, but he could not give in to his desperate desire right now.  
The last three days following his trip to Diagon Alley had been horrible. After his second night at Grimmauld Place, when he had dreamed about him and Lucius exchanging blood and Lucius' talented fingers stroking him to completion, he had dreamed about his mate every night. The dreams had mostly been of the naughty variety, but this one had by far been the worst, or best, depending on how someone would view an arousing dream about his lover tongue-fucking him whilst sharing a room with his two best friends.  
It had started with missing Lucius' companionship and simple touches, but it had rapidly evolved from there, and soon he had found himself aroused on numerous occasions, or more precisely, whenever he thought about his mate… and he thought about Lucius a lot. That had been bad enough, but since yesterday it had gotten worse. He had been standing in the kitchen and Molly had asked him if he wanted anything specific for dinner, when he almost shouted that his dominant had to decide what they would eat.  
After that incident, he had found himself yearning for Lucius' commanding voice, giving him orders and making decisions for him, which his vampire side considered the duty of a dominant and not of a submissive. Only then had he realized how many small orders Lucius had been giving him, taking up the duties of a dominant instinctively.  
It didn't have to be big orders, small ones like: "Get dressed, and then meet me downstairs," had been enough to stabilize his submissive side. Without them he felt increasingly overburdened by smallest decisions. Now it was clear that he would never be able to lead the Order without Lucius balancing the extra burdens he would have to carry. He needed to go to Dumbledore soon, and if this day turned out as torturous as the previous one, he would go this evening.  
Closing his eyes, a picture of Lucius pressing him into the nearest wall, growling dominantly and gripping his pink member sprung to the forefront of his mind, and he quickly opened his eyes again. Fantasies like this would not help him get rid of his problem.  
The next five hours he lay in the darkness trying not to think about Lucius so that his erection would go down, but of course it didn't. Hermione had fallen back to sleep an hour after Ron, while he had tried to lay as still as possible, because every time something brushed against his cock it would get harder and more painful.  
Normally he liked this kind of pain, but not if Lucius was not there to give him relief. He wished that he could take care of it himself, but with his friends just across the room, that wasn't an option.  
Finally, Ron and Hermione woke up. He didn't move, and they decided to let him sleep some more; Ron because he was sure that Harry had a hard time getting back to sleep, and Hermione because she wanted to avoid him right now.  
As soon as his friends were gone, he sighed in relief and kicked the blanket off of his body. Hesitating just a second, he carefully brushed his right hand over the bulge beneath Lucius' button-down, which he still wore as a night shirt.  
Gasping, he closed his eyes, not sure how to proceed. Until now he had never touched himself. Before Lucius he had not even had the urge to do so, and after his mating he had no need to touch himself, and to be honest, he didn't want to. It was his dominant's right to give him pleasure and to relish in his writhing body, but at this point he was sure that his arousal would not go down until he had handled it himself.  
Biting his bottom lip, he pulled his shirt up to reveal his throbbing flesh. His cock really looked painfully aroused. Sure, he was still small due to his physical high, but Harry had never seen his prick as large as it was right now. It nearly stood straight from his body and had gained a very dark red, nearly lilac tint. Maybe he should have gone to the bathroom to take care of himself earlier.  
But now it was too late. Closing his eyes again, he wrapped his fingers around his penis and drew in a sharp breath at the first contact. Trying to remember how Lucius had stroked him and imagining it was his mate's fingers on him, he began to slowly stroke up and down his length. His free hand wandered downwards to tease his hole with one of his sharp nails, the dream of Lucius tongue-fucking him had left him needy in two places.  
He quickened his pace around his cock and his pucker was clenching down on his finger. It only took a couple of strokes and a brush to his tip to send him over the edge. White light blinded him momentarily and his hot semen erupted from his prick, coating his hand, lower stomach, and even his chin.  
Sighing in relief, he lay still for a moment, before propping himself up and searching for an old shirt to clean himself with. When he was clean enough, he gathered his toiletries and went into the bathroom to shower. Everyone else was already in the kitchen, so he would have some time to collect himself under the hot water, which, sadly, would not warm his cold body, but would at least wash away the scent of his semen.  
He was surprised when he found Nagini curled up under the washbasin. His snake lifted her head when she heard him closing the door:  
 _"Do you feel better little Master?"_ she hissed, and Harry froze in mid-step.  
 _"Yeah, I guess,"_ he said, feeling mortified. How much had she witnessed? Had she left before he had taken care of himself?  
 _"No need to be ashamed, it was bound to happen. Every submissive needs the touch of his mate to balance his body and to be reassured,"_ she said, but that didn't make Harry feel any better. He was still more human than snake after all, and humans didn't live in big nests where everybody watched everyone fucking as they wish.  
 _"Well..."_ he said, not knowing what to reply and stepped under the spray.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

He nearly started to cry when the warm water droplets sent shivers and tingles down his body. His cock sprang to life once more, and the unbearable need to be dominated was back full force. Whimpering pitifully, he looked down at himself, not knowing what he should do.  
Nagini must have smelled something, because she had risen from her spot and was now eyeing his erect member.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

 _"You need to go to your mate, or this will not end,"_ she hissed, and Harry believed her. Thinking quickly, he forewent the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist, dashing back to his room with vampire speed and opening his new, extended wardrobe.  
Hastily he pulled out a white button-down, the black waistcoat with the silver laces in the front, fitting black boots, black shorts, a pair of dark green stockings, and the short green jacket before quickly pulling everything on. When he was finished, he looked himself up and down in the mirror, deciding that Lucius would like him in his green ensemble and tightly strapped waist, and left the room.  
He was careful not to make any noise as he crept down the staircase and tiptoed into the living room. What he least needed right now, was for Sirius or someone else to catch him in his attempt to sneak away. Once he had closed the door behind him he ran over to the fireplace, grabbed some Floo Powder, and called out, "Malfoy Manor!" Only after he had stepped into the flames did he consider the possibility that Lucius' fireplace would be heavily warded. Well, he just had to hope that the wards would recognize him as their Lord's mate.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius sat in his private office, chewing distractedly on a blood drop and trying to concentrate on his work as a ministry official. He had to get this paperwork done soon. It had lain on his desk for much too long, and he was not known as someone who slacked off.  
However, concentrating had recently become very difficult. His thoughts wandered back to his little mate every so often and he found himself unable to concentrate.  
How was Harry dealing with their separation? It was not easy for him, but he was older, had always had a huge amount of self-control, and more importantly, he was not the submissive. Even though both mates were dependent upon each other, this was even truer for the submissive. Although, he had not found any books on vampires, aside from the standard ones - the creatures were highly secretive after all - he had researched many different kinds of submissives in the last couple of days, and they all had one thing in common: They all needed their dominants to stabilize their emotions. Some would get frightened, others overstrained, and then there were those whose bodies needed their dominant's touch to be reassured of their relationship and their mate's power, authority, and expertise.  
Their need for their dominant was probably connected to their weaker bodies. Even a submissive magical creature was more powerful than most wizards and witches, but within their own kind it was something else and their instincts couldn't differentiate between these two. Furthermore, it was often a part of their character that they liked to be protected and hated to use violence themselves. Lucius knew at least that the last part was true for Harry.  
And truth to be told, while he did not necessarily need his mate right now, this did not mean that he did not miss Harry. He had not only gotten used to the fierce Gryffindor, but had also grown very fond of him. Lucius knew that Harry was still slightly unsure about their relationship due to his inexperience, but after sixteen years of marriage and many, many lovers he knew that what he felt for the boy was far more than companionship. So it wasn't too difficult to wait for his little submissive to be ready to take their relationship to the next level. He knew that there was no way Harry would not realize that there was love between them, because the possibility of love and being perfect for each other was the foundation of being soulmates.  
Thinking back over the last days, he must admit that they had not been bad entirely. They had even been rather successful. After his departure from Privet Drive, he and Severus had gone directly to the Dark Lord, who was at first more than slightly unhappy with his visit. However, with his old friend's help they had convinced their former master that Harry had kept Lucius captive within the blood wards of his family's home, which were far stronger than they had ever imagined.  
It worked in their favour that the Dark Lord could not verify their story, because the man himself could not even find the house. Dumbledore had done good work with the wards on Privet Drive, even so, he still believed that Harry had paid too high of a price for his protection.  
Their master had believed them when told that Severus had only just succeeded in freeing him, but Harry Potter had been able to flee.  
Still, as punishment, he had to endure the Cruciatus Curse for quite some time, and the Dark Lord had searched his mind and body for any lies. But the glamours had held and kept his change a secret, and he was too good of an Occlumens to let anything of the last two weeks show in his mind. After all, Severus had taught him the art of mind magic, and as a vampire the curse had not been as painful. That Harry had been hurt so much during his vision had probably been because of his mental connection to the wizard, the amount of curses he had had to endure at the same time, and maybe even his status as a submissive. But Lucius was a dominant, and had gained a higher pain tolerance.  
After he had left Riddle Manor he had gone back to his own home to dress himself once again in proper clothing, and then gone swiftly to the Ministry, where he had collected his pile of paperwork, and had set another plan of his into action. After all, he didn't want to be separated from his beautiful mate for too long. The rest of the day had been spent by doing paperwork, but the next day he had gone to Diagon Alley and bought Harry his new sets of clothes. Chuckling silently, he wondered if the boy had found out the significance of the style of the garments, and if so, what his reaction had been. Would he even wear them? After all, the clothes were quite eye-catching, and the boy probably had to explain a lot of things because of them. He would understand if Harry did not wear them, but his dominant side would be slightly... unhappy to say the least. After all, it was his first present to his mate, and the petite child would surely look beautiful in them.  
His mate's beauty sent his wandering thoughts down a different track. As a Pureblood, he had been taught that the establishment of a relationship had to follow a strict order:  
First of all, he had to gain his love interest's attention though a formal courtship, to which Harry's guardians must agree. After that, a time of giving presents and taking Harry out on dates should have followed, then he should have asked for the boys hand in marriage, again with the approval of his guardians, and only after they had gotten married should he have consummated their bond.  
Their sudden and unpredictable change had thrown all of those courting steps right out of the window; but he still wanted to court his mate, as Harry more than deserved to be properly courted.  
At the very least, some more presents were in order, as they still had to be secretive.  
Speaking of secretive, he had not yet heard anything more of Harry's plans, but he hoped that his mate would challenge the old fool of a headmaster soon, because then he would at least be able to see his mate on a regular basis at the headquarters.  
But at least he had gotten a note that Harry had visited their vault. His inexperienced mate had nearly fainted, if one was to believe Griphtug, which he did. The goblin had worked for the Malfoy family for decades and was quite trustworthy. He would have liked to see the expression on his little mate's face when he realized how rich he had become. Lucius still had to check how much Harry had brought into the marriage. Sure, he didn't need the extra money, but as Lord Malfoy he had to be informed.  
Swirling his glass of Firewhiskey, he swallowed the last gulp. Like everything else, with the exception of Harry's blood, it had lost its taste and allure, but alcohol still had the power to relax him, if he drank three times as much as he had needed in the past. He was not sad about the tastelessness of food or drink; in Harry's blood he had gained such a fine taste and evoked more in him in exchange than even the most expensive meal at the finest restaurant.  
He was just about to pour himself another glass, when he felt a tingling sensation in his mind. Frowning, he put the glass down and concentrated on the wards which had alerted him to a guest at Malfoy Manor. Normally, the wards instantly told him who the newcomer was; they had recognized his late son and wife, and alarmed him when an intruder tried to breach them, but right now they felt strange. Concentrating even more, he could feel that whoever it was, was not an intruder, but in turn was not familiar to the wards. This should have been impossible. Sighing, he took his snake cane with his wand, and made his way downstairs to the large pageantry fireplace, where all visitors were received. His steps were silent and predatory as he glided down the grand marble staircase, but he stopped mid-step when he recognized the small figure that was brushing soot off of his clothes.  
Never before had he seen anything that could be compared to Harry in this moment. His beautiful mate wore the green outfit he had sent him a few days ago. The dark green colour made his breathtaking eyes shine preternaturally. His eyes roaming the small body from a distance, they landed on the bare patch of skin between the high stockings and the very short trousers. When the boy turned to the side, looking around curiously, before he bent down once more to wipe off his boots, the shorts rose even further and gave him an enticing view of Harry's perfect, round buttocks. His eyes were glued there for a moment, taking in the pale and soft flesh, before wandering up again. Harry had turned once more and now stood facing him, and for the first time Lucius could see how truly gorgeous his submissive looked in this short waist coat. Licking his lips, his body started to show his interest in his intoxicating mate. Harry looked so beautiful, so innocent, so very fragile, and so young. A forbidden youth. All of his vampiric senses were singing with pleasure. It had been far too long since he had seen Harry, and his body was yearning to touch his mate, to hold him, to caress him, and to hear his voice.  
Why had Harry come by so suddenly? Would it not be safer to give Severus a message as to when he was expected at the headquarters? Eyeing the child once more, for the first time he noticed his heavy flush. Of course, to a human it was still barely noticeable, but to a vampire it was extraordinary. Taking a deep lungful of air, he instantly understood why Harry was so flushed. The scent of arousal was heavy in the air and as he looked down, he could see the protruding bulge in his mate's pants. How had he missed that?  
Taking a step forwards, he called: "Harry? What are you..." he would never finish his sentence, as in the next moment Harry had flung himself into Lucius' arms, whimpering and mewing in distress and blatant submission. The days of their separation had clearly taken a toll on his submissive mate.  
He lifted Harry up, who instantly started to lick along his carotid, sending waves of pleasure directly to his cock. Groaning, he tried to concentrate. He had promised himself that he would only take Harry when the boy was ready and that Harry would get a proper first time. He would not shove him against the next wall, even though his little mate's mind was too clouded to realize it right now. As nice as it was to have Harry rub himself against his body, he needed to find out what Harry needed right now to get his mind back.  
"Harry, stop!" He commanded with an authoritative voice, and the boy in his arms stilled instantly.  
"Harry, what do you need?" he asked in the same voice, hoping for an answer.  
"I need you my dominant!" Harry gasped, and the way he said the word dominant gave him enough of an indication as to what had happened to his little submissive. He pushed Harry's head gently but firmly down against his shoulder and commanded: "Hold on tight, and stay still" before turning and striding back up the broad staircase, setting a quick pace. He knew the long corridors and sinuous hallways of his home by heart and didn't even need to concentrate on where he was heading. Arriving in front of a huge, double door, he pressed it open with one elbow, and then used his feet to open it further. His bedroom was dark, but his sharp eyes could make out the huge four-poster bed with silver hangings and the green sheets easily.  
Harry was still motionless in his arms, frozen by the command he had given his little submissive, only his rapidly beating heart was an indication that he was still alive. He sat the small raven down and thought over what command he could give his little submissive to stabilize him again. Smirking wickedly, he sat down on his bed and commanded: "Strip for me, but do it slowly and neatly."  
Harry blinked dazedly up at him, his huge green and red ringed eyes sparkling like emeralds, making his cock harden even further. His mate was so beautiful. The boy clearly needed a moment to process the order, but then started slowly. Harry took off his short jacked before his small hands wandered to the laces of his waistcoat, whilst he gave him one of those incredibly arousing, innocent looks from under his bangs. It was amazing how much sex appeal the vampire genes had gifted Harry, Lucius thought. The waistcoat fell to the ground, and Harry proceeded to open his crisp white button down shirt. His eyes immediately fixed themselves on the patch of revealed skin beneath his mate's collarbone.  
"Take of your glamour," he commanded and he gasped when Harry's skin became even paler, gaining a translucent glow whilst faint blue lines appeared on his body, where the boy's arteries and veins lay deliciously hidden beneath his skin.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

His cock twitched in his trousers and his fangs itched with the wish to sink into one of the bluish arteries.  
When they had separated, Harry's change had not been this advanced; his mate's veins had certainly not been visible back then. Lucius licked his lips unconsciously. Oh how beautiful his little submissive had become; even more beautiful!  
But that wasn't the only changes he noticed on the Gryffindor. His instincts had been right: Harry had not been through with his transformation, but now he was.  
Harry had become even thinner, and his already small shoulders seemed to have narrowed even further, as had his rib cage, giving him a clearly inhuman look. But it didn't bother him; on the contrary, his dominant side was purring and humming in appreciation.  
His little mate would not appreciate the fact, but Lucius knew that Harry's beauty alone would gain him access to the highest vampire circles and admission among their kind. In the vampire world, a beautiful submissive was more valuable to a dominant than any diamond could ever be.  
Another button was opened and Lucius took his time to let his eyes roam the petite body.  
His eyes settled back on Harry's face. Harry was chewing on his bottom lip in agitation, making it swollen and redden. His eyes were dilated in barely restrained lust and Lucius noticed that they had become larger once again.  
Finally his little mate pushed his button down shirt from his slim shoulders and it accompanied the green jacket on the floor.  
Harry bent down and unlaced his boots, before carefully stepping out of them. When the Gryffindor opened the button on his shorts next, Lucius nearly groaned in torturous pleasure as he saw that there still was no second layer of fabric between the trousers and Harry's flesh.  
Why had he commanded Harry to strip? Why would he torture himself like this? Having so much time to soak in the sight of every inch of his submissive's body nearly drove him insane with lust. He wanted to push his pulsing cock into Harry, stretching him, bruising him, ripping him apart; the thought was nearly overpowering him. Lucius barely remembered the feeling of Harry surrounding him. The night of their mating was a wonderful blur of sensations; too muddled to remember specific details, but he still knew very well how tight the boy had been, how hard he had squeezed his cock and he wanted to feel it again - no, he needed to feel it again!  
It cost him all of his Malfoy restraint to not go over to Harry then and just take him, instead he just watched when the shorts fell as well, and his mates cock was finally revealed. Harry's flesh was swollen and a dark red, nearly lilac with need. Lucius could see the vein on the underside of the small shaft pulsating with every throb of the appendage.  
Biting on his tongue to reinforce his self-restraint once more, he took in Harry's whole figure. The only garments he now wore were the green stockings which went up to his thighs and what looked like suspenders. He motioned Harry to come over and the boy obliged dutifully. When Harry stood between his legs, he laid his hands down softly on his mate's buttocks, caressing them for a moment, before his fingers went beneath the stockings. Harry mewled at his touch, unable to be more coherent at the moment with all of these new sensations.  
Lucius pushed the stockings down slowly, until Harry could easily step out of them, before lifting the boy up and laying him down on the bed. He couldn't just stand there and watch his mate any longer, he needed to touch the boy and give his heated body all of the pleasure it craved and deserved.  
Standing up, Lucius kneeled down on the floor between Harry's spread legs, which were dangling over the edge. He took a deep breath, and his lungs filled with the alluring scent of Harry's heavy arousal. Quickly deciding that what he wanted to do was to take the worst of the tension from Harry, he lifted a hand. He would not do anything they had not yet done as long as his mate was not coherent enough to fully enjoy and remember it afterwards, as Harry clearly wasn't right now.  
As his fingers closed around the hot cock of his submissive, Harry whimpered in agonized pleasure, his flesh highly sensitive from his extreme erection, but he did not move an inch.  
Remembering how passive vampire submissives were without permission to take part in their physical encounters, Lucius purred to his mate, "You may move as much as you would like to Harry,"  
Harry responded by gasping and arching into his hand.  
Smirking delightedly, Lucius started to stroke at a not too slow pace, scraping a claw above the head of Harry's prick at every downwards motion, just as the child liked it. Harry started to thrust into his hand, moaning and whimpering loudly and needed only three more strokes to come. His submissive's hot semen exploded from his cock and covered Lucius' hand. Purring, he lifted his hand to his mouth and licked the release off, fixing his eyes on Harry's as he did so.  
A smirk spread on his face when his inexperienced mate blushed heavily, his mind had clearly come back.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry lay still in the aftermath, staring into Lucius' silver-red eyes and slowly coming back to himself. His thoughts had been so clouded with lust and the need for his mate's touch, that he had not even realized where his dominant had brought him. But now he noticed that he was lying on a bed that was as soft as a cloud. He turned his gaze away from the gorgeous aristocrat who was smirking very smugly at him, and took in his surroundings.  
The room was furnished with dark, wooden furniture and the main colour was silver with green patterns. A huge mirror hung on the wall next to the right side of the bed, and heavy velvet curtains blocked out the sunlight. Taking a deep breath, Lucius' scent filled his nostrils; this had to be his private bedroom. Harry flushed darkly; he was in his mate's bedroom, somehow it felt like he was doing something forbidden, lying spread and exposed in the room of the much older aristocrat.  
"Are you feeling better?" Lucius' deep voice pulled him from his thoughts; and as he looked back at his mate and his roaming eyes, he knew that their time together was not over yet. He gulped in nervousness and excitement and nodded.  
"Good," Lucius all but purred and rose to his feet, only to climb, catlike. onto the mattress. Harry scooted backwards, giving the man more space on the bed, as he watched his mate approach like a dangerous predator, his heart hammering in his chest.  
"Are you fleeing from me?" Lucius asked; one eyebrow lifted.  
"No... Of course not... I just...wanted to give you some more space," Harry stammered.  
"How nice of you," Lucius smirked before diving down and claiming his mouth in a fierce kiss. His mate's tongue pushed in forcefully and Harry gave a mewling sound at his dominant's possessiveness, his cock stirring again.  
Lucius explored his mouth for a minute longer, stroking every inch of it thoroughly and leaving the aristocrat's unique taste behind as he broke their kiss, only to trace soft kisses and harsh nips down Harry's throat, his hands roaming the fragile body. Harry gasped; Lucius had never done that to him before. Until now, they had only kissed, and sure, Lucius had already stroked him to completion three times, but this felt different; intimate on a whole new level. It felt as if Lucius was worshipping his body.  
Another gasp tore from his throat at a particularly harsh nip, and he pressed the whole length of his small body against Lucius, only to cry out in pleasure as his mate's sharp claws brushed over his nipples. The small buds hardened immediately, and sent shivers of pleasure right down to his penis, which started throbbing again. Harry had never known that his nipples could be this sensitive.  
"You like this?" Lucius asked; his breath ghosting over Harry's neck.  
Harry wanted to give an answer but he was not able to, too caught up in the multiple sensations.  
"Tell me Harry, do you like it?" Lucius demanded and Harry forced himself to actually speak:  
"I...yes..." He could feel Lucius smiling against his neck before the man trailed a path of kisses downwards, directly to his right nipple. Harry started to squirm as his mate kissed the tiny bud, licking it, and sucking it into his mouth. The sensation was so strange, so new, but so good. He gasped, pleading: "More, Lucius!"  
His cock was throbbing painfully again.  
His dominant obliged without any more questions, taking his nipple between his teeth, before biting down harshly. With a loud cry he came for the second time in ten minutes, his vision momentarily blanking, as his orgasm was ripped from his body without warning. As his vision focused again, he could see his own surprise mirrored in Lucius' face, but the arrogant aristocrat also looked very satisfied.  
"So needy today?" The noble man purred.  
Harry blushed, but nodded. How embarrassing; to come from his mate just biting down on his nipple. Lucius had not even touched his cock this time around; he really was acting like a virgin.  
"Then be happy, that I am not done with you yet," Lucius drawled seductively, and scooted lower.  
"What do you...Ah!" Harry gasped as Lucius hot tongue suddenly licked a hot path down his loins, making his cock rise again.  
"I could pleasure you the whole day and night, just to hear your little noises," Lucius breathed, cooling the wet trail and sending shivers across Harry's sensitive body.  
"Yes," Harry agreed nonsensically, all he could think about was how good Lucius was making him feel.  
"You are so incredibly beautiful, Harry. Your body..." Lucius whispered and kissed a spot right next to Harry's cock, making him moan in denied satisfaction.  
"...and your fiery Gryffindor spirit."  
Lucius mouth went on again, following a trail he could not see on his skin.  
"You have changed again, have you noticed?"  
No, Harry hadn't. He had not taken off his glamours since his arrival at Grimmauld Place. He gasped in shock when he looked down at himself, seeing all of the pale blue lines on his flesh. He was just asking himself whether he still was beautiful or not, distracted for the moment by Lucius' tongue pressing down on one of the visible veins, sending sparks of pleasure through his entire body.  
"Ah!" He gasped, instinctively pressing himself into his mate's wet muscle.  
"Hm..." Lucius purred. "And I thought that it was only so that I could find places to drink from you more easily," his mate chuckled and started to nip carefully with his sharp fangs over the vein.  
Gliding one of his own hands over another artery, Harry could feel the thin organ, as if his skin was no more than a thin piece of paper, it felt strange, but oh so good.  
"The possibilities..." Lucius hummed, giving the vein one last nip, before sliding downwards again.  
And then Harry was enveloped in heat when Lucius took his length all of the way in. He moaned loudly, buckling into that wet cavern, but Lucius grabbed onto his hips and forced him back down, only to swallow him again as far as Harry had just driven his penis into his delicious mouth. He felt the head of his member hitting the back of Lucius' throat and he mewled at the friction. His voice broke when his dominant's tongue flicked around the pulsing flesh. Cold precum leaked from his slit, but Lucius gathered it on his tongue with the next upwards motion, and then he started to glide up and down Harry's length in a rhythmic pace.  
"So good!" Harry moaned; his eyes tightly shut.  
"So...ah!" One of Lucius' fangs had scraped over his heated member, making it jolt in the blonde's mouth.  
"More...please...more!"  
Lucius shifted a bit, and at the next moment the sensation of his dominant's fangs along with the swirling of the talented tongue was nearly driving Harry insane. The tingling in his lower stomach grew stronger, but after two orgasms, he was not able to come again so quickly, making him able to enjoy his mate's treatment much longer this time.  
Harry forced his eyes open and propped himself up a bit, needing to see his mate taking care of him. Lucius always knew what he needed; be it in their daily life or closed off in their bedroom. He could never wish for a better mate, and the rush of a warm, unknown feeling shortly overwhelmed him, before his eyes landed on the aristocrat, spread out between his legs, his blonde hair like a halo, and his head bobbing up and down on Harry's length. The sight of this strong, powerful man taking care of his needs, going down on his knees for him, taking his penis into his mouth to give him pleasure, was overwhelming.  
The muscles in his lower stomach tightened and he entwined his fingers in Lucius' hair. It was the first time that he dared to touch the long, silver-blond strands, and he moaned in surprise at the softness. Lucius' teeth gave the head of his prick a demanding nip and Harry arched his hips in answer.  
"Hmm..." his mate purred, sending small shivers down his length, increasing the tingling feeling in his lower stomach. One of Lucius' elegant, long-fingered hands came down and gently stroked the inner sides of his thighs. Harry's legs started to tremble at the caring touch, but it was the tentative single finger that slowly stroked down his balls that pushed him over the edge. Harry threw his head back, groaning deeply in his throat as his third orgasm was ripped from his body. Lucius swallowed every drop of him, sucking him all the way through his climax, extending his release until his balls felt utterly empty and relaxed.  
He fell back onto the mattress, confident that he would have blacked out if he had still been human. Lucius gave his spent penis one last kiss before he came back up and lay down next to him. With a silly smile and a very satisfied expression, Harry shuffled closer until he could rest his head onto the aristocrat's chest.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

Looking downwards and placing his hand on Lucius' flat stomach, he wished he could trace his skin and feel it under his fingers, but the older man was still fully dressed. He chewed his bottom lip nervously, thinking about asking him if he would take his shirt off. Lucius always said he could and should ask anything that was on his mind, but maybe this question was too bold? Would he have already undressed if he wanted to, or had it just not crossed his mind? Then again, his mate had slept nearly naked next to him when they had stayed together at Privet Drive. Deciding that he would just ask, he cleared his throat, "Uhm...Lucius?"  
"Yes, Harry?" his mate answered back calmly.  
"Would you...would you take off your shirt? I mean, if it's okay for you...I just...I want to feel your skin."  
Lucius sat up and started to unbutton his shirt: "You do not have to justify your requests Harry. If you wish to feel my skin, then I will take it off. I will even do it gladly, because there is nothing in the world that makes me happier than to hear that you want to touch me and be closer to me."  
Harry flushed, but he didn't take his eyes away from the growing patch of exposed skin.  
"If you continue to flush so...endearingly, I may have to ravish you again," Lucius purred, and Harry's flush instantly spread over his whole body. The aristocrat chuckled deeply and then asked,  
"Just my shirt? Or my trousers as well?"  
Harry's eyes trailed down to Lucius' long and sinful legs, it would be nice to see them without the covering of the black fabric, and it would mean that he could snuggle against even more warm skin, "Leave your boxers on?"  
Lucius smiled gently and stood up, unzipping his trousers and pushing them down over his hips, exposing the large bulge that had been hidden within.  
Harry's eyes widened comically and he stuttered: "Shall I...? Do you want me to...?" He felt as if he was neglecting his mate, even though Lucius had made it clear that Harry didn't have to do anything he didn't want to, but that erection looked painful.  
Lucius brows furrowed together into a frown, "What have I told you concerning this particular topic?"  
Harry fidgeted nervously, "That I should not do anything that I am not ready for," he said, repeating his previous thoughts.  
"And if you ask me to leave my boxers on for cuddling, does that mean that you are ready to touch me there?"  
Harry shook his head: "No...but...", still thinking that his mate must feel desperate for release.  
"No buts," Lucius interrupted him firmly.  
"But...it looks painful," Harry continued, telling Lucius what he thought, and ignoring his mate's command.  
Lucius frown deepened: "I said no buts, and whether it is painful or not is none of your concern. You are still very young and the fact that we are having this type of relationship alone is worrisome. I will not risk your mental health by exposing you to something you do not yet feel ready for."  
Harry lowered his lashes, feeling silly for having asked. A warm hand settled on his head and ruffled his hair: "Do not feel ashamed about this. I appreciate your offer, but I am your dominant, and my first priority is to protect you, not to use you for my physical pleasure."  
Harry felt the pleasantly warm feeling rising in his chest again. He had felt it a few times already, but still could not say what it meant.  
Lucius stepped out of his trousers and then and laid back down, pulling Harry onto his chest before starting to trace patterns on his back.  
"Do you think you have changed as well?" Harry asked suddenly.  
"Shall I take my glamours off?" Lucius asked, tracing a line down his spine.  
Harry nodded and sat back up. His mate's glamours flickered around the edges before disappearing completely. Lucius' skin had become more translucent as well, but not as much as his own. The aristocrat's veins were only barely visible; even he, as a vampire, had problems seeing them. They looked more like blue shadows. Lowering his head and taking a sniff, Harry happily realized that he could smell exactly where every vein lay.  
Sighing in contentment, Harry lay back down on the man's chest and closed his eyes for a moment, just enjoying the closeness with Lucius. They had been separated for far too long, and he had missed this feeling of being protected and cared for. The aristocrat's scent was already so familiar and it lulled him into a calm state where he was barely awake. The body beneath him felt strong and hard with all of his muscles, but softer than even Lucius' mattress at the same time. This was impossible, but then again, his mate was Lucius Malfoy, and Malfoy's excelled at everything.  
He had nearly fallen asleep when Lucius' deep voice drew him back to consciousness,  
"Tell me Harry, how have your last few days been?"  
Harry wrinkled his nose, his last few days had not been bad, he had seen Ron and Hermione again, but that was the only good that had happened. Remembering Sirius and Snape's constant bickering, Ginny and everything else, he sighed heavily.  
"Well?" Lucius pressed.  
Harry sighed: "Hedwig was badly injured during the King's Cross attack."  
Lucius winced, but didn't say anything.  
"She is still alive, but she cannot work as a post owl any longer. You know, she was one of my very first friends and the first present I ever received. Hagrid gave her to me before my first year. It really makes me angry, and kind of depressed to see her like that. On top of that, I need a new post owl, but I don't want to replace her so soon." Harry dwelled on the matter for a moment, "Maybe I should get another bird? I mean, you have a falcon, and maybe Hedwig wouldn't feel as bad if I don't get another owl?"  
"I think that is a good idea," Lucius pressed a kiss on top of Harry's messy locks, and added, "You have a great heart."  
Harry smiled softly; that was a compliment he really liked. He appreciated compliments about his body as well, but this one seemed even more personal.  
"Thank you," he mumbled sheepishly.  
"Have I missed more?" Lucius inquired and Harry went on with his story,  
"Sirius and Snape's bickering has been really bad these last few days, and four days ago, Sirius told everyone in the kitchen what Sirius, Remus and my father had done to Severus during their school days."  
Lucius winced, "I can imagine the outcome of that particular breakfast."  
Harry nodded in affirmation, "Snape was really angry. He even refused to talk to me for a whole day."  
"One of his biggest fears is that you will turn out like your father, making his life a living hell once again. I think, the thought that you might get an idea from your godfather's story frightened him more than he will ever admit," Lucius explained, while combing through his mate's hair.  
Nodding, Harry thought that his mate's explanation sounded logical. He would probably have reacted in a similar manner if he had been in Snape's place.  
Sadly, that was still not everything he had to tell Lucius, and the last point was the hardest. Snuggling even closer to Lucius, he prepared himself inwardly.  
"And..." Harry started, but broke off because he was a bit unsure if he really should tell the man. The aristocrat would surely be upset, maybe even furious if he told him, but the man was his mate; he had the right to know and Harry really didn't want to keep any secrets from him.  
"Harry?" Lucius asked when he had chewed on his bottom lip for too long without saying anything. Harry nuzzled his head into Lucius chest, before mumbling:  
"Ginny has a huge crush on me and she has been flirting with me the entire time."  
Lucius started to growl and the claws of the hand that had laid calmly on his back suddenly pressed possessively into his flesh, and his eyes glazed over with rage. Harry gave an irritated mewl, before propping himself up and pressing a soft kiss against Lucius' lips, and added a second mewl; this one with a soothing undertone, his instincts taking over.  
He had expected Lucius to not react very calmly, and his mate held himself well, but a bit of reassurance could never hurt. The kiss and the small sound did their job, and Lucius' eyes focused once more, "Does she know that you have a mate?"  
"Yes, I told everybody. Not who my mate is, and not that we are already mated - they all think that I have found either the boy or girl, depending on whom you ask, I will mate with when 17- but they know."  
Lucius' growl intensified again.  
"I didn't respond to her attempts," He whispered, giving Lucius' neck a small nip.  
"Good," Lucius growled. "I wish I could put a collar around your neck with my name on it so that even every stupid human could see that you are already claimed."  
Harry purred, the sound of a collar with his mate's name on it sounded more intriguing than it probably should have. He immediately blushed at his thoughts, hoping that Lucius had not caught on to his thoughts, but it was, of course, too late.  
His ever observant dominant had propped himself up on one elbow, a very hungry expression on his face, "Would you allow me to put a collar on you, or at least a substitute in a place where nobody would see it easily?"  
"What... do you mean by a substitute in a place, where nobody would see it so easily?" he asked unsurely. He honestly didn't mind, but with Sirius, Remus, his friend and everybody else, it would be a bad idea to wear a collar with the Malfoy Lord's name on it.  
"Just tell me if you would let me," Lucius purred, his face close to Harry's, licking a short trail behind his ears.  
Harry shuddered, he had liked that idea from the beginning, and Lucius' seduction method really didn't help him deny his mate anything.  
"Yes," he gasped, his cheeks heating.  
"Thank you," Lucius whispered, and Harry watched quietly as his mate took his wand from the bedside table, looking around in the dark room. He then pointed it at a neatly folded tie that lay on a chair, and summoned the garment, before muttering a spell, transfiguring it.  
Harry looked down at Lucius' outstretched hand, where now a green silk band with a small, silver bell lay. He picked it up curiously and eyed it more closely. There were small versions of the Malfoy family crest stitched on the ends, and the fabric was incredibly soft. Lifting it, he shook the bell, its sound clear and so quiet that only vampire ears would be able to catch it. Harry even doubted that Remus would be able to hear the faint sound.  
"Where shall I put it? Around my wrist?" he asked.  
"I said where no one would be able to see it easily, that contradicts a place as obvious as your wrists," Lucius smirked, and Harry only noticed that his mate's free hand had sneaked south when long fingers wrapped around his flaccid cock, gently stroking it in a caressing gesture.  
"Why are you...?" Harry gasped in surprise, but Lucius interrupted his question.  
"Shh, Harry. You will see."

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

Harry watched the elegant fingers working his prick to a half-erected state, still wondering what his possessive mate had planned, but unable and unwilling to stop him. When his cock had hardened significantly, Lucius let go of it and wrapped the green silk band around the base of his cock twice so that the silver bell was hanging on the underside of it, before fastening it in a bow.  
Harry stared at his decorated cock; not comprehending what the kinky aristocrat had done, until it finally sank in, and his whole body heated with a whole-body flush. It really looked very kinky; the green of the silk-band, which was the exact colour of his eyes, stood out against his creamy-white skin. Lucius had tied the band with the perfect tightness around his shaft; it was noticeable, but not suffocating or uncomfortable, and it looked kind of beautiful on him, but what aroused him even more was the fact that Lucius had placed his personal crest on such an intimate part of his body.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

The aristocrat chuckled, and tapped against the small bell with one finger, which jingled silently.  
"I do not think that you would ever betray me, but if the Weaselette ever sneaks in whilst you shower, she will see that you are taken, and if she has any brains at all, she will recognize from whom she is trying to steal a mate, and hopefully never dare to approach you again," he said darkly.  
Harry turned in Lucius' lap feeling immensely touched by the small gesture and pressed his lips to his mate's once more, "Thank you. I love it."  
Lucius kissed him back, gently but deeply. Their tongues danced with each other for a long moment before Lucius broke the kiss, provoking a protesting sound from Harry, and asking:  
"What did you mean when you said that they think that you have found either the boy or the girl that you will mate?"  
Harry snickered: "Molly, Arthur, Fred and George recognized the clothes you gave me and know that I am a submissive. Hermione didn't know the clothing or their meaning, but picked up on it anyway - she is clever after all. But Ron thinks that I found my girl and only laughed when Hermione asked me about being the submissive. I told her that Ron was right, because he would have had a heart attack otherwise, but I could see that she knew that I was lying."  
"And the mutt and the wolf?" Lucius inquired.  
Harry scowled. "Sirius and Remus, or Black and Lupin," he corrected his mate, who only huffed without agreeing to his corrections.  
"They didn't even recognize the significance of my new wardrobe, and I think they assume the same as Ron. By the way," he added, "Thank you for the clothes, they are beautiful."  
"No need to thank me, I am your dominant after all and I will provide for you. Besides, you look very alluring in your new attire," Lucius drawled.  
Harry smiled happily, he had assumed that Lucius would like him in the garments; the man had bought them for Harry after all, but to hear it was still nice.  
"But you should have warned me that you are so important!" Harry accused with a scowl that he really didn't mean.  
"I did," Lucius replied smoothly.  
"No, you didn't" Harry frowned.  
"Of course I did," Lucius repeated.  
"When?" Harry asked, irritated and trying to remember anything that could have indicated Lucius' extraordinary social position.  
"I told you a few times that I am the most rich and noble Pureblood," Lucius huffed.  
"And that should have meant something to me? You know that I was raised by muggles; besides, it sounded as if you were just being your usual, arrogant self," Harry muttered.  
"I was," Lucius agreed. "Maybe I just wanted to surprise you."  
Harry scoffed: "And you didn't warn me about Gringotts either."  
"That, I really did not do. I wanted it to be a surprise," Lucius smirked and kissed his neck tenderly.  
"Well, it was," Harry answered, closing his eyes at the soft sensation.  
"So, when will you go to Dumbledore?" his mate asked after he had separated from his neck again.  
Harry needed a second to process the question, but then answered, "This evening. I won't live without you any longer than necessary. Even if we cannot display our relationship openly, it will be better than not seeing you at all."  
"Good," Lucius purred. "I really didn't appreciate the last few days either."  
"How time is it?" Harry asked, wondering how long he had been gone from Grimmauld Place.  
"It is 2:00 PM. What did you tell the others about where you were going?"  
Harry started to squirm uncomfortably. He had left in a rush and knew that it hadn't been a wise thing to do, but why did his mate have to remind him of it? As far as he knew, Lucius would send him back soon to avoid a confrontation with the order.  
"Well?" Lucius prompted.  
"I might have forgotten to tell anybody?" Harry mumbled, his answer coming out more like a question.  
"You just left?" Lucius asked, his voice getting stern.  
"Yeah, kind of..." Harry admitted; shrinking under his mate's disapproving look.  
"Harry, I know you do not like it very much, but you are Harry Potter; many people place their hopes in you, especially the order, and they will be very worried when they notice that you have just disappeared, and so will your friends and guardians," Lucius rebuked him.  
"I know, but I couldn't bear the separation any longer. I felt lonely, my body was yearning for you, and I even woke Ron and Hermione with..." he quickly slapped his hands over his mouth; he had not wanted to tell this little tale.  
"How did you wake your friends?" Lucius voice had dropped to a very seductive growl, his eyes shining hungrily.  
"Nothing...I didn't wake them...nothing happened...really," Harry lied pathetically. If he could at least have stopped his stutter, then maybe his denial could have been more believable, but Lucius' voice made him all flustered.  
"Has my little innocent submissive experienced his first wet dream?" Lucius whispered into his ears, hot breath ghosting over the appendage.  
Harry flushed, he was so mortified. How could he tell his mate that he had nearly cum in his pants because of a dream? Lucius would surely laugh. Harry would even bet that Lucius had never had a wet dream; the man seemed far too controlled for such undignified teenage behaviour.  
Sliding from his mate's chest, he mumbled, "I...need to go, before everybody gets worried," but a strong hand held him back.  
"Not so hasty. I am very interested in whatever you are trying to hide from me," Lucius smirked evilly and pulled Harry back against his strong body, trapping him with his arms.  
"But it's so embarrassing!" he whined, squirming in his mates unyielding grip.  
"Oh, I do not believe that. I think it will be a very arousing story." Lucius nipped at his ear, sending tingles down his body.  
"Tell me Harry," he commanded, and that was the breaking point for Harry's inner submissive, which had yearned for his dominant's commands the last couple of days.  
"I...dreamed about you..." he gasped.  
Lucius stopped his nibbling and loosened his grip. Turning around, he buried his face into his mate's chest, too ashamed to look Lucius in the eyes whilst retelling his dream.  
"And what was I doing? Or should I ask, what were we doing?" Lucius purred.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

"First, you were just licking me..."  
"Where?" Lucius interrupted him.  
Harry's cheeks caught fire, and he squeaked out, "You were licking my... my... hole and then...you started to fuck me with..." Harry could not say it, he was too mortified.  
"With my tongue?" Lucius asked.  
"Yes," Harry admitted, searching blindly for the pillow and pulling it over his head to hide himself, but he could still hear Lucius as he spoke again:  
"I would have liked to be there and witness you dreaming. I can imagine all your cute little noises, so arousing... and I could have woken you up to make your dream a reality."  
Harry mewled in exasperation, his mate's words sounded far too good, but after his three orgasms, he was too exhausted for his body to get aroused again; but that didn't mean that his mind wasn't able.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

Chuckling, Lucius pulled the pillow from his head, "Do not be so embarrassed, there is no need to be. It is a compliment to hear that you are dreaming about me. That only means that I am not the only one who is fantasizing over my mate."  
Harry blinked, his face was still buried in Lucius' chest, but at his mate's words, he lifted his head, "You dreamed about me as well?"  
"Of course I have. In fact, I dream about you every night," Lucius chuckled.  
"Why? I mean, you are already so old..." Harry bit his lips as he realized how that must have sounded. It really had not been what he wanted to say.  
Lucius lifted his trademark eyebrow, "That does not mean that I do not dream about you. It is true that mostly young wizards experience such dreams, but when the desire is strong enough they can even occur at an older age. I am not as vocal during my dreams as you are anymore, but I have had my fair share of them since our mating."  
"I never noticed," Harry wondered.  
"I hid it well, after all, I did not want to scare my innocent submissive away," Lucius smirked.  
"I am sorry that I am so inexperienced," Harry mumbled, feeling that this was the right time to apologize for his clumsiness.  
"Do not be sorry, it is quite endearing. Besides, your inexperience only means that no one besides me has ever touched you and that is the dream of every dominant mate, especially me," Lucius winked.  
"Really?" Harry asked curiously.  
"You should already know how possessive I am," Lucius drawled.  
His mate sighed then, and Harry knew what he would say next.  
"You should leave now, they will be worried already."  
"I know, but I have missed you for so long," Harry mumbled, sadness rising in his chest.  
"I have missed you too, Harry," Lucius said softly, and cupped his cheek.  
Harry stared up into his mate's silver-red eyes, which were shining and filled with warmth that no one before him had ever seen. Pulling himself up, he pressed his lips to Lucius', giving his mate a chaste kiss. Their lips and tongues danced for a moment in an innocent kiss, before Harry sat up with a sigh. "I really don't want to leave you," he said, but climbed out of bed anyway. His heart felt heavy, and only the thought that he would see his mate again soon, made him pick up his clothes and start to get dressed.  
Lucius watched him intently as he pulled on his green stockings, then his shorts, and especially when he fastened the waistcoat.  
"I presume that it is no problem to tighten the coat as a vampire?" Lucius asked.  
Harry shrugged: "No, not really. I only have to be careful that I don't tie them too tight or my guardians and friends will freak out, but really, my ribs adapt perfectly to the waistcoat."  
Lucius nodded in understanding, and then stood up and moved closer.  
"You really look delicious in the new clothing," he whispered, gripping his mate's slim waist. Harry squeaked in surprise when he was pulled flush against Lucius' body. Recovering quickly, he laid his cheek against his mate's muscled chest, sighing in contentment.  
"I hope we will be able to find time to ourselves when you are at Grimmauld Place," Harry mumbled. This was a topic that really concerned him. With his ever protective guardians and Ginny, it would not be easy to meet secretly.  
"But if there is no other way, we can still meet in Snape's lab. No one ever goes in there," Harry added as an afterthought.  
Lucius smirked: "I think that my dearest friend would not appreciate us snogging on his couch."  
Harry mused that Lucius was definitely right. Lucius took a step back, his eyes looking as unhappy as his own.  
"You can use the fireplace in here," his mate said, and took his wand to light the hearth.  
Harry nodded and stopped in front of the mirror quickly to check if his glamours were back in place. This thing with the glamours was difficult. Apparently, Lucius did not see through the glamours completely, but instead he was only able to see through the parts Harry consciously showed him... which explained why the arteries had been hidden until now; Harry had not been aware of them. So this time he made sure that his dominant would still be able to see his veins as well, but for everybody else they would be invisible, even for Snape. He did not like the man enough to let him see how much of a creature he had become.  
Checking the mirror a second time, he happily noticed that at least his face was not littered with the blue lines. They didn't bother him, but it would look strange.  
"Do you have some Floo Powder?" Harry asked, and followed his mate to the huge fireplace. He saw the famous snake cane leaning next to it and smiled; somehow it had been strange to see his mate without it all of those days. You just don't imagine Lucius Malfoy without his cane. Hopefully, the aristocrat would bring the item to Grimmauld Place.  
"In the silver box," Lucius answered and pointed to a small box that was decorated with emeralds.  
Harry still didn't want to go, but he took a hand-full knowing that there was no way he could delay his departure any longer.  
"One last kiss?" he asked, very obviously reluctant to depart. The aristocrat chuckled, but stepped closer to him. Harry got to his toes to reach his mate better, even though it did not make much of a difference. Their lips met again, and Harry lost himself in Lucius' warm embrace. They kissed for a long moment, but finally there really was no delaying the unavoidable any longer.  
Taking the powder, he tossed it into the flames and shouted, "Number 12 Grimmauld Place!" before stepping into the flames with one last backwards glance. The last thing he saw before the flames took him away was Lucius softly smiling at him; lovingly, he thought. That thought shocked him for a fraction of a second. Could Lucius Malfoy already be in love with him? But then again, it was only logical that they would reach that point in their relationship, they were blood mates after all.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry was spat out by the fireplace in the living room of Grimmauld Place, and noticed instantly that his second arrival was even more chaotic than his first.  
Sirius was talking franticly to Remus, shaking his werewolf friend by the shoulders. Arthur sat in a corner beside a small and shaky table, hastily writing a note. Through the door he could see Molly sitting in front of the fireplace in the library, whilst Charlie was just pulling on his cloak, as if he was about to leave, a worried look in his brown eyes. Snape was there as well with a facial expression that told everyone how useless he thought whatever he was supposed to do was.  
Only Ron and Hermione, along with Nagini next to them, sat calmly and quietly chatting on the sofa, looking slightly annoyed.  
Hermione looked up when he was just getting to his feet after his rough landing, and a smile stretched across her face.  
"I told you that he was probably only visiting his mate and would be back soon," She said loudly and the chaos in the room instantly came to a halt.  
Ron gave him a lopsided grin, as if congratulating Harry on his snogging session, but everybody else didn't respond as generously.  
Harry backed a step away as Sirius' worried face transformed into a mask of anger. Maybe he should have told somebody after all before he left.  
"Harry! Where have you been?" the man bellowed and Harry flinched at the loud sound. He had never liked shouting people, but being a submissive now it was nearly impossible to suppress the urge to just turn around and run away or hide.  
Snape, who must have seen his reaction, drew attention away from him:  
"Don't blame your godson, stupid mutt! Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley as well as I told you where Potter had probably disappeared to. It was your decision to make a fuss."  
"We couldn't have been sure. And some Death Eater could have caught him on his way there!" Sirius protested, now glaring daggers at Snape.  
"What did you expect Black? Mates have to see each other regularly, even before their mating, and Potter has not seen his for nearly a week. It was only to be expected that he would break soon and run off."  
"Still," Sirius snapped, turning back to Harry. "You should have at least told us where you were going. We were worried."  
Harry felt a pang of guilt, but stood his ground and glared back despite all of his instincts telling him to get the hell out of the situation and back to his dominant: "Would you have let me leave?"  
His godfather opened his mouth in affirmation, but Remus placed a hand on his shoulder and cut him off. "You wouldn't have Padfoot, be honest."  
Sirius now glared at his best friend.  
"As a werewolf, I can understand the need to be close to one's mate, even if you are not yet mated."  
Harry looked from Remus to Sirius and back to Remus and suddenly it hit him. Sirius was Remus' mate, he was sure of it, but the man was obviously not brave enough to do anything about the issue. Closing his eyes and taking a sniff in Remus' direction, he had hoped that his instincts would tell him something, and they did.  
Harry didn't know how he was able to determine things like this, but it was clear to him that Remus was the submissive. Being a submissive himself, he knew how impossible it would have been for Remus to make the first move. A submissive must be courted, or whatever the werewolf rituals were, but they were never able to take the first step.  
Sirius seemed to have caught on to something as well, but to Harry's utter horror he said:  
"Why haven't you told me? You should have introduced your mate to me! We are best friends!" Harry could see the hurt and pain in both of his guardians' eyes. They were both obviously in love with each other, but now Remus thought that Sirius wasn't interested in him and Sirius thought that Remus had someone else; leaving him without a chance.  
"Merlin's ruffled beard! You are so stupid, Sirius!" Harry exploded, and took the moment of surprise to get out of the living room and stamp up the stairs; Ron, Hermione and Nagini hot on his heels.  
"Wait, Harry! We are not finished yet!" Sirius shouted behind him, but he ignored his thick-headed godfather.  
Up in his room he flung himself onto his bed, silently seething. Why did a perfect day have to be ruined like this? Sure, it was mostly his fault, but still...  
The door opened and his friends came in.  
"Oh Harry," Hermione sighed. "They really are thick headed."  
"Yeah, they are," Harry grumbled; his face buried in his pillow.  
"I don't get it. What just happened downstairs?" Ron asked, sounding irritated. The silence that followed told Harry that Hermione was currently giving Ron her 'are you really so stupid' look.  
Sitting up again, he explained: "Sirius is Remus' mate."  
"What?" Ron sounded incredulous. "But why aren't they a couple then?"  
Hermione chewed on her upper lip, obviously having an idea, but not being sure if she was right. Creatures and their mates were not her area of expertise.  
"Remus is the submissive and as a...creature myself," Harry cleared his throat, he had nearly said: as a submissive. "...I know that it is impossible for him to make the first move."  
Ron frowned; the concept was clearly far from logical to him. How his friend could know so much about creatures on the one topic, and so little on the others, was a mystery to Harry.  
"Why?" Ron asked finally.  
"I think..." Hermione started hesitantly, giving Harry a look that asked him to interrupt her if she was wrong. "...that submissives need to be courted, as well as protected, even though they are often very strong themselves, at least in comparison to wizards. Their instincts demand it and it probably is a personality trait as well."  
"But girls sometimes take the first step as well," Ron argued.  
"You forget that magical creatures have very strong instincts. Am I right?" Hermione asked Harry.  
"Yeah," Harry said uncomfortably. Some of his instincts were almost animalistic.  
"Besides, girls like to be asked out on a date as well. We do ask ourselves if we have to, but we don't like it," Hermione added, huffing.  
This seemed to be the day of unsuccessful hints. Harry sighed and let himself fall back onto the mattress.  
"That really sounds stupid," Ron huffed.  
"Well, we can only hope that Sirius will realize it soon," Hermione shrugged.  
Harry decided then that he would help the werewolf if his godfather did not do something soon. It must be torture for Remus to not be recognized by his dominant mate for so long. How long had Remus known already? Harry shuddered at the thought of standing year after year by Lucius' side without being touched once, without being seen as Lucius' mate. It was horrifying to ponder.  
Suddenly, their bedroom door burst open, and said godfather rushed in. He still looked furious, and Harry's eyes darted over to Nagini who lay in front of Ron's bed. He wanted his mate, he needed his protective presence. Shoving his fingers under his blanket, Harry tried to hide their shaking. Nagini slithered up to him and hissed threateningly, and even Hermione came over, sitting down next to him, calming him just a bit.  
"I said, we are not finished yet," Sirius repeated his words from earlier, but sighed then and rubbed his eyes.  
"Harry, I really was worried sick about you," Sirius said in a much calmer voice.  
"I know," Harry mumbled; the guilt was still there, but he also knew that he had needed Lucius, and so he would not apologize.  
"At least tell me who your mate is so that I know where you are the next time," Sirius asked and sat down on Hermione's bed.  
"No," Harry replied softly, knowing that his answer was the wrong one for Sirius.  
Sirius frowned, but he did not blow up again.  
"Harry, if there wasn't a mad man after you, I would leave you alone, but sadly you are in constant danger. I know I come off as laid-back, but even I am not that careless."  
Harry wished that he could tell Sirius, but the argument that would occur if he told Sirius about Lucius would be even worse than this one.  
Sirius sighed when he realized that he would not get an answer.  
"Fine. Then at least tell us next time," Sirius gave in and stood up again.  
"I will," Harry promised, thinking that he would not need to go and visit his mate after this evening anymore.  
Nodding, his godfather got up and left the room.  
Hermione looked as if she wanted to say more about the matter, or probably about Harry's mysterious mate, but shut her mouth with a glance at Ron.  
"What a mess," Ron sighed, lying down on his bed as well. The redhead picked up the Quidditch magazine that was next to his bed and started reading.  
Harry was thankful for the silence right now. His arrival had been a nightmare and he still had to think about what he would say to Dumbledore later, and how he would reach Dumbledore. The last point was probably easiest; Grimmauld Place was connected to the Floo Network of Hogwarts, but that left him with the issue of how to formulate his demands. Should he do it like the Gryffindor he was as usual? Blunt and straight-forward? Or should he try a more polite approach; after all, he would be dealing with Dumbledore, not only a powerful wizard, but also one that he had considered akin to a grandfather for many years.  
Sighing, he realized that no one would buy into his subtle attempt and that he would most likely not be able to pull it off anyway. So the direct approach it would be.  
Was there anything else besides the leadership that he should demand? Thinking about it, he realized that it would be wise to demand his own room as well. Even if Lucius wasn't able to visit him at Hogwarts, he still had other things his roommates in Gryffindor Tower didn't need to know. Like the fact that he did not breathe anymore, and maybe he would want to take his glamours off at least every once in a while.  
He would also use the opportunity and tell the headmaster what he thought about his actions. Maybe that was childish, but he needed to get it off of his chest. Realizing that the man he had trusted so deeply had kept so many secrets from him had hurt, and it left him pained and irritated, because he still loved the man in some way. Still, he would not back off. He had promised Lucius, Snape, and himself, that he would end the war, and especially end the useless slaughtering. Besides, he really had no intention of killing anybody, or of being sent into a battlefield practically unprepared, and he had to do something if he wanted to avoid that future.  
Going over to the pile of Quidditch magazines, he took the top one and settled down to read as well; he needed something to distract himself with until it was evening and his friends were asleep.

 **Please Review!**


	11. Chapter 11: Of The Past

**Chapter 11: Of the Past**

 **HP**

Harry lay quietly in the darkness of his shared room; only the darkness was not the least bit dark to him. He could still see every piece of furniture and even details such as the titles on some books which were lined on a small shelf above Ron's cot. He listened and waited, until the breathing of his two best friends were steady, then he climbed silently out of his own bed and as quickly and silently as only a vampire was able to, he changed back into his green clothes. Striding over to the door, he pushed it open and slipped out of the room like a shadow, making his way down to the fireplace in the living room.  
The whole house was quiet by now, everyone except for him, was already fast asleep, or, as in Snape's case, still on a mission for Dumbledore or something, the man had left after dinner. Taking the old pot from the fireplace, he was just about to floo away, when a voice stopped him.  
"Harry, where are you going?"  
Turning around, he saw his two best friends standing there in their night clothing, a determined look on their faces that he knew all too well. They always wore this expression whenever he tried to go on an adventure alone, and Harry knew that he would not be able leave without them, unless he stunned them into unconsciousness.  
Sighing, he tried anyway, "I have to do something," he explained quite lamely.  
Ron raised both of his eyebrows, a gesture he only rarely used and only when he found an action of Harry's particularly stupid, which Harry had come to realize in their years of friendship.  
"And you really believe that we would let you go all by yourself? Even I noticed that you have something planned, so just spit it," the redhead ordered.  
Had he really been so obvious?  
"Harry, you can tell us anything, you know that, don't you?" Hermione asked, worry in her voice and added, "Is it your scar? Did you have a vision after all?"  
Harry flushed, as he remembered his vivid dream of Lucius from the previous night. For a moment he considered telling her that she had guessed right, but then shook his head. He could not lie so blatantly to them.  
Something nudged his leg and a second later, Nagini wound herself around his body. She had obviously noticed as well, that he had planned to leave.  
"I have nothing dangerous planned," he finally said.  
"Then it won't be a problem if we accompany you," Ron stated.  
"You would not appreciate what I am planning on doing," Harry replied.  
"You cannot know that until you have told us what you want to do," Hermione stated, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at him, she was clearly hurt by his words.  
Harry chewed on his bottom lip as he contemplated; he really didn't want to tell them just yet, not knowing if he could go through with his plan if he found out that they wouldn't want to be his friends afterwards, but he wanted to knock them out even less. And surely what he wanted even less was seeing the hurt in his friend's eyes.  
Hermione stepped forwards a few steps, laying a hand on his shoulders with a sigh and her eyes softened again. "I know something happened during your time at Privet Drive, something more than finding your mate; it has changed you, and regardless of knowing your secret or not, we are still your friends no matter what, and we still want to help you."  
Harry didn't know if Hermione had chosen those words on purpose, but they did the trick; sighing, he slumped a bit in defeat. They were right, Ron and Hermione had always helped him, no matter what had happened to him and he at least owed them an explanation. "I am on my way to Dumbledore," he said.  
His friends frowned; they had clearly expected something else, probably a hunt for Voldemort or something along those lines.  
"What do you want from Dumbledore?" Hermione asked after a moment.  
This was it. Now he would find out how strong their friendship really was. Glancing over to Ron and praying that they would not immediately take him to St Mungo's, he explained, "I plan to take over the Order."  
"You want to do what?" Ron sputtered.  
"I want to take over the Order," Harry repeated himself.  
Frowning, his brainy friend inquired: "Why?"  
Not able to stop himself, he smiled softly, he should have known that his friends would not turn on him instantly, "Because, I don't want to be a stupid puppet any longer. At the graveyard I realized that I have no chance against a Death Eater or Voldemort. I get the same education as you two, but everyone expects me to fight dark wizards. Would you feel ready for it?"  
His friends shook their heads no, so he continued, "But there are more things. I found out that Dumbledore has been hiding many important facts from me, things I should have known, but which he had never told me. Did you know that there is a prophecy about me and Voldemort, and that I have all of these visions because of a piece of soul he has hidden inside my body?" His friends were shocked into silence, so he continued, "Besides, this war has been going on for far too long, and his methods aren't working. Maybe he will win and there will be peace until the old Pureblood families have gained enough power once again; but to repress one part of the wizarding population will always lead to a war. Both sides use people for their benefit, both with no real results or concern for their followers' well-being or lives. I think that there has been enough death already, I want to find a way to end the conflict permanently without actively fighting."  
"Oh Harry..." Hermione sighed, pulling him into a hug he would have once considered bone crushing, but not anymore. Ron only eyed him thoughtfully.  
"But are these all of your reasons?" Hermione asked, after she had let him go again.  
Harry shook his head, smiling: "Well... mostly. It's just...The thought of becoming a murderer..." Harry could feel his anger at Dumbledore and his secrets rise once again. He clenched his fists. He tried to suppress the growl that was rising in his throat, but as he spoke again his voice came out strained and more like the growl of a wild beast. "All of this only because of some stupid prophecy!" His nails dug into his flesh as he clenched his fists even harder.  
Ron and Hermione gasped, "A prophecy? You meant that literally?" Ron exclaimed suddenly.  
"Yeah, and he believes in it far more than would be wise," Harry muttered darkly.  
"Pieces of his soul? But that has to be very dangerous and dark magic! Who told you that?" Hermione asked, obviously shocked and only now taking in all information.  
"Nagini told me that she hurts when in his presence, especially if he is experiencing intense emotions, because she has a piece of his soul inside of her. Her pains... they are similar to mine." Harry didn't need to say more, he saw the widening and realization in his friends' eyes.  
"And there is no way that Dumbledore wouldn't have know this already," Ron said fiercely.  
"Exactly," Harry agreed, relieved that they didn't ask who had told him about the prophecy.  
"But he should know that a prophecy is never completely correct," Hermione frowned. She had always had problems imagining that teachers were not all knowing, and with Dumbledore it would be especially hard for her to believe.  
"I think he has just fought Voldemort for so many years that he has grown paranoid," Harry thought out loud.  
Ron coughed something that suspiciously sounded like Mad Eye under his breath before promising, "We will help you, but Harry, how do you plan on persuading him?"  
A smirk stretched across Harry's face that would have shown off his long fangs in an impressive way if he hadn't been wearing glamours, "I will just tell him that he won't have a hero otherwise."  
Ron cleared his throat: "That all sounds good, but man, you said you would want to find another way to defeat You-Know-Who... but how?"  
Harry thought about it for a moment. He had been pondering now for quite some time over that answer. In fact, the solution to his problem had sprung to his mind the day after his transformation, but it needed some more fine-tuning. At his friends' expectant glances he said,  
"I have an idea, but it needs some more planning. I plan on bribing Voldemort with his Horcruxes."  
His friends flinched as always at the dark wizard's name, but after a shaky breath Hermione asked, "How?"  
Smirking and feeling very much like a Slytherin, Harry explained, "With the piece inside his body, Tom has six Horcruxes left, which means that he will be mortal again after I have destroyed five of them."  
Hermione's eyes widened in understanding, "So you plan on finding all six of them, but will only destroy five to use the last one to..."  
"Blackmail him into a binding peace contract. Because he surely won't want to die after all of the effort he has gone through to become immortal, I believe it is his biggest fear."  
"Well, that should do it," Hermione mused, and a broad and very sinister grin suddenly spread over her face. "That is brilliant, Harry," she added, and Ron nodded in agreement.  
"That definitely sounds better than fighting the bastard personally in the end," the redhead scoffed.  
"It does, and it leaves my own soul in one piece," Harry affirmed, glad that his friends didn't find his plan crazy and doomed to failure.  
Smiling, Hermione laid a hand on his shoulder and promised, "Ron and I will help you to figure out the exact plan in the end, but first we have to go to Dumbledore, and then find those damned things."  
Laughing, Harry hugged his bushy-haired friend; he was so happy that they were standing by his side. Ron grumbled shortly under his breath, but then joined in on their hug, patting him on his back in a manly manner of course.  
After they had separated again, Hermione said, "Let us change into something more appropriate than our PJs, then we can all go together."  
Nodding, Harry watched his friends going upstairs, a wide smile still on his lips.  
They all knew how important Harry was as a symbol to the wizarding population to endure the war and defend themselves against the Dark Lord. It felt as if he was waiting for a small eternity, but the truth was that he had simply become used to Lucius and his own faster speed; so he leaned against the wall, stroking Nagini soothingly.  
 _"Where are we going?"_ she hissed.  
" _Ron, Hermione, and I will be going to Hogwarts and visiting Dumbledore, but you had better stay here,"_ Harry replied, not really explaining anything.  
Nagini looked annoyed, but asked, _"Isn't that the old fool of a headmaster?"_  
 _"Yes, he is,"_ Harry chuckled.  
 _"My old master always ranted about him, even more so than about you sometimes. I think it was because the old man has already annoyed him for many decades,"_ Nagini hissed in amusement.  
Harry remembered that Dumbledore had known Voldemort since the Dark Lord's school days, and that he had probably fought him from the very beginning.  
Footsteps sounded, and Ron and Hermione appeared again, dressed and ready to leave.  
"I will go first and check, if the floo is open to Hogwarts," Harry said and grabbed a handful of Floo powder before the others could protest. He knew that it could be a very harsh ride if the connection was closed and that he would be forced back to his starting point, but at least he as a vampire, would come out undamaged in that case. Throwing the powder he called out, "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

He was tossed around like always, and then spat out on a cold, hard, and wooden floor. The room was dark, but he could make out many book shelves, a leather couch, and stone walls.  
Behind him the fireplace flared again and Ron, quickly followed by Hermione, stepped out.  
Ron cursed, probably not able to see anything.  
"Harry, are you there?" Hermione asked quietly, just in case they had landed in a dangerous place.  
"I am here, and I think we landed in Snape's office," Harry answered.  
"Snape's office? Why do you say that?" Ron asked, sounding slightly afraid.  
"Lumos," Hermione muttered, and his friends were able to at least see a bit of the place they had landed in.  
"Mione! We are not allowed to do magic..." Ron started, but was cut short by the bushy haired girl:  
"Outside of school grounds, but if Harry is right, we are currently at Hogwarts."  
Ron scoffed but said nothing more, deciding to eye the room instead.  
"Well, I think you were right Harry, but how were you able to see in the darkness?" he asked.  
Harry cleared his throat, "My inheritance..."  
Ron laughed, embarrassed.  
"We should probably leave, I can't imagine that Snape's private quarters are unwarded," Hermione whispered and Harry quickly looked around for the door.  
"The door is to our right," he said, grabbing his friends by their arms and tugging them along behind him.  
Fortunately the door was not locked from the inside and they soon stood in the dark Hogwarts dungeons. They made their way silently, not speaking the whole way, upstairs to Dumbledore's office. The portraits eyed them curiously, some even asking them questions, but they ignored them. Harry found himself happy that he had allowed Ron and Hermione to accompany him, he always felt stronger and braver with back-up and support.  
They finally stopped in front of the gargoyle, giving each other questioning looks, and just as they were about to start guessing candy passwords, the statue jumped to the side allowing them entrance.  
"I have always had the feeling that Dumbledore has a way of knowing who is standing in front of his office," Harry muttered, but stepped onto the spiral staircase. His facial expression hardened as he knocked on the office door.  
"Come in," Dumbledore sounded cheerful as ever, but the old wizard's face fell slightly as soon as he saw Harry's expression. Harry, Ron, and Hermione stepped inside, and Harry noticed Snape standing in front of Dumbledore's desk. The spy turned around, but he gave no sign of knowing why Harry had come by.  
Dumbledore waved his wand, and three chairs appeared.  
"I always expected that this day would come, but I never imagined that it would be this soon. Well I imagine that Voldemort's resurrection has sped things up," Dumbledore said by way of greeting, and for once his eyes didn't sparkle, and he didn't offer them lemon drops.  
"Then you already know why I am here Dumbledore," Harry said, his voice emotionless, as they sat down.  
"I do not know, but I might have some ideas, please enlighten me to avoid any misunderstandings," the headmaster said politely.  
Harry gulped, looking into the old, kind wizard's blue eyes, a lump forming in his throat, making it hard to say what he wanted to, but he gathered his resolve and declared, "I want you to hand over the leadership of the Order, or you will find yourself without a hero. I am not willing to fight as a silly controlled puppet anymore."  
Dumbledore's eyes had widened for a fraction of a second, he had clearly not expected that; maybe a ranting teenager, but not a determined Boy-Who-Lived with a plan.  
"Please Harry, explain to me why you want to replace me as the head of the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore asked calmly.  
Harry exchanged a look with his friends; they all knew the importance of the conversation.  
"You never prepared me, you have kept so many things from me, and enough people have died already. Your way is not working and I am no longer willing to continue pretending it is. I know about the prophecy and the Horcruxes. Did you hope that I would win with just luck in the end?"  
Dumbledore closed his eyes, pain visible on his old features for a moment. Harry's hands began to shake. He had thought that the old wizard would instantly deny everything, but this deep sorrow was not something you could feel without caring about his students and colleagues.  
When Harry looked into his old face, that seemed so much older than he had ever seen before, he was reminded of all of the little things the man had done for him, the reasons he had grown to love him like a grandfather. The Invisibility Cloak, which had belonged to his father and which Dumbledore had given him for his first Christmas at Hogwarts, the little hints Dumbledore had dropped now and then to help and to guide him, his reassurance, and the fact that Harry had always been allowed to visit him, regardless of the time or the inconvenience. Still, his confusion, rage, sadness and disappointment battled inside of him, and he was not ready to give his fight up, so he decided to push in the knife just a little deeper. "My relatives are dead, killed on the same day as Kings Cross was attacked. I never liked them; in fact, I hate you for sending me to them after my parents died. They starved me, they locked me up, first in a cupboard and later in a small room, and sometimes I even got beaten. Tell me Dumbledore, where have you been, when they starved and beat me? Or when they threw me into that cupboard under the stairs for days? Have you ever tried to help me at any point?"  
Harry felt tears gathering in his eyes; he didn't want it to end like this, he had loved the man, thinking of him as family, and despite everything he still did.  
"Please, tell me that you helped me, so that I can forgive you someday! Please tell me that I didn't love a man for whom I am just a sacrificial pawn," his voice broke, and so did Dumbledore's calm, a single tear falling from the wizened man's eyes, as he drew in a shaky breath.  
"I did help you, but I do not know if what I did will help me to earn your forgiveness. I will tell you, because you are right about everything. In wishing to protect you, I chose the wrong path, and endangered you even more in the end. If it is your wish to become the Order's head after I have told my story, I will grant it to you."  
Harry nodded, and Ron and Hermione exchanged a telling look. Dumbledore really must have known that he had made a lot of mistakes regarding Harry, considering his willingness to speak. Maybe Harry was even doing him a favour by forcing him to finally speak. Snape had stepped behind Harry, a calming and reassuring presence, regardless of how odd it sounded to think about the man this way.  
"After your parents had been killed and Hagrid saved you from the destroyed house, I brought you to your relatives, the Dursley's, but there was not a single day when I did not secretly check in on you. As a baby, they treated you bad enough, without love and with just the necessary amount of care to keep you alive, but as soon as you were old enough, it grew worse and they started to force you to work like a house elf for them. You were only three years old when it started."  
Harry drew in a shaky breath, startled to hear how much Dumbledore had known all of this time. It was like a knife being stabbed into his heart over and over again, but he forced himself to listen.  
"Every day when your cousin went to the Kindergarten, you had to stay at home and work for your food, even though it was neither enough nor worth working for," Dumbledore's fingers shook, and he intertwined them tightly to hide it, but it did not escape Harry's notice.  
"But back then, they were at least not violent; cruel and loveless, but not violent. That only started when you turned six. From then on, it grew worse with every year, until I could not stand the sight any longer... "  
Harry's head snapped up, his green eyes meeting dull and lifeless blue ones, but a flicker of hope had returned to Harry's eyes. Dumbledore's last words had sounded as if he had tried to help him after all.  
"...so, in the week before you turned eight, I decided to perform a ritual; it was the only time that I ever used Dark Magic."  
Hermione gasped and even Snape hissed in surprise.  
"What did the ritual do, headmaster?" Harry asked, his voice shaky, his hope had been joined by a bad feeling, neither of the two getting the upper hand in his confused heart. He was afraid that his whole life would change once again in a few moments, and until now, this feeling had never been wrong.  
"You see, I wanted to save you from their abuse, but with the Dursley's having your custodianship, I was not able to do much."  
"Couldn't you just alter their memory? Obliviate them, or something like that?" Ron asked, speaking up for the first time.  
"Of course I could have, but the Ministry had an eye on Harry as well, not as close as I, but close enough to notice such obvious interference," Dumbledore answered. "Instead, I searched for another way, and finally found a ritual that would help Harry. It was extremely dark, complicated, and powerful magic and I was ill for five days afterwards, drained of magic to the point of near death."  
"I remember that time, you told me you had had an encounter with a group of Death Eaters," Snape interrupted Dumbledore.  
Dumbledore nodded, "It is not surprising that you remember it, after all, you had to patch me up again afterwards," Dumbledore smiled softly.  
"So, what did the ritual do?" Harry asked, growing impatient.  
"It altered the memory of every wizard who had just so much as heard about you. That was the main reason why it drained my magic so thoroughly, you were already quite famous back then. After the ritual, every wizard and witch, and even your relatives, believed that you were already nearly eleven years old, making it possible for me to invite you to Hogwarts three years earlier and shortening the time period for the abuse you had to suffer."  
Harry's head spun, he tried to grasp what Dumbledore wanted to tell him, but he couldn't think right now. It was once again all too much. Dumbledore had used Dark Magic to help him, even going so far as to risk his life. For him.  
In the end, it was Hermione who pointed out the one thing that he had overlooked. "But that would mean that Harry just turned twelve!" she exclaimed.  
Harry's eyes widened in horror. Twelve? He was just barely twelve? He had been turned into a vampire at the age of twelve? If this was true, then it was no wonder that he was still so small and that his body had never developed the first signs of puberty, or that he sometimes felt overwhelmed in some classes.  
Another thought hit him, what would Lucius say if he found out that he was mated to a child? That he had fucked a child? The only thing he could consider lucky was that he had at least not been turned two weeks earlier, whilst he was still eleven. But that was not much of a comfort.  
Next to him Snape staggered, the man looking even paler than usual. Ron stared at him in utter shock, his eyes roaming Harry's body, as if he wanted to find out if Dumbledore had really told the truth or not.  
"You are right Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, confirming her assumption.  
"Oh Merlin!" Harry gasped.  
Dumbledore nodded sadly: "It was not an easy decision, and I hesitated for many weeks, but in the end, I could not find any other solution, and I definitely could not let you stay at your relatives' house much longer."  
"But… why did you send me back every summer, even though you broke many laws and risked your own life to get me out of there in the first place?" Harry asked, trying to decide if Dumbledore's actions made any sense at all, his story just sounded so...crazy.  
"Ah...my boy, you still needed the protection of the blood wards. You already know that Voldemort cannot touch you because of the immense love you carry inside, but this love is not only your own; it is a fusion of the love you are able to feel and to give and the love of your mother. Without the renewal of the wards every year, the power from your mother might have weakened, leaving you without an important protection."  
"My mother's love could have weakened? But why? Do ghosts and souls forget their loved ones over time?" Harry asked, trying not to start crying again. The thought of his mother's protective love had always been important to him, especially when he had to return to the Dursley's where no one loved or even cared for him.  
Dumbledore sighed, but smiled gently. "No Harry, they do not forget. We wizards know that there is in fact a life after death, but the dead cannot interfere in this world, you can see it every day when you take the time and watch Hogwarts' ghosts. The blood wards didn't only ward your relative's house against Voldemort; that could have been done at Hogwarts or Grimmauld Place as well, but they are also a connection to the other side, allowing your mother to channel her powers into you, even though she has long since passed on and you remain here."  
Harry gulped; he had never imagined that he could have an actual connection to his late mother. Tears welled in the corner of his eyes, but he wiped them away, determined to not cry about such a beautiful thing.  
"There is another secret I have kept," Dumbledore mumbled suddenly, successfully distracting Harry for the moment.  
"It was never mine to tell and it does not only concern you Harry, which is the reason I never told you, but after tonight there will be no more secrets between us. Because, regardless of the impression I have left in the last few weeks or months, I consider you more like a grandchild than a student, and I hope by telling you everything, you will give me a second chance."  
"I...You have always been important to me as well," Harry mumbled, touched by the headmaster's confession but not wanting to promise anything just yet. He would need to think about his relationship with Dumbledore at a later date when he had heard everything and calmed down a little. After all, the man had heavily interfered in his life, even though his intentions had been good.  
"Severus, please sit down as well, the story I am about to tell concerns you as much as Harry," Dumbledore instructed softly, and something in the old wizards gaze and voice made the Potions Master sit down next to Harry, on a quickly conjured chair.  
Harry frowned, but said nothing. What kind of secret was connected to him and his greasy Potions Master? Surely it couldn't be the fact that the professor and his mother had been friends, because Snape knew that already, obviously, and Dumbledore had said that the man didn't know the secret either. Besides, it was more connected to his mother and Snape than to him and the man.  
"Severus, do you remember the night in your seventh year shortly before your friendship with Lily ended and she started her relationship with James?" Dumbledore asked pointedly.  
Harry frowned even more; what did this story have to do with anything? Back then, he hadn't even been born. He was about to ask, when Severus snapped next to him, "That is not your story to tell Albus, and I forbid you from telling the boy anything!"  
Shocked by the anger in the man's voice, Harry's head spun around, there was rage blazing in the black orbs, but also hidden pain. Only a week ago, Harry would not have noticed the sorrow in those eyes, but as a vampire his senses had sharpened and he had become more observant. Also, having come to know the man might be helping him.  
"I will not tell the story, but I believe that you will tell Harry everything after I am finished with what I have to say," Dumbledore said, and then continued calmly, giving the man no chance to protest again. "Some weeks after your fall out with Lily, she noticed something, and that was the reason why she started to date James Potter."  
Severus by now looked as confused as Harry felt and was frowning even more deeply.  
"She married him quickly after graduation, and you, Harry, were born shortly after," Dumbledore told them.  
"Headmaster, we already knew that, what is the point of this?" Snape snapped.  
"It will all make sense to you in a moment," Dumbledore smiled sadly. "The Potter family had hidden a secret for over two hundred years. They were, in fact, not entirely Pureblooded, or more accurately the main branch is, but there is also a muggle side branch, sired from a squib Potter daughter that married a muggle. His name was Peter Evans."  
"What are you implying...?" Harry broke off and his eyes widened in shocked realization. He desperately hoped that Dumbledore would not confirm his suspicion.  
"Does this mean that my parents were related?" he asked; his voice and hands shaking once more.  
Dumbledore gave him a long stare, but didn't react in any way that would clear up Harry's question, instead he neutrally replied, "They were cousins and they married to protect two people who were very important to Lily."  
Harry felt bile rising in his stomach, but he forced himself to listen when the headmaster spoke again. "Severus, did you know that there is a magical ritual which will ensure that a baby will only develop the features of one of their parents?"  
Harry nearly flinched in surprise when Snape jumped to his feet. The man stared at him horror struck, his eyes wide, his face a worrisome gray, and his breath ragged.  
"No!" Snape exclaimed, staggering.  
"I don't understand?" Harry looked from his Potions Professor to Dumbledore and then to Hermione. Snape was obviously in too much shock to explain anything to him, and Dumbledore had already promised that he would not tell Snape's story, which Harry apparently needed to hear to understand what Dumbledore was trying to reveal, and Hermione for once looked just as confused as he felt.  
He had the feeling that he was missing something very important, and in a sudden rush of panic he gripped his teacher by one of his wrists, "What does he mean?"  
Harry felt the man shiver and take a deep breath, before he pulled his chair around so that it was facing Harry's, and sat down. Snape was watching him intently, as if searching for something in his face, an unreadable expression on his own face. Harry wanted to evade his piercing eyes, but somehow he knew that he had to hold this gaze, that it was important to the man across from him.  
When Snape finally started to speak, his voice was hoarse and echoed with a thousand emotions Harry could not even start to name, "I already told you, that your mum and I had been best friends since our childhood, and that James and his friends always harassed me in school, but also that it never disturbed our friendship. So... during our seventh year, it developed into something more."  
Harry's dead heart started to race painfully in his chest, he had no idea what Snape wanted to tell him but he knew that it would be an even greater shock than finding out that he had been turned into a blood loving vampire.  
"Towards the end of our final year, we spent a passionate night together; only one single night because the day after our friendship, or whatever it had become at that point, broke."  
Snape had lowered his gaze, eyeing his shaking fingers. Harry was glad about that, because he didn't know if he could look the man in the eyes at this point.  
"James's prank had gone too far that day, but Lily didn't defend me in the way I had hoped for, especially after our night together. She scolded James, but nothing more, and that lead to me calling her a Mudblood and joining the Dark Lord in an outburst of silly and foolish rage, and when she started dating James only six weeks later, I considered my hasty decision affirmed..."  
The dark wizard broke off again, and lifted his head so that Harry was once again starring into Snape's black eyes, which were normally so cold and emotionless and now swirled with confusion and unspoken emotions. He gulped, when he saw his professor moistening his lips with his tongue, before opening them to speak again.  
"I never realized that you were born nine month after our night together, and I never realized that you could not be fifteen, as Lily gave birth to you when eighteen and I am, as she would be, thirty years old and not thirty-three."  
Harry's head started to spin and his vision blurred for a second. He grabbed for something to keep himself from falling off of his chair, and a firm hand steadied him. In his mind swirled the information he had just received, coming together to form a picture that was just too absurd to be true. It was too horrible to be true, because if it was, it meant that half of his life had been a lie, and even worse, half of his identity was as well.  
The room was deadly silent, and Harry had long forgotten that his two best friends were still there. He realized that the hand steadying him was Snape's, and he quickly pulled away, too confused to be able to stand the touch.  
"Are you trying to tell me, you were in a relationship with my mother, and that I am in fact your son and not James Potter's, Professor?" Harry asked, his voice barely audible, adding the man's title to put some distance between them, like a protective shield.  
"You don't want to tell me that my mother married her cousin, to...to what? Protect me? And that they performed an ancient ritual so that I would only inherit physical characteristics from her side, making me resemble James Potter?"  
To his horror Snape nodded.  
"Why?" Harry asked; desperation clearly in his voice. Everything he had been told was a lie. He was not James Potter's son, his appearance was the result of a magical ritual, and his real father could only stand to use his first name if it helped to anger his school nemesis.  
That brought another shock to him, how would Sirius react when he found out? Would he still want to be his godfather? Sirius had always been so proud of him being his godson because he was his late best friend's son, but had always hated his real father.  
Could he even imagine Snape as a father? As his father?  
"Why?" he repeated, and this time it was Dumbledore who answered.  
"Lily had always believed that Severus was not an evil man and that his decision to join the Death Eaters had been a decision made in anger. She was sure that he would regret it soon, but she also knew that there was no backing out after you had become one of Voldemort's men. So when she found out about her pregnancy, she searched for a way to protect her unborn child and the man she still loved, deciding to do a ritual which would make sure that you Harry, would not be identifiable as Severus' son. That way, Voldemort would not be able to connect his new follower to her, a Mudblood and a dear student of mine, the figurehead of the Light Side." Dumbledore paused before continuing.  
"I myself found out about this whole plan only because she performed the ritual here at Hogwarts, and the magic gathering in the Room of Requirement was so strong that I noticed it and searched out both her and James. James had wanted to protect his favourite cousin and her son, and had even given a drop of his own blood to make the resemblance to him even greater, and offered to marry Lily so that her tale would be authentic and to prevent her from losing her reputation by becoming an unmarried mother.  
Only James's parents were informed of their plan, because they were the heads of the family, and they agreed to keep the identity of your real father a secret," Dumbledore said, once again looking at Harry.  
Harry laughed uncertainly. This really couldn't be true, could it? This story was just too farfetched, even for him.  
"No one outside of the family knew about Lily and James' relationship, and no one wondered about their marriage; it is after all common to marry fairly young in the wizarding world. I myself wrote and registered the documents in the Ministry, and collected this..." Dumbledore opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a document, laying it in front of Harry and Snape.  
Harry bent forwards to read it, carefully keeping a safe distance from Snape, who did the same.  
Harry read,  
 **Child: Harry Severus James Potter,**  
 **Mother: Lily Potter,**  
 **Father: Severus Tobias Snape.**  
It was a birth certificate. Suddenly the whole story, which had sounded like a huge bad joke just a second ago, sounded very plausible. As if in slow motion, Harry turned his big green eyes on the man next to him, who stood there on shaking legs.  
"I...I..." Snape stuttered, dragging a hand through his inky black hair, before he turned to Ron and Hermione: "Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, please return Harry back to Grimmauld Place." Harry almost thought that the man would just leave him confused and shaking, but he promised, "I will be there in an hour at the latest...I just need some time to think..."  
Harry watched him turn on the spot and leave with billowing robes trailing behind him, not knowing if he should feel disappointed because his supposed father had just disappeared. Somehow, whenever he had dreamed about meeting one of his parents, it had always gone differently, and Snape had never been involved.  
Besides, should he really believe this crazy tale based only on a weird birth certificate? Sighing, he admitted to himself that he should give up on that particular train of thought. Dumbledore would gain nothing from making him believe that Snape was his father, if the man wasn't.  
"Harry?" Dumbledore's voice was soft and concerned, but pulled him from his addled thoughts like not even a shout could have managed.  
"Yes?" He asked, still staring at the closed office door.  
"To bring this revealing meeting to a close, tell me, is there anything else you wanted to discuss?"  
"Yeah," Harry mumbled, as he turned his head back to the conversation, and forced himself to concentrate for at least another minute. This meeting was important. He had come here to achieve things, and not to think about Snape, which he could do as soon as he was back at Grimmauld Place. For now, Dumbledore was more important, and he would not be able to find the Potions Master at the moment anyway.  
"If I want something else?" he repeated, frowning for a moment. It should be easier to concentrate and forget the news that his greasy Professor was actually his father.  
A warm hand settled on his, and squeezed it gently as he turned his head. Hermione was smiling softly at him. She was pale like a ghost, and nearly trembling as badly as he himself. Laying his free hand on top of hers, he wished for the thousandth time that Lucius could be here. His mate would be able to comfort him better with his strong presence, and his touch would warm his dead flesh.  
Blinking, he remembered the other thing he still had to demand from Dumbledore:  
"I want my own room at Hogwarts," he blurted out.  
"Why?" Ron asked from his left, but Dumbledore only nodded. Harry wasn't sure why the headmaster did not ask any further question about his motives; maybe he just wanted to make it up to him, but the old wizard only said, "Then I shall tell you the third secret."  
A choked noise came from Ron's direction, and Hermione's hand clenched his own once, but Harry felt too numb and overwhelmed to react in any drastic way.  
"It is again, a long story," Dumbledore began, his voice starting to sound like the voice of doom to Harry's ears. Every secret until now had been life changing, and there was no reason to imagine that it would be different the third time around.  
"First you should know, when a squib marries a muggle their descendants are usually muggle as well. But sometimes it occurs that a magical child is born. This only happens when the dormant magical genes of the squib are so powerful that they resurface; making the child of a side branch legally an heir to the main branch and Pureblooded, because these genes drive out all non-magical inheritances, making the child genetically the child or direct descendant of the Pureblooded wizard and witch who sired the squib. It is a very rare phenomenon, and the only reason that some more liberal Pureblood families keep their muggle relatives on their family trees; they are hoping for a miracle," Dumbledore started.  
"Is that what happened with my mother?" Harry asked in confusion, feeling as if he could not process much more complicated news or facts. He had still not gotten over the shock of suddenly having a father, and especially not over the identity of his father.  
"Exactly my boy. I hope that you will forgive me for hiding this bit of information, but it is connected to Severus' family as well as your mother's and it will bring you a lot of responsibilities, something I wanted to protect you from as long as possible. You already have enough duties on your shoulder..."  
Harry's eyes softened as he saw the honest worry in those sapphire eyes. Dumbledore had not been the man who had dragged him into this mess, but the one who had tried to protect him. He didn't know why he was able to forgive so easily, but the attempts to just keep him safe, and give him a normal childhood moved his heart.  
"I already told you, that I would give you a second chance, and nothing could be more shocking than the first two secrets, especially the first," he said honestly.  
The old wizard nodded with a sad smile, and then continued. "I think it would be better to let you verity this information on your own, so you will believe it more easily." The man stood up and went over to an old cupboard Harry had never noticed before, because it was so plain in comparison to all of the other shiny, glittery, colourful and very magical furniture and clutter in the office, but upon closer inspection, he saw that it was highly warded.  
Dumbledore tapped on the cupboard in a complicated pattern, and took two roles of parchment from the inside after the doors had sprung open. He then went back to the desk, and laid them in front of Harry. When Dumbledore had told him that he should look and figure it out himself, he had expected a memory in a pensive, not two rolls of parchment. Wrinkling his temple in concentration, he eyed the seals that were holding the parchment together. The seal on the left scroll was red with a golden lion and the other was silver with a green snake.  
Dumbledore tipped the closed rolls with his wand to open them and tipped them once again. A third roll appeared in Harry's hands and Dumbledore laid the two others to the side, explaining: "This is your family tree, it shows your ancestors of both side of your family, so that you do not have to switch between the two family trees, it will be easier to recognize the significance of your own blood this way."  
Nodding uncertainly, he unrolled his personal genealogy. It was a very long parchment and Dumbledore had to hold the other end up so that Harry could see everything. Next to him Hermione made a motion as if she wanted to look as well, but Ron held her back, shaking his head, "This is about his family, he should tell us when he is ready and not when we want to know it. Inheritance is very personal and important in the wizarding world, leave him alone for now."  
Harry was thankful for his interference. Lucius had warned him that he would inherit some Malfoy traits, and he suddenly was able to comprehend the importance of his bloodline for the first time in his life, and how important it was to be careful to not give his family secrets away. But still, he knew he would tell his friends whatever he found in a few moments, they had always been loyal and supportive, he just wanted to know first.  
Looking down, he saw his own full name on the bottom of the parchment, and was suddenly glad that neither Dumbledore nor his friend had taken a look, because connected to his name was another: Lucius Capricornius Malfoy, and above the line was the small golden symbols of two rings, indicating their mated status.  
He glanced to the upper end of the scroll, and could see that the first name on it was Godric Gryffindor, who had a daughter Ida Gryffindor, who was married to Hendrik Potter. Harry had heard the rumours of his family being descendants of Gryffindor, but to see it with his own eyes was something else entirely. He had never really believed that rumour, but now he had proof that it was true. Looking back at the bottom of the scroll, he studied the names above his own: Lily Potter and Severus Tobias Snape.  
His mother's name was connected to a couple of gray coloured names, and he asked himself why they were not written in black like the others.  
"The gray names are the muggle relatives of your mother, but as I told you, genetically she was considered the daughter of the parents of the founder of the muggle branch," Dumbledore explained as if he had sensed Harry's question.  
Skipping the gray names, he looked at the last black names, and drew in a breath, there it was printed: Charles Antonius Potter and Natalia Maria Hufflepuff. His mother was a direct descendant of the Potters, who were direct descendants of both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.  
A horrifying feeling crawled up his back and he had the foreboding thought that he knew what Dumbledore wanted to show him.  
Turning his eyes to his father's family tree, he looked once again at the top and found the name Salazar Slytherin. The line continued with the Slytherin name for a couple generations, until a daughter, Alicia Elisabeth Slytherin, married another Pureblood, Septimus Claudius Prince, the Slytherin line becoming the Prince line. And then he found the names which affirmed Harry's suspicion, Severus's great grandfather was Nathanael Augustus Prince and his great grandmother was named Sophia Athene Ravenclaw, and their granddaughter finally married Snape's father, Tobias Snape.  
His dead heart skipped a beat, and he slumped back in his chair: "I...I..." he stuttered, not able to comprehend this third shocking piece knowledge. Dumbledore nodded in affirmation, and another scary thought occurred to him: If he really was the heir to all four founders of Hogwarts, did that mean that he was the castle's owner? And if he was, how was it going to affect his life? Were there duties connected to this inheritance? Did he have to be present at every start of term feast, even after graduation? Or did he have to deal with the Board of Governors and the Ministry instead of Dumbledore?  
He turned wide questioning eyes to Dumbledore, who gave him a soft, sad and proud smile. "It is all yours. You are the last heir," the old wizard said.  
"But that can't be possible, there have to be other families," he tried to argue, but knew already that it would be in vain.  
"There are, I myself am a descendant of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. The Malfoy's have Slytherin blood, the Lovegoods are related to Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and the Longbottom's and the Weasley's to Gryffindor, but you are the only one..."  
"...who is directly related to all four of the founders," Harry finished the sentence, as if in a trance.  
The sound of someone choking on their own spit came from the direction of his friends, but he paid it no attention, instead he forced himself to clear his mind and asked his most pressing question. "What does this mean?"  
"Ah, a very wise question, so unspecific and specific at the same time," Dumbledore said, and went back to the wooden cabinet. Harry watched in wonder as the headmaster laid several items in front of him: a ring, a badge, the sorting hat and something that looked like a very old knobbly wand.  
"These are the insignia of Hogwarts, and as soon as you are of age, they will belong to you," Dumbledore said. To Harry's absolute horror the Sorting Hat opened his eyes and mouth, and chipped in with a sing-song voice:

 _"Many things there are that can bring a wizard of age,_

 _And one of these many things has happened to the heir."_

Dumbledore's eyes widened and his friends jumped to their feet, gasping. Harry wanted to flee from the office, but knew that it would not save his secrets.  
Clearing his throat he said, "The hat is right, but I will not tell you exactly what has happened."  
Ron and Hermione took the hint luckily, and sat back down.  
"That is fine my boy, you are allowed to have your secrets, and I am the last person who has a right to demand the truth," Dumbledore said, and then inquired, "Shall I continue my explanation?"  
"Yes please, sir."  
"The school and its entire insignia rightfully belong to you, and you should take them with you. The ring has the Hogwarts crest on it, and functions as a key to every room in the castle. The badge will allow you to change the room behind whichever door you put it on into the Founders Quarters. It is rumoured that in these quarters is a door that can be spelled to open to every other room directly."  
So that was the reason why Dumbledore told him all of this. He had demanded his own room, and now he could choose one freely. The man really seemed to want to make up for his past mistakes. Picking up the insignia ring, he examined it closely. It was made of gold and had the Hogwarts crest, but there was something more. Without his enhanced eyes, he would never have been able to recognize it, but there was a little falcon engraved upon the ring that carried the crest in its claws. Frowning, he wondered if the bird had a special meaning, he had never seen it in Hogwarts before. Thinking that he might find some information in the Hogwarts library as soon as the next term had begun, he concentrated back on the old headmaster:  
"You already know the Sorting Hat. He was made by the Founders, as everything else on this desk with the exception of the Elder Wand. It is one of the Deathly Hallows, and according to the legend, was made by Death himself. It is also said that you can never lose in a battle with this wand. Its first owner was Antioch Peverell who was related to Slytherin, and even though the wand has been through many hands in history, it has found its way back to Hogwarts where it rightfully belongs."  
Harry gulped and stared at the wand, which almost looked like a very long finger bone in his opinion. He picked it up carefully, and felt a rush of power and a voice seemed to whisper finally.  
The others must have heard the voice as well, because they all looked at him with wide eyes and white faces, even Dumbledore.  
The uncomfortable silence stretched on, and Harry decided to break it, clearing his throat,  
"So, I am the owner of Hogwarts, but what does that mean for the next term? I mean, I am only twelve years old and haven't completed my education. Even though I am of age, I cannot take over the position of headmaster, and I'm not sure I would want it either."  
Dumbledore smiled again, an honest and happy smile, "I am glad to see that you are still grounded, even with all of the knowledge and power that you now possess. You are right; you cannot take over my position. The owner of the school and the Headmaster could be the same person, but does not have to be. You can allow me to continue as your deputy or employee, or even select someone else for the position, but, as long as you are still attending school, you are not allowed to be headmaster yourself, and you will have to listen to the teachers, as you have done in the past. All of the rules will still apply to you."  
Harry was relieved to hear this; he didn't want to have even more privileges than those that already came with the Founders' Insignia.  
Dropping his head into his hands, he tried to relax for a moment into the soothing darkness. He really felt overwhelmed and tired right now, and he wanted nothing more than to get back to Grimmauld Place, and hopefully find Snape there to talk to him. They had much to discuss.  
"I think we will take Harry back home now," Hermione said carefully and waited for Harry's reaction.  
He nodded in agreement and stood up on shaky legs.  
"Do you want me to keep the sorting hat in my office, or will you take it with you and bring it back to the school the day before the term starts?" Dumbledore asked.  
Harry locked eyes with the man and answered, "It can stay here, and I want you to continue your job as headmaster. You have always done a great job, even with me most of the time. You are understanding and kind hearted, and I still think you are a great headmaster." Hopefully, Dumbledore would understand his answer as the peace offering it was meant to be. In the end, he could not stay angry with the man; he had done too much for him, even though some decisions were questionable.  
"Thank you Harry. When shall I arrive at Grimmauld Place to announce you are the new leader?"  
Harry thought about it for a moment. They should do the ceremony soon, but every member of the order needed to have time to arrive. In the end he decided, "Tomorrow at 5 p.m., and please send a note to all of the members; I still don't know everyone yet."  
"I will do that and bring you a list of all of the members," Dumbledore promised, before going over to his fireplace. "I will open the Floo for you, so that you do not have to trespass through Severus' quarters again."  
Harry smiled sheepishly and carefully placed all of Hogwarts' Insignia into his pocket before taking a handful of Floo powder.  
"And Harry?" he turned back to Dumbledore, whose eyes were finally twinkling again, "Please call me Albus, after all, you are my boss now."

 **Please write me a review :-)**


	12. Chapter 12: New Beginnings

**Chapter 12: New Beginnings**

 **SS**

Severus fled from the Headmaster's Office, not able to believe what he had just found out. Harry Potter, the boy he had hated for years because he so resembled the man who had stolen his greatest love from him, was his son. He had hated and harassed his own son, his flesh and blood for years. He had always hated the boy, because in his eyes, Harry should have been his and not James'.  
Lily had always wished for a big family, and he had often dreamed about a black haired and green eyed child with her, and when she had gotten that child, but with another man, he had been hurt and furious. Never had he imagined that the child was in fact his like he had always wished; the product of their undying love.  
As he ran down the stairs into his dungeons he pondered the situation and realized that he should have suspected something. Their love had grown steadily over the years, and Lily had never been the type to just switch to another relationship after the previous had ended, but he had been so hurt that he had not thought about it. How could he not have suspected something? Harry had been born too early to possibly be James' son. Had his anger and pain blinded him that much?  
Sighing he admitted to himself that it obviously had, and realized that even though he had betrayed her, left her pregnant, albeit unknowingly, she had not aborted their child but instead had gone to great lengths to ensure their unborn child's safety. Harry's safety, he reminded himself. Harry was his son. To see not only his name on the boy's birth certificate, but also that Harry's full name was Harry Severus James Potter had been a great shock. Until then, he had still believed that Dumbledore had gone barmy somewhere along the line, but the documents were magical and formed automatically after a baby was born, factually stating the name of the baby's parents.  
The thought of being Harry Potter's father still felt very foreign to him, but he would try and make up for the lost years and the hurtful words. As unbelievable as it sounded, Harry was what he had always wished for: his own family. With his newly gained knowledge he could finally admit what a great child the small raven really was.  
A pang of guilt struck his heart at that thought. He had not been there for his child. Harry had gone through hell for the last twelve years, and he had not been there for him even though he could have given Harry a good home. Maybe not a stereotypical home like the Weasley's, but a home filled with love and care, not starvation and abuse.  
He had reached his quarters, and hissed the password to the snake portrait, rushing inside and leaning, panting, against it in the darkness of his living room.  
His wards had been triggered, Harry and his friends must have arrived here from Grimmauld Place, but that was unimportant right now. The important thing to do was to decide what he should do right now, or more precisely, what he should do with Harry. He had to talk to the boy soon; Harry was surely in as much distress as himself right now, only Harry was a child and did not have as much experience with coping with stress as himself. He chuckled darkly as the thought crossed his mind, yes; he was obviously coping so well.  
Sobering again, a question sprung to his mind: Would Harry want him as a father? For him, there was no doubt that he wanted to take on this role, after all he had already started to like the brave Gryffindor, who was so much like Lily in character. Lucius had been right that day at Privet Drive, and that had been what had enraged him so much. How could he have started to feel fond of his school rival's child? But that reason had been blown out of the window by Dumbledore a few minutes ago.  
He still could not believe the lengths Lily had gone to keep Harry and him safe, and that James had apparently helped her with everything.  
Lupin's words came back to his mind. So, Potter really had done something to pay his debt back.  
Closing his eyes, he conjured the picture of Harry in front of his inner eye, the child he had created with his first and only love. Lily had been the only woman that he had loved or even had sex with to date.  
But that didn't mean that Harry would welcome him with open arms. Did he even have the slightest chance after tormenting his son for so many years?  
He needed to talk with somebody, preferably someone who had experience with children. He stumbled over to his fireplace in the dark, lit it with his wand, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and tossed it into the flames, shouting, "Malfoy Manor, Lucius' private office!"  
Only when he was swirling through the Floo System did he realize that Lucius was mated to his barely twelve year old son, who had literally fucked his twelve year old son.  
He had to tell his friend how young his mate actually was. He had to resist ripping the Malfoy patriarch's head from his shoulders for fucking his son, the son who should still be innocently playing with toy brooms, or whatever else children played with.  
Reminding himself that Lucius was indeed his best friend, and that no one could stop the bond of two magical creatures, he stepped out of Lucius' pompous fireplace.  
"Severus," Lucius greeted from his place in his favourite wingback chair, a glass of red wine in one hand and a book in his lap. Still focused on his book, he continued, "Sit down and take a glass. I honestly am not able to appreciate the taste of wine anymore, regardless of its flawless quality, but it would be a waste to pour it down the drain."  
Ignoring the offer, Severus sat down in the armchair across from Lucius and told him without preamble, "I have a son."  
That finally caused Lucius to look up from his book, surprise flashing quickly through his silver-red eyes.  
"How far along is she? Can you persuade her to...take care of the problem, or is it already too late for that? I had honestly believed that you had not touched a witch since Lily, but it is good that you have moved on. Still... you should have been more careful, my friend," the aristocrat drawled.  
Severus was still too confused to be offended, even though he knew that he probably should be, and simply replied, "It is Harry. He was never James' son."  
Hearing this, Lucius nearly dropped his glass of wine, gaping at Severus.  
"I was in Dumbledore's office when Harry and his two friends arrived to demand the leadership of the Order. Typical of a true Gryffindor, he told the headmaster that he might give him a second chance if the man stopped lying to him, and told him everything he needed to know..." Severus elaborated.  
Lucius needed a moment to find his voice again, and then asked, "And Dumbledore told you that Harry Potter is your son? Surely you do not believe this nonsense, the boy looks nearly identical to James."  
"Have you ever heard of the Heritage Ritual?" Severus asked dryly.  
"But if Lily had used the ritual to keep you and Harry safe from the Dark Lord, the boy would look more like her and not like a Potter," Lucius explained calmly.  
"Apparently, the Evans' are a side branch of the Potter family. They were founded by a squib that married a muggle. Besides, I saw the birth certificate and it clearly states that Harry Severus James Potter is my son," Severus explained patiently.  
Lucius' eyes widened in surprise, "Harry Severus...? So he really is..."  
"...my son," the Potions Master finished.  
His friend poured him a glass of wine, obviously needing the time to sort his own thoughts. As he gave Severus the glass, he asked, "What do you plan to do now?"  
"I... want to try and be a father for the boy, but I do not know if he will accept me. I have never been very good with children..." Severus broke off.  
"You will have to talk with him," Lucius mused, and then added, "Be honest and try to be understanding; he will surely give you a chance. There is only one way to be a good father."  
"And that would be?" Severus asked frowning.  
"Love him unconditionally, show him that and always be patient," Lucius smiled softly.  
"I am not sure if he will even give me a chance," Severus grumbled.  
"Harry even gave me a second chance," Lucius reminded him, which brought the other surprise to the forefront of Severus's mind. He still had to tell the Malfoy patriarch the other revelation.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

"There is something else we found out this evening," Severus said, and Lucius blinked. Had that not been enough shocking news for one night? What else had the old coot of a headmaster kept secret?  
He looked at his friend, who hesitated, which was quite unusual for the Potions Master.  
"What is it?" Lucius asked. "It cannot be that bad."  
"Lily and I became a couple in our final year at Hogwarts, and Harry is now fifteen," Severus gave him a look, as if his words should explain everything. Thinking about it for a moment, he realized what his friend meant, and a cold feeling started to creep up his back. Trying to calm himself he said, "But that cannot be correct. It would mean..."  
"...that Harry is only twelve years old, yes," his friend finished, and Lucius' breath would have hitched, if he still had to breathe, his grip loosening on his superfluous wineglass. Instead, he forced himself to consider the matter logically, because otherwise, his mostly silent conscience would have a field day.  
"That cannot be possible. Harry is in the same year as my Draco was; he cannot be that much younger. The Ministry would never allow an eight year old to go to Hogwarts and thus, you cannot be the father," Lucius said, hoping that his friend would see that something about this story had to be wrong.  
"Apparently, the abuse Harry had to suffer under his relatives had been more severe than we thought. Dumbledore told us that they beat and starved him so badly, that he decided to perform a Dark Ritual to alter the minds of every witch and wizard, making them believe that he was already eleven, and not only eight, in order to save him."  
This time, he did drop his glass.  
"That cannot be true..." he gasped."Harry cannot be...my mate cannot be...I would have never..." his voice left him, as he realized what Severus story meant: He was mated to a twelve year old child. It had been hard enough coming to terms with practically forcing a fifteen year old boy to have sex with him, even though their mate status had made sure that Harry had wanted the sex as well.  
He had needed a few days, but in the end he had squashed his guilty conscience by repeatedly reminding himself that a sixteen year old wizard was considered fully responsible for their sexual life, and that under special circumstances the legal age could be lowered to fifteen, making it legal to participate in a sexual encounter with a boy or a girl at that age. But twelve was way below that, twelve was considered a child, and children had to be protected from sexual experiences in any shape or form to ensure their mental health. It was not even allowed to buy a pornographic magazine for a child that young and Lucius had always supported that law.  
A wave of nausea swept over him, as he thought about their first encounter, and the way he had dominated the small child, how he had fucked the boy into his mattress.  
Lucius had already accepted that he loved Harry's young body, but the thought that he was very attracted to a twelve year old boy made him sick. It didn't really make a difference that he had not known his mate's real age.  
Oh Merlin! Harry was a child! A second year student! He still remembered his own son at that age, his pure innocence and childishness.  
Now, after Dumbledore's ritual was lifted from him, he could clearly see the similarity between Draco back then and Harry: the bright, big eyes that still sparkled in wonder at everything new, the ability to enjoy the smallest things, and the adorable way of moving, a mixture of clumsiness and elegance, still in the process of learning how to carry himself.  
He had wondered at Harry's immense need for closeness and comfort; it was high, even for a submissive, but now it made sense, the natural need of a child for physical contact mixed with the need to be close to his dominant.  
A child, he thought again. A little boy, still years away from puberty, and he, Lucius Malfoy, had mated with him.  
What distressed him even more was the fact that he could and would not stop their relationship. For one, the physical relationship was very important to mates; Harry would only start to feel insecure and doubt that he really loved him if he withdrew. For another, Harry needed to be dominated as a submissive; they had found that out today, and lastly: Harry was a vampire and regardless of how long he would wait until he took the boy again, he would stay a child for eternity. That was the peculiar thing about vampire genes, they stopped nearly every development. The transformation into a vampire had ensured that Harry would stay a child in body and mind. Of course, that did not mean that Harry would not become wiser with years, but it would only make him a highly skilled child, and not an adult in a child's body.  
Should he feel like a paedophile? Like a rapist? He probably would, if not for their mating bond; still, the guilt weighing down on his conscious remained.  
"Lucius?" Severus pulled him from his thoughts. The man was wearing a worried expression. His friend was normally not a man to give his feelings away, but it made it all the more clear how worried Severus was about his son.  
He cleared his throat and focused his gaze back on his friend: "Yes?"  
"What will you do?"  
"There is not much I can do. Harry and I are still mated, and even in a hundred years he will still be twelve, only with the knowledge of a hundred more years," he answered with a sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose.  
Severus nodded in understanding, "I hope then, that you will consider his youth even more extensively now."  
"I will, but it will not change our physical relationship," Lucius replied.  
"I know, but be warned, I will protect him even from you," Severus sneered and leaned warningly forwards in his chair, his teeth bared.  
"And I would not have it any other way," Lucius mused, not shocked in the least by his friend's protectiveness towards the young Gryffindor.  
"I will have to go now. I promised Harry to be back at Grimmauld Place within an hour, and my first action as a parent will not be to break a promise," Severus sighed and stood up, knocking back the rest of his glass of exquisite wine, as if it were the dregs of a warm beer, and striding back to the fireplace.  
"Has Harry already told you when he will introduce me to the order?" Lucius asked, stopping the Potions Master who had just taken a handful of Floo powder from an emerald green velvet box.  
"He has probably already discussed it with Dumbledore, but I was gone by then."  
Lucius scowled, for Harry's sake he would have hoped that his friend had stayed longer and not run off, but he could also understand that Severus was confused. He would be as well, or more precisely, he was as well, but for other reasons.  
"Send me a message as soon as you know more. Harry's owl has been injured during the attack at King's Cross and she would be too conspicuous anyway. Doesn't he own a snowy owl?"  
Severus gave a short nod, before finally tossing the powder in the Floo and stepping into the flames.  
Sighing, Lucius watched his friend go. Normally, he never did anything as plebeian as sighing, but he was alone in his manor, and after all of the disturbing news, he needed an outlet. Life with Harry Potter surely never got boring, but at least he would see his mate soon.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry stumbled out of the hearth of Grimmauld Place. Luckily, it was much later than when he had left by now, and no one awaited him in the dark living room. He just stood there, his mind numb with all of the new information, so shocked he could not even decide whether or not he should sit down.  
The fireplace flared up behind him, and Ron swiftly followed by Hermione, stepped out with much less stumbling than he had done. Luckily, Hermione shooed him gently over to the old and worn down sofa, taking the decision about what to do next from him.  
"Harry, how are you feeling?" she asked softly after a moment.  
Ron flopped down across from him and snorted, "Very peachy probably."  
Hermione glared at the redhead, but his comment had broken Harry's dazed trance.  
His body started to shake violently:  
"I...don't know what should shake me the most. Snape, my father? ...he hates me!"  
His friends just stared at him silently; there really wasn't much they could say that would comfort him.  
"And then this crazy thing with my age... I...I am a child! How do I explain this to Sirius and Remus? Or your family Ron?"  
"They will still love you," Hermione said carefully.  
"How can they? I am a bloody magical experiment!" Harry exclaimed, tears gathering in his eyes.  
"Harry, I once read about the ritual Dumbledore has mentioned, it might have altered the genes concerning your appearance, but nothing more, it has not changed you into another person, even without it you would still be you," she tried to sooth him.  
"Yeah, only with Snape's nose," Ron snorted drily.  
"NO! I don't want to look like him! I don't want to have his nose! It is huge and... and..." Harry's voice broke.  
Hermione sat down next to him and took him into her arms: "Shh...Everything will turn out right, you will see. You always told us that Professor Snape...I mean Severus... what do we call him now?" she asked, sounding confused and a bit desperate.  
"I think Snape will do. We still don't know if he even wants me as a son," Harry replied dryly, putting his head into his hands.  
"...what I wanted to say was, that you told us that he is a responsible person, surely he would not let you down," Hermione finished her sentence gently.  
"Would you even want him as a father? I mean...it's Snape..." Ron asked carefully.  
Harry sighed, maybe that was the truly important question, and not if Snape would accept him as a son. And what was his answer? He truly couldn't say. He had always dreamed that one of his parents would miraculously be alive, but then again, he had imagined it would be Lily or James and not the grumpy Potions Master. He had honestly not yet thought about it. After Dumbledore had told them about Snape, he had been too shocked by how much of his life was a lie, to even ask himself if he would want his Professor as a father.  
"I honestly don't know... I mean, you are right...he has tormented me for the last four years because of a childish grudge against a man that isn't even alive anymore," He mumbled and stood up to pace in front of the sofa.  
"That's true, but think about it: How hurt must he have been?" Hermione argued, without sounding truly convinced herself. Her forehead furrowed as she contemplated the problem.  
"Yeah...and how much has he hurt me? I was...I am the child in this, he should have behaved differently," he replied.  
"But imagine your mate suddenly died after you had a huge fight..." she tried again, making a vague gesture with her hand.  
Harry threw her a glare. "I would still not take it out on a child."  
They fell silent for a moment, neither knowing what to say. It was Ron that surprised him when he suddenly suggested, "Maybe, you should wait and see what he has to say. Look... I know he isn't the one you imagined, I know, but he could become a father. Wouldn't it be better than what you have now?"  
"Even if he wants to become my father, how could I ever trust him after the past four years?" He asked exasperatedly.  
Ron smirked evilly, "Just tell him that he has to prove it to you."  
Hermione agreed, to Harry's surprise, "That might be a good start. You need some basis for trusting him."  
Sighing again, Harry thought that his friends were probably right, but even the thought of giving Snape a chance felt like a heavy rock in his stomach. He felt as if he would be tossing away the memory of James Potter and his sacrifice by doing so, but then again, hadn't Remus told him that James had wished for Snape to one day be happy with the thing life had granted him? Wasn't he, Harry, the thing James Potter had meant? So, wouldn't it be honouring the man's memory and not throwing it away?  
"You two are right. I will just wait and see what comes from the discussion, if he even shows up. All the if's are driving me crazy," he muttered, feeling tiredness creeping up on him for the first time since he had drunken the sun potion.  
"He will show up. Haven't you always said that he is a right git, but he never lies and never breaks promises?" Hermione said.  
"But this is something else," He replied.  
"Man, I really hate the thought of him being your father," Ron grumbled, crossing his arm and pouting like a small child.  
"Ron, didn't you just argue for him?" Hermione asked, incredulous.  
"I did, for Harry's sake, but that doesn't mean that I like the man," the redhead snorted.  
"Well, I don't particularly like him either," the bushy haired girl confessed.  
Harry scowled down at the dirty table in front of him, "I hate this whole situation. Couldn't my mum have had a secret relationship with Sirius? Why him?"  
"That would have been too easy, after all, we are talking about your life, man," Ron snickered, only to get hit upside the head by Hermione.  
"Let's forget Snape for a moment. I mean, not everything we heard this evening was bad," she smiled suddenly.  
"It wasn't?" Harry and Ron asked simultaneously.  
"That you are the owner of Hogwarts and a descendant of all of the Founders is amazing and certainly something good."  
"But it also sounded like a lot of work," Ron argued.  
Hermione shook her head no, "Not necessarily; remember what Dumbledore said? Harry can leave the direction of the school to someone else," she countered.  
"I really didn't want another reason to be special. The whole thing with Voldemort is more than enough already," Harry grumbled, not really seeing the advantage of being the owner of the castle right now.  
"But you have really famous ancestors, no wonder you are so powerful and intelligent!" Hermione beamed.  
Harry only frowned at her words; his marks were definitively not good enough to call him especially intelligent. "I am neither especially powerful, nor especially intelligent."  
Ron apparently thought the same, "He is right, Mione, Harry is not bad at school, but he sure as hell isn't as clever as you."  
"Harry, you and Ron forgetting that you started your educations at eight, and you just passed the fourth year with one O in Defense and E's in every other class, excluding potions where you only earned an A. I couldn't have done so well at his age," she said.  
"You have a point there," Ron mused.  
"But shouldn't I be better at potions then?" he asked.  
Suddenly a voice behind them joined the conversation, "No, you shouldn't. In fact, there is no way to do better in my class at your age than you are doing,"  
They all flinched, and then turned around to see Snape stepping out of the flames.  
"Why not Professor?" Hermione asked curiously, covering the awkward silence which would surely have arisen otherwise.  
"Because," Snape drawled "potions draw on the magical field that surrounds every wizard and witch. This field is not very stable or strong at a young age, regardless of the power and stability of his or her magical core; therefore, there are only a few potions which can be brewed by a child. Luckily, the magical field is the one thing that keeps maturing, regardless of the nature of the student," he explained pointedly.  
Ron and Hermione eyed their teacher in confusion, but Harry had understood the message, he would not be stuck only able to brew first year potions for eternity.  
An awkward silence arose then. Harry, who had looked up at Snape, averted his eyes, feeling nervous and uncomfortable. He didn't want to look at the man and think about what they had to discuss.  
A sudden revelation had hit him, even though he did not know if he could ever accept the man as a father, he would not be able to cope with a rejection either. What if Snape told him that he hated him, regardless of their kinship? That would be much worse than a supposed father who had been killed whilst protecting him and his mother.  
His hands started to tremble, and Hermione hastily grabbed them, stroking soothing circles over his skin.  
Snape cleared his throat, and then asked, "Do you wish for Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley to remain here whilst we speak?"  
Harry nodded, and Snape sat down on the smaller couch across from him. Ron stood up and changed seats so that Harry was now sitting between his two best friends. He felt much better with Ron and Hermione at his side, even though they would not be much help with the upcoming conversation.  
"Harry," Snape started, and then asked, "Can I call you Harry? It would be inappropriate to continue addressing each other by our last names."  
Harry didn't reply and just stared at the pale and carefully guarded face of his father. He really didn't know if he wanted so much familiarity with the man just yet, but to say no might end every chance of a reasonable conversation with him.  
Snape seemed to take his silence as agreement, and continued, "I am aware, that our relationship has not been very positive in the past few years..."  
Ron snorted loudly, interrupting the professor, who for once just ignored the disrespectful behaviour, "...but please believe me when I say, that I want to make up for my past mistakes."  
"Why?" Harry asked suddenly, needing to understand the dark man, who had changed from hating him to wanting to be his father so suddenly. It was just so illogical.  
Snape ran a hand through his greasy hair before nodding in understanding, "Lily was everything to me. My family was nearly as horrible as yours. My father was abusive, and he hated my mother for being a witch."  
"But then why did he marry her?" Harry confusedly asked.  
"She kept it a secret until after their marriage, I myself do not know why, and I never could figure it out, but she did, and that is the important thing..." he paused for a moment. Everything was silent in the room; not even breathing could be heard, as if Harry's friends held their breath in anticipation, until Snape continued his story, "I met Lily one afternoon when I was nine years old on the playground in our neighbourhood and we became friends. We met up nearly every day, I told her about magic, because back then she knew nothing about it, and in return, she gave me a distraction from my horrible family life."  
Harry gulped, he hadn't known that Snape had gone through nearly the same things he had, and involuntarily, he felt a bit closer to the man.  
"I fell in love with her almost immediately. She had a heart as big and full of love and warmth as you yourself possess," Snape's voice had dropped to a whisper, and a softness had entered his eyes that Harry had never seen before.  
"We went to Hogwarts together, sat together on the train, and as I already told you, even our separation into two different and rivalling houses did not destroy our friendship. I think that your mother didn't realize that I was in love with her until the end of our six year, even though we often talked about the future and our dreams for the future."  
Harry's whole body was shaking by now, he had never heard so much about his mother. Sirius and Remus always talked about James, who had been their best friend, Lily's name had only ever been mentioned in connection with James', and he had sometimes believed that they didn't know her very well. At least now he knew. His guardians had probably not known her until her sudden engagement to James. He concentrated back on Snape, who had started talking again.  
"She always told me that she wanted to have a little baby boy, with dark hair and bright green eyes, because she loved her eyes, which she had inherited from her own mother, grandmother and even her great-grandmother, at least, that was what her mother always told her..."  
Harry could not watch his professor any longer, he felt a single tear swell up in the corner of his left eye, and he hastily looked down on his intertwined fingers, before it rolled down his cheek.  
"...and I wanted to have that child with her," Snape continued almost inaudibly. "Back then I thought that James was jealous of my good relationship with her, but after what I learned this evening, I believe that he had just been protective of her."  
Harry nodded, that sounded more likely.  
"You already know the rest of the story. After our one night together, we got into an argument and I betrayed her."  
It was silent for a moment, Harry's mind was racing, he had learned so much about the man in front of him over the course of fifteen minutes that it was overwhelming, but he still didn't know if he could forgive the man who had previously just been his loathed Potions Professor.  
Finally he said, "That is all good and well, but I still see no reason why I should trust you. You have always protected me in some ways. I think, for my mother, and maybe for Dumbledore as well, but only grudgingly. Let's face it; you have never done something just for me."  
Snape flinched away from the comment, closing his eyes and turning momentarily away from the pain his son's brutal honesty had caused, and Harry felt a wave of pity for the man, but he squashed it immediately. It was his turn to demand something for a change, because even though Severus Snape had often accused him of being a demanding spoiled brat, he had never been. He had endured everything life had given him without complaining once. Now was his time to be childish and he felt justified; after all, he was only twelve years old.  
"What do you want from me Harry?" Snape asked; dark eyes boring into his own.  
Harry didn't need to think, the words left his mouth automatically: "Show me that you want to be my father. Prove it to me by doing something only a father would do for his child. I can't accept a man as my parent who is unable to act like one, because that would only mean that he would never be able to love me as a son. At least that would make me consider accepting you as a parent."  
He stood up and turned his side to the Potions Master, about to leave for his room, when Snape's voice stopped him, "When will the Order be meeting?"  
Harry blinked once in confusion, but then thought that he probably wanted to inform Lucius.  
"Tomorrow at 5 p.m., but half an hour later is early enough. Could you tell him too?" he asked, hoping that Snape knew whom he meant by him. Snape gave a curt nod in understanding, but his expression gave nothing away about his thoughts.  
Harry had decided that it would be best to introduce the new spy after he had been announced the new leader so that Dumbledore would not be able to back out of their agreement; even though he didn't believe that the old man would do that at this point. But still, he would not take any chances.  
"We will be there on time," Snape said, and Harry heard him rise as well, but he only turned around when he heard the fireplace flare up again. Snape had gone, probably to Lucius. He was not sad about the man's disappearance.  
Without having to discuss it, Ron, Hermione and he went upstairs into their bedroom. Going over to his bed, he let himself flop onto the mattress, exhausted beyond belief.  
"You did well, Harry," Hermione said from her bed.  
"Yeah man, I think I would have just punched the git if I had been in your place," Ron agreed.  
"I kind of can understand why he behaved like he did, but that doesn't make it any better," Hermione mused.  
"I can as well, but that is not enough to accept him," Harry explained, his eyes already closed.  
"You were right to demand something that would prove he means his words," the bushy haired girl said.  
"It's just...I would rather continue living without a father, than with one who takes the job out of a false sense of duty," Harry had sat up and picked up Nagini as well, who had been laying at the foot of his bed, only to press her fiercely against his chest, like a frightened child would a teddy bear. The snake hissed in surprise, but didn't struggle to slither away.  
When he pulled his comforter over his body Ron asked, "Don't you want to change first? Those clothes don't look very comfy to sleep in."  
Looking down, he decided it would be better to change. After all, his friends didn't know that it didn't matter if he could breathe well in his waistcoat or not, or that the garments would not get dirty on his body. So he let go of Nagini, and pulled the white button down from under his pillow before starting to strip.  
Hermione had politely turned away from him, but Ron eyed him sceptically and asked, "You still sleep in that old thing? Doesn't it need to be washed?"  
Grinning, Harry lied, "I ordered Kreacher to clean it, so it is clean again." He pulled the shirt over his head, inhaling the scent of his mate, before stepping out of his trousers. Then he proceeded to pack the garments into the cupboard neatly. Normally, he just threw his clothes over a chair, but he thought that the clothes Lucius had given him were much too expensive to be treated so carelessly.  
When he was finished, he lay down once more, and Nagini curled protectively around him. She had not asked him about his evening, but he knew that she could smell how upset he was.  
He heard the bedroom door open and close when Hermione left to get ready for the night as well, but he was so tired, that he didn't hear her return.  
Mumbling a quiet, "Goodnight," to Ron, Harry closed his eyes and quickly drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

When Harry came down into the kitchen the next morning, he noticed that Snape had not yet returned. He had decided to not call him his father, even in his mind, as long as the man had not proven his desire to take hold of the title and position.  
Sitting down between his two friends, he watched as his two guardians entered behind them, sitting down as well. They both looked very tired. Sirius had never been a morning person, although Remus was, but Harry supposed after their fight yesterday it was no wonder that both men had slept badly. Deciding to talk to Sirius after breakfast, he took a blood drop from the little bag he always wore on his belt and popped it into his mouth.  
"Harry, this is not an acceptable alternative to a healthy breakfast," Hermione scolded him, but Ron interrupted the lecture that had been about to come.  
"Let him be. He has enough on his mind this morning."  
"Did something happen? Did you have a vision?" Sirius asked, instantly concerned, but luckily Molly saved him from giving an answer, as she came in announcing, "I got an owl from Dumbledore just now. He will come for an urgent meeting at 5 p.m., and the whole Order will be here."  
"What? All of the Order members? That has never happened before," Remus asked with a frown on his face.  
"This cannot be good," Arthur agreed, putting down the heavy pan with scrambled eggs for his wife.  
"Maybe Voldemort has done something really horrible?" Ginny asked.  
"Then I will hear about it at work and send you an owl," Arthur answered, but he addressed the adults and not his daughter.  
"Let's hope that it isn't the case," Remus commented, reaching for the pan.  
Harry and his friends had stayed silent the entire time, and so had Fred and George. The twins eyed Harry with a mischievous gleam in their eyes. Did they have an idea of what Harry had planned, or did they just have a sense for the upcoming chaos? He assumed that it was the latter, or better: he hoped so.  
Suddenly fluttering could be heard from the kitchen door and, before he had time to look up, a grey owl swooped down in front of him and landed on his empty plate. Curiously, Harry detached the scroll of parchment from her leg, and eyed the strange bird. It hooted once, before flying away again.  
"Is it another package from your...?" Ron didn't end his sentence, but Harry shook his head anyway.  
"No, my mate would never use such a plain owl."  
Hermione wrinkled her nose in disapproval, but he ignored her and unrolled the parchment. The Gringotts seal greeted him and he explained, "It's from Gringotts."  
"Really?" Ginny asked in interest, and tried to peer over his shoulder.  
"Ginerva Weasley, don't try and look at someone else's mail!" Molly corrected sharply.  
"But mum, Harry doesn't mind," she argued.  
Rolling his eyes, Harry started to read the letter. He quickly noticed that Griphtug had sent him a list with not only all of the Potter inheritance, but also included all of the Malfoy properties. His eyes widened gradually, as he read over the list of manors, villas, cottages, and houses which were scattered all over Great Britain, Scotland, Ireland, France, and even Germany.  
The next page listed only the amount of money he now possessed. The sum had so many zeros, that he did not even know how to pronounce it anymore. Naturally, the share of money which had been brought into the marriage by Lucius was much, much higher than his own. Scanning the report about the last decades, he quickly noticed that the Potters apparently had not been very good businessmen. They had not invested very much and therefore their wealth had decreased. Well, it was still enough for him, especially considering that he now had the Malfoy money as well. Thinking about it, he had to admit, that he probably was not a very good businessman either.  
The third page contained a short letter:

 **"Dear Lord Potter,  
Professor Dumbledore informed me this morning, that you are the heir to the Hogwarts founders. As it was specified that only the heir of all four of these great witches and wizards has claim to their fortune, we are happy to tell you, that you are the sole heir to their wealth and properties.  
I also have to inform you, that this part of your inheritance is not allowed to become a part of the fortune of your mate, or be shared with any other parties."**

The note was signed by Griphtug, and had a third list attached.  
Harry gasped, as he turned the page and came face to face with more listed properties. It seemed that every founder had had their own manor, but they also had shared a villa that was called Holiday Manor. Of course, there was also more money, which would make him nearly as rich as Lucius himself, if he added it to the Potter money.  
Folding the parchment, he pocketed it safely and finally looked up again. The whole table was staring curiously at him.  
"I got a report about my finances," he said, clearing his throat.  
"Hey cub, I know that the Potters were not very good with money, so if you ever need a financial boost, just tell me, ok?" Sirius said, causing Harry to nearly choke on his candy. If his godfather only knew..., he thought, but nodded and gave him a thankful smile.  
"Don't worry Harry," Ginny said suddenly. "It doesn't bother me, that you are not as rich as I thought."  
Harry gave her an irritated look, but Molly was quicker than him, and pointed out: "Of course not, after all, he will marry his mate; you have no business with his money, Ginny."  
"This breakfast has turned out to be a real hassle," Ron muttered, eying his plate in annoyance.  
Agreeing with Ron, Harry stood up and turned to his godfather:  
"Sirius, can I talk to you for a moment?"  
"Of course Harry. Do you want to go into the library?"  
Nodding, he went ahead, Sirius following him quickly.  
They went to the back corner in the library, where the chess board was. Harry sat down, and as his godfather saw his serious face, he wrinkled his forehead in confusion.  
"I didn't do anything stupid again, did I?" The Animagus asked worriedly.  
Harry had to smile at his godfather. Sirius really was like an uncle, not quite a father, because he was too much of a big child for that, but he was one of the most important people in Harry's life nonetheless.  
"You have, but I think it is really not your fault this time," he started softly.  
Sirius blinked at him, "What do you mean?"  
"Do you remember our argument yesterday?" Harry asked carefully.  
Sirius's face fell even more, but his godfather nodded without further comment.  
Sighing Harry said, "I don't want to talk about our fight, so don't look at me like that. In fact, I think what I will tell you will make you very happy," before you get very angry when you see me introducing Lucius this afternoon, he added mentally.  
"Really?" Sirius beamed at him.  
"Yeah," Harry laughed. "I told you that I have come into my inheritance," he continued and Sirius nodded, looking, as if he did not understand what Harry was getting at. "Since then I am able to notice certain things. I can smell them, like Remus can." Sirius' eyes widened in surprise at that tidbit of information. "That is how I found out who his mate is," Harry continued.  
"Who is it? You have to tell me, Harry!" Sirius had jumped to his feet a mixture of hurt and anger in his eyes, probably because he still thought that he had lost the man he loved.  
"It is you," he said with a smile.  
"Me? That can't be, you must be wrong," Sirius glared at him and sat down again.  
"No, I am not," he crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared back at his godfather, without really meaning it.  
"But why didn't he ever tell me that I am his mate?" Sirius asked in confusion.  
"Because he is the submissive of the two of you," Harry explained, but realized that he would have to elaborate, when Sirius only continued to stare at him.  
"Look, I am a magical creature as well, and so I know that it is impossible for a submissive to make the first step, they will suffer in silence forever if their dominant doesn't notice them."  
"Why?" Sirius asked.  
"I don't know what the correct procedures for werewolves are, but as far as I know, there are some submissive creatures who must be courted, others want to be overpowered, and still others must be taken by force the first time."  
Sirius made a disgusted face: "You mean rape?"  
Harry winced, but he knew that Lucius had been shocked after their mating as well, as he had probably feared the same. Thinking about his answer, he said carefully, "I don't know if Remus needs something like that, I doubt it, but if he does it would not be rape for him."  
"How do you know so much about this topic?" Sirius asked astonished.  
"Instincts," he answered truthfully and simply.  
Sirius smiled sheepishly at him, and then sobered once more: "How will I find out what he wants from me?"  
This really was not an easy question. With him and Lucius, their instincts had taken over, Lucius' even before his own, but they were both magical creatures, so would it work the same way with a wizard and a werewolf? Most likely not, but he could not tell his godfather to just go for it and push Remus onto a bed... he honestly doubted that werewolves had the same rituals as vampires. To be honest, Harry even thought that their extreme mating was only possible due to the fact that they were dead and thus experienced pain on a whole different level.  
"I think you should just invite him on a date and see what happens. Just treat him as you would treat any other wizard," he advised finally.  
"You really must think me stupid," Sirius grinned, and Harry grinned back replying, "Not stupid, only very blind, and I certainly would have thought that you would have more courage. How long have you been secretly in love with Moony?"  
Sirius blushed nearly as darkly as Ron always did, "Since our last year at Hogwarts. At first, I never had the courage to tell him, and then I was imprisoned. When I was free again twelve years had passed, and I was afraid about what might have changed between us."  
"Nothing has changed. The love of a mate is undying. It might not always be love at first sight, but after it has developed, it will never die or go away again," Harry said, his thoughts wandering to his own mate. He was still not sure how he felt about Lucius, or maybe, deep down he already knew, but he was still too scared to admit his feelings for the arrogant aristocrat.  
"Thank you Harry for telling me, and I think Remus will thank you sooner or later as well," Sirius said and stood up, eagerness shining in his eyes.  
Harry felt happy for the Animagus and the werewolf, who had suffered so much in their lives.  
"Can you tell Ron and Hermione that I am in the library, and ask them if they want to join me for a game of chess?" He asked his godfather, before he could rush back to his mate.  
"I will tell them," Sirius promised and hurried off.  
Chuckling, Harry closed his eyes for a moment. He hoped that the two wizards would work things out; they deserved a bit of happiness.  
He wanted to day dream a bit about his own mate, but instead his thoughts wandered to Snape. The man had not returned yet, but surely he would be there for the meeting, well at least Harry hoped so.  
He would like to know if Snape was even trying to find a way to prove to him that he wanted to be his father, but somehow, he could not imagine it. When had the Potions Master ever done something for another person? Most likely when his mother had still been alive, or maybe even for Dumbledore once or twice, but surely not often.  
Growling silently, Harry asked himself why he was even thinking about this. Was he so desperate for a father, that he was going to waste time pondering what his father might do to prove himself? Mulling over it wouldn't change whether Snape was going to do something, or speed it up, whatever it was.  
There really was no reason to be so pathetic, he had Sirius and Remus, who were no parents, but as close to relatives as he had ever known (he did not count the Dursley's) and he had the Weasley's. So looking at the situation from that angle, he had two uncles, a mother, a father, seven brothers and a sister (who was in love with him - but he would ignore that fact, just as he ignored the Dursley's).  
So why did he still wish to have a real father? Maybe because he had always been locked up at his aunt's and uncle's house whenever an important event occurred. He had celebrated Christmas mostly alone, just as he had his birthdays, with the exception of last year, and that was not enough time to really feel a part of the Weasley family.  
He heard two pairs of feet coming down the hall towards the library and a moment later his friends entered which distracted him from his gloomy thoughts.  
"How did it go with Sirius?" asked Ron, as he flopped down in the seat Sirius had abandoned only minutes ago.  
"Better than I had expected. I told him that he would have to take the initiative and advised him to take Moony on a date," Harry told his friends, grinning broadly.  
"That sounds good," Hermione said approvingly, the unofficial expert on love matters in their trio.  
Harry and Ron set up their sides of the chess board and began to play. They only took a break during lunch, at which Sirius and Remus were somehow missing, as was Snape once again, and then went back into the library.  
Harry succeeded in a standoff twice, impressing both of his friends. It was nice to spend their time together like this, with Hermione reading silently and propped up against one of the old and dusty book shelves, while Ron and him played chess.  
At a quarter to five, the library door opened again, and as Harry looked up, he saw Dumbledore walking around the corner.  
"Ah, here you are my boy. Are you ready to replace me as the head of the Order?" the Headmaster asked, smiling gently at him, his eyes twinkling again. Harry was happy to see that; he had never wanted to hurt Dumbledore so deeply that the gleam in his eyes would go away.  
"I am," he answered, grinning. The thought of being able to add Lucius to the order was enough to let him forget all of the responsibilities he would take on with the job.  
"Very well," Dumbledore said, and looked down at the game of chess. "I see that you have improved."  
"Snape taught me how to play properly, there wasn't much to do at Privet Drive," Harry answered.  
Dumbledore frowned at the use of the Professor's last name, "It would probably be too much to hope for the two of you to make peace within one day, but I must admit that I had hoped."  
"We are working on it," Harry said, without explaining further.  
"We should go downstairs," Hermione interrupted them suddenly, luckily ending the awkward conversation.  
"You are right, Miss Granger. Do I assume correctly, that your friends will join you?" Dumbledore asked.  
"Yes, they will. Ron, would you go and collect your brothers and Ginny?" Harry questioned his friend, who nodded and went ahead.  
Harry felt nervousness rise inside his stomach, squirming like a captured animal. He had done his best to not think about the consequences his action might have, but now all his fears came to the forefront of his mind. What if Sirius and Remus hated him for taking the leadership away from Dumbledore? After all, the man was a famous idol for the Light Side, a symbol since his defeat of Grindelwald. Or would they just laugh at the boy, who wanted to take on so many responsibilities?  
No, he could not believe that they would not hate him, even though they might not understand him, either.  
Ron was waiting with his siblings in front of the stairs that lead to the kitchen. Fred and George were grinning widely and immediately started in on teasing Harry.  
"We knew..." Fred started.  
"...that you were up to something..." George continued and his brother ended,  
"...when you disappeared with our dear little brother and Hermione to Hogwarts last night."  
"Did you listen?" Harry asked.  
"No," Fred said sadly.  
"Sadly, we only arrived when you tossed the Floo powder into the fireplace," George added with a large sigh.  
"Why were you downstairs anyway?" Ron asked.  
"We wanted to get a snack," George grinned.  
"So you have something planned?" Ginny asked curiously. Harry really disliked the excited gleam in her eyes, it made him feel like one of those muggle pop stars who had a crazy fan girl, and he certainly was no idol.  
"Well, Ms. Weasley, you will find out soon, but I fear we have to go downstairs now, the meeting is about to begin," Dumbledore chimed in and led the way, effectively cutting her off.  
Harry smirked at her sour look and Ron snickered, the youngest Weasley girl was obviously not happy that she didn't have a chance to talk to him in peace, let alone in private.  
The small group made their way downstairs to an already full kitchen. As soon as Molly saw Harry and her children enter, she scowled at Dumbledore and protested, "Albus, I thought that we agreed that they are still too young!"  
"Yes, Molly, we agreed," Dumbledore said and Harry could just imagine him making the announcement by adding: "But you have to discuss it with Harry now."  
Molly deepened her frown, but apparently decided to not continue arguing just yet.  
They sat down, Harry next to Dumbledore, drawing a lot of the attention to him and his friends next to him, whilst Ron's siblings searched for some free spots further down the table.  
Harry watched the group of witches and wizards who had already arrived, but noticed that some were still missing, most notably the Hogwarts Professors: McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid, and naturally Snape.  
It bothered Harry that the man had still not appeared. Had he run off because he didn't want to deal with him after all? Glaring at the empty cup in front of him, he tried to remind himself that Snape was not important right now, but the meeting he was about to participate in soon, was.  
Looking up again, he tried to find out how many faces he already knew, because he clearly did not know all of them. He saw Tonks sitting next to Remus, who looked much happier than this morning. Next to him sat a disgruntled Sirius, who glared at the pink haired witch who clearly tried to flirt with the werewolf, but Remus seemed to not even to notice her attempts.  
Then there was Alastor Moody, who was intently watching the room and the upper levels of Grimmauld Place with his magical eye. Next to him sat Kingsley, and then Bill and Charlie Weasley. To Harry's surprise, he also saw the Dursley's' old neighbour, Mrs. Figg, the nurse of Hogwarts Madame Pomfrey, and to his dismay, Mundungus Fletcher.  
The sound of footsteps were heard and Harry turned his head to see Professor McGonagall enter, followed by Professor Sprout the head of Hufflepuff. Five minutes later Hagrid appeared with Flitwick. He waved at Harry, a broad grin forming under his black beard, and went to stand in the corner behind Minerva, obviously not trusting the old looking chairs enough to sit down on them. Harry thought that Hagrid was probably better off standing as well, as the chairs creaked under his weight also.  
"Do you think that he will come at all?" Ron whispered in his ear, and Harry knew that he meant his new father.  
Dumbledore stood up to start the meeting, but Harry answered anyway:  
"I don't..." he broke off, when his ears picked up the familiar sound of soft, nearly silent footsteps and the rustling sound of a billowing, black cloak. Harry tried not to become nervous, telling himself that Snape would not have had enough time to find some way to prove his honesty to him anyway, but a knot was forming in his stomach, and Harry just knew, despite all of his attempts to convince himself of the opposite, that he would be disappointed when Snape arrived without having done anything. A moment later Snape appeared in the doorway, immediately searching for his son, and as their eyes met, Harry gasped in shock.  
Sure, he had told Snape, he should prove to him that he wanted to be his father, but he had not expected this. What the man had done showed that he not only wanted to be his father now, but that he wanted to stay his father for the rest of his eternal childhood.  
Snape's black irises were framed by a shining red ring, his skin had paled even further and two long fangs were just visible between the thin lips, reflecting the candle light. He had dark shadows on his cheeks and under his eyes, similar to Harry's and Lucius' and when the man moved a hand; he saw long claws and a faded mark on the underside of his left wrist. His hair was also a shiny black now and no longer greasy.  
"No," Harry breathed weakly and Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione eyed him worriedly.  
Harry had not wanted this. He had not wanted for the man to die for him, but he had, only to be able to stay by his side for all eternity. A hesitant, but warm feeling mixed with the shock in his chest and with the nervousness in his stomach. Snape really had been serious last night.  
"What...?" Hermione asked silently, as if afraid that anybody else might hear her, but Harry easily picked it up with his vampire senses.  
Harry kept staring into those black eyes as he automatically answered, "You can't see it, because he's wearing glamour, but he has forced his body to go through the same inheritance I did."  
Hermione gasped and clasped her hands in front of her mouth and Ron's eyes widened comically.  
How had Snape become a vampire? How had he accomplished it? And then it dawned on Harry; Snape had gone to Lucius after their talk, and his mate would have been able to transform him the common way, not like he and Harry had, through a curse, but by biting him and... Harry didn't know how exactly, he was so confused that his instincts didn't provide him with the answer this time.  
Snape sat down across from him, still holding his gaze and his eyes told Harry how deep his wish was to be there for him, to make up for the lost years and the hateful words.  
It would not be easy to get past all that had happened, but Harry decided in that moment, that he would try and do his best as well; Snape had proven his honesty to him and so much more. He had given up his life, literally, and his humanity for him; the least he could do was try to become his son as the man so clearly wished.  
Dumbledore cleared his throat and finally started the meeting, "Welcome, everyone. I hope that you all arrived safely and that it was not too much of a difficulty to come here at such short notice," He gave a short pause and smiled at everybody. Harry stared another moment at his father, before he turned to Dumbledore and concentrated on his next words, "I imagine you are all curious to hear why I have called for this gathering so suddenly, so let me calm your nerves first before I elaborate."  
Harry sighed inwardly, Dumbledore sure could talk, but he was not a bad public speaker, and it was one of his many qualities that made him so popular with everyone; he would surly pale in comparison.  
"Voldemort has not attacked or infiltrated the ministry, at least not in the last month. He is not the reason, why we are here."  
A collective sigh came from those gathered at the table.  
"But why are we here, then?" Sirius asked and everybody snickered, it was just so typical, that the man who lived at Grimmauld Place would ask that question.  
"I will come to that point now. I have come to realize that I have grown too old to lead you all, and thus, I want to give the leadership of the order to somebody else."  
All eyes turned to Professor McGonagall, who quickly lifted her hands in denial. Harry could see the confusion in everyone's eyes, with the exception of Snape, Ron, Hermione, and of course Fred and George, who seemed to guess what was coming next, and grinned excitedly.  
"As the main figure and the most important person in this war, Harry and I agreed that he will replace me as the head of our little organization."  
Gasps went through the room, and Molly, who had kept silent until now, spoke up again, "You cannot be serious, Albus! The boy is far too young for this dangerous task!"  
Ron was frowning at Dumbledore's words, but Harry could accept that the old man might want to save face by telling everybody that they had come to a mutual understanding… which they had in a sense, but not before Harry had threatened him by not helping the Light Side any longer. Maybe Dumbledore even wanted to give him an easier start by telling them all in this manner; it would after all not sit well with everyone if they were told what had truly happened the evening before in the Headmaster's Office.  
"You are right, Molly, Harry is young, but he has lived through more danger than even I have and it is not his duty to replace me, but his right, and he wishes to do so," Dumbledore answered calmly.  
"Of course he wishes to do the job, he is young and naive," Molly argued.  
"Harry is not naive, Molly," Sirius defended his godson heatedly. "He might be young and sometimes still a bit childish, but he is not naive. He has seen far too much to have any illusions about the truth of the war."  
Molly glared at the Animagus, but Snape intervened before she could say anything else,  
"I for once must agree with the mutt. I lived for two weeks with Harry, and he is wiser than anybody else his age, and certainly more so than many in this room." Snape sneered for good measure.  
The quiet mumbling that had started with Molly and Dumbledore's argument ended abruptly, as everybody gaped at the Potions Master, who responded to the attention by scowling darkly.  
After a moment of shocked silence, Arthur laid a hand on his wife's shoulder and said quietly, "I know you are all just worried, but Dumbledore is right. Harry has to fight You-Know-Who in the end and it is his right to decide how we should fight him."  
Harry saw Remus nodding; the werewolf looked pale and concerned, but he still saw the truth in Arthur's words.  
"I trust Harry, he is a good kid!" Hagrid bellowed from his corner, and Fred and George started clapping in agreement.  
"To be a good kid is not enough!" Moody scoffed and his magical eye fixed itself on Harry. Harry determinedly held the gaze; he didn't want to seem weak in front of the old Auror. Moody was unimpressed, "We need a competent and experienced leader, not a boy. Don't be a fool, Dumbledore."  
"But I always was an old fool," Dumbledore smiled joyfully.  
"Is there no way to include Harry more without making him the head of the Order?" Charlie asked from his place in the corner.  
"Of course there would be, but Harry and I agreed on this and I have much to pay him back for," Dumbledore explained, making the whole room frown.  
"I...trust Harry. Last summer, he protected his cousin against Dementors," Mrs. Figg added hesitantly.  
"You are surely talented, but to become the leader of the order is a huge responsibility," Remus interjected. "I will not say that you cannot do it, because I am sure you could, but do you really want this duty?"  
"It doesn't matter how much more I have to do as long as this war ends soon," Harry responded fiercely, he would not let himself be persuaded otherwise, not after he had come so far, and even convinced Dumbledore to help him. Remus sighed, but nodded.  
Professor McGonagall closed her eyes, and then said with a shaky voice, "I do not think that this is your wisest decision Albus." She turned to Harry and added with a much more steady voice. "However, I will not abandon the Order, and will support you to the best of my abilities. Albus has never been wrong to this day, and I hope that I soon will come to understand his decision to give this important position to you."  
Harry nodded in acceptance, not saying that in his opinion Dumbledore had made quite a few mistakes, especially in the last few years.  
"If this is settled now, we shall proceed with the ceremony. Harry will not only become the new leader of the Order of the Phoenix, but also the new Secret Keeper," Dumbledore turned to Harry, "That means, that you have to tell everybody the location of the Headquarters again, or they will not be able to find the house after they leave today."  
"Ok, Professor." Harry agreed.  
"Please, take out your wands; the more witnesses we have, the better," Dumbledore announced and everybody obliged.  
Harry pulled out his own wand for the first time since his transformation, but scowled at the wood, as it felt somewhat strange in his hand. Trying for a few sparks, he realized that his wand didn't respond at all. Frowning he looked up to Dumbledore, who had been watching him.  
"Try your new wand. Something drastic must have happened to bring you of age at twelve, most likely your old wand does not suit your magic anymore," the headmaster whispered quietly.  
Pocketing his old wand, Harry pulled out the Elder Wand, which was still in his breast pocket from the day before. He instantly felt a difference. The Elder Wand seemed even more fitting than his old one ever had.  
Dumbledore then turned so that he was facing Harry directly, and Harry hastily did the same. His heart started to race, even though the acceptance of his guardian had calmed him down a bit, but still, now was the moment where his life would change once more, only this time because of his own decisions.  
Dumbledore motioned for him to touch his wand with his own, before he started to speak,  
"I, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore hereby transfer the power of leadership over the Order of the Phoenix and the duty of Secret Keeper to Harry Severus James Potter." As Dumbledore spoke, silver letters which looked like Pensieve Memories formed a contract in the air in front of them. When the man had finished his declaration, his signature appeared at the bottom of the incorporeal document.  
Harry's eyes had darted through the room at the mention of his full name, but luckily everybody else was deep in concentration, and no one had noticed the addition to his name.  
"Now, you have to confirm the contract," Dumbledore explained and Harry gulped once, before loud and clearly stating, "I, Harry Severus James Potter hereby accept the leadership of the Order of the Phoenix and the duties as its Secret Keeper." His signature appeared on the contract as well, and golden light erupted from every wand, forming a net around him and the headmaster.  
Harry could feel the power shifting from Dumbledore to him. Suddenly, he was subconsciously aware of the complex wards of Grimmauld Place, and the Secret of the Headquarters laid like a heavy stone in his mind.  
The golden lights disappeared slowly, but he remained standing with his wand touching Dumbledore's, until everybody else lowered their wands and the old wizard took a step back, breaking the connection.  
Dumbledore smiled softly at him and stretched out his hand, "I wish you all the best in your new position, Harry."  
"Thank you, Albus," he smiled back, shaking the hand.  
He turned back to the people and met the proud eyes of Snape, Sirius, and Ron and the concerned eyes of Hermione, Remus, and Molly.  
"So Harry, do you wish to say or announce something, or shall we end the meeting for today?" Dumbledore asked.  
"I would like to announce something," Harry said, just as he heard the front door opening and soft, long strides making their way down. His heart started to race in anticipation and he had to force himself to concentrate.  
"I want to introduce a new member of our Order," he announced only a second before Lucius stepped into the kitchen, bringing his snake cane down on the stony floor. The sound echoed through the room and everybody turned around to see who had joined them.

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	13. Chapter 13: Welcoming Lucius Malfoy

**Chapter 13: Welcoming Lucius Malfoy**

 **HP**

Harry took a moment to stare at his mate, he looked so gorgeous! Lucius was wearing tight fitting, black pants which made Harry want to just stare at his dominant's arse, a crisp white shirt beneath a waistcoat made of a beautiful, shimmering silvery fabric, that hugged his broad chest perfectly and enhanced every muscle without making him look bulgy, and over it all a long, black cloak with silver clasps, whilst his mating mark was hidden under a pair of expensive looking dragon hide gloves. The picture was perfectly finished off by the famous snake cane in the aristocrats hand; the man just looked incomplete without it at Privet Drive.  
Sadly, his happy drooling was interrupted when the others realized who had just stepped into their kitchen:  
"Malfoy!" Sirius hissed and pulled out his wand and jumped up, quickly followed by Remus and Arthur followed them with a muttered Death Eater!  
Lucius merely lifted his trademark eyebrow, no expression whatsoever on his handsome face.  
"How did you get in here?" Sirius snarled, his eyes flashing.  
Harry watched a small smirk form on the corners of Lucius' lips, as his mate said smoothly:  
"I was invited by your new leader."  
"Don't make me laugh Lucius, Harry would never invite scum like you," Sirius laughed and Harry quickly squashed the rising growl in his chest. He had known that it would not be easy to convince the order of Lucius' loyalty, but he had not expected that they would instantly jump up ready to duel the man.  
"You are a filthy liar Lucius Malfoy," Molly said and glared at the man. "Your whole family has always been."  
"Why do you not ask the boy before you start attacking me? Maybe I am telling the truth?" Lucius suggested, not changing his relaxed posture, straight, but slightly leaning on his cane.  
"We don't have to ask him, everybody in this room knows that you are one of Voldemort's men, we were just never able to catch you!" Tonks growled.  
"Ah yes, you are working as an Auror, Ms. Tonks," Lucius commented without putting any feeling behind his velvet sounding words.  
A shiver went down Harry's spine at the deep purr of his mate and he barely restrained a moan in front of everybody. After their forced separation, the few hours yesterday had obviously not been enough to satisfy his submissive instincts.  
"Well, whether I was a Death Eater or not, is of no concern right now, because as you said, the Ministry was never been able to prove their accusations."  
"I have had enough of your foul talk," Sirius snapped and pointed his wand at Lucius, who still hadn't pull his own wand or even stepped out of the way, before flicking it.  
Harry reacted instinctively and quickly; pulling his own wand from his pocket he shouted:  
"Protego!" Sirius' red curse reflected off his shield and crashed into the ceiling, making dust and stones particles rain down on them.  
"Enough!" Harry snapped. "Please sit back down and I will explain everything."  
Sirius stared at him in utter shock and confusion; so did everyone else, even Dumbledore. The headmaster blinked in surprise, but to Harry's relief a small smile started to stretch the headmasters lips and his eyes started to twinkle even more. Well, maybe he should not be surprised, Dumbledore had always been different and ready to hand out second chances.  
"Man, don't tell me that the prick is telling the truth," Ron whispered into his ear, one hand in front of his mouth so as to stop his words from being heard, but Harry knew that neither Lucius, nor Snape had missed anything. He didn't answer Ron but only glared at the witches and Wizards in front of him until they had finally seated themselves and the low muttering had died down.  
"When Professor Snape apparated me to Privet Drive we not only bought Nagini with us accidentally but also Lucius as he had grabbed my cloak as well," he started his story, but was immediately interrupted by Ginny:  
"Lucius? You call him by his first name?" The girl asked incredulous.  
"I do," Harry affirmed and waited another moment, until the second surge of whispering and muttering had calmed down.  
"We immediately bound Lucius and Snape explained a ritual to me, which would not only keep the Blood Wards after the death of my relatives stable, but also bind the man temporarily to me. We obviously could not just let him go, unless we wanted a whole horde of Death Eaters at my house."  
"So he is a Death Eater!" Tonks exclaimed victoriously.  
"He was a Death Eater," Harry corrected. "Now he is my spy within Voldemort's ranks and the Ministry."  
"Harry, are you sure he is trust worthy?" Remus asked calmly.  
Harry smiled thankfully at one of the few people who asked first and shouted later.  
"I am."  
Ron snorted next to him and Hermione asked with a frown: "Why?"  
"Because we reached an understanding. Some things can even make the most loyal follower betray his master; besides, he is still bound to me. Not as tightly as before, but he is," Harry described his mating bond to the aristocrat.  
Looking around, he saw many attendants frown. They all knew that he had referred to the murder of Lucius' wife and son. It seemed, he had chosen the right words, as they started to consider.  
"But is it enough to invite him directly into the Order?" McGonagall asked.  
Not hesitating a moment, he turned to his Head of House: "He has proven that he is trustworthy to me, which should be enough for now. Neither of you trusted Professor Snape in the beginning and many of you still have doubts, but Albus' words were enough; this is the same, only with two other people."  
"But Dumbledore was already much older and wiser back then," Kingsley argued.  
Dumbledore cleared his throat and all eyes fixed on him: "Harry is right, he is the leader now and he has my full support. If he says, that Lucius has proven his loyalty to him, I will support and trust him in his decision."  
"I think you are right, Albus," Arthur said calmly. "We accepted Harry as our leader and should treat him like it. Furthermore, we have many eyes in the ministry, but Malfoy has different contacts than Tonks and Kingsley or even I have, he could be a great help."  
"You are all foolish! A Death Eater never changes!" Moody grunted, glaring first at Lucius and then at Snape.  
"I will not say that your concerns are without any reason. All I ask of you is to give him a chance, because as Arthur said, he can be of great use to the Order," Harry spoke up again.  
"But Harry, do you really want to..." George started and his brother took over:  
"...have him constantly around?"  
In unison they said: "He is a Malfoy after all and Malfoy's are all huge prats!"  
Harry had to smirk; the twins had a way of insulting his dominant that could not make him seriously angry, maybe because he knew that they would give the nobleman a chance regardless of what the others would say.  
"Yeah well, I survived two weeks with him and Snape locked up in one house and I even had to go shopping at a muggle grocery store with them!" He smirked.  
At this comment, even Sirius had to snort.  
"Ok Harry, we will accept him for now," Remus said and pulled Sirius back onto his chair; he glared at his friend but didn't argue. Harry somehow had the slight feeling that Sirius would only be the dominant in their relationship when it concerned the bedroom, but not on many other occasions.  
Turning back to the group, he waited for any confirmation or disapproval.  
"Well, I still think it is a stupid idea to take him in, but I promised to support you," Ron huffed and Hermione nodded: "I am sceptical as well and," she turned and glared to Lucius, who was unimpressed, "I will have an eye on you, but I agree as well."  
One after the other they all slowly agreed, only Ginny would not be persuaded.  
"I will not agree with you on this one," she said as if it was important to him what she thought.  
"Than let's proceed," Harry said and then remembered that he had no idea how to add a new member to the order and turned questioningly to Dumbledore, who smiled kindly:  
"In the past we had no real contract for members, but since the incident with Peter you have to perform a mild binding contract. It will prevent him giving any information away."  
"But how can Snape work with this kind of contract?" Harry asked, knowing that his father had to give Voldemort at least some information to continue as a double agent.  
"Severus has a different contract. He can tell anything, unless you order him clearly not to talk about certain matters," Dumbledore explained.  
"So, how do I perform the contract?" Harry asked again.  
"Touch the chest of the new member above his heart with your wand, but there can be no robe in the way, you have to touch the bare skin."  
Harry nodded and motioned to Lucius to come over, who wordlessly obliged and unbuttoned first his silver waistcoat and then the white button down, exposing his muscled chest. Harry's eyes started to roam his mate's torso, but he quickly caught himself and pulled his wand out, laying the tip over Lucius heart.  
"Now say: I, Harry Severus James Potter confirm you, Lucius Capricornius Malfoy, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will hold our secrets and dedicate your life to the fight against the rising darkness," Dumbledore explained.  
Harry nodded and repeated: "I, Harry Severus James Potter confirm you, Lucius Capricornius Malfoy, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will hold our secrets and dedicate your life to the fight against the rising darkness." He felt a connection form between him and Lucius, but the feeling disappeared again quickly and he took his wand away, looking up into the silver-red eyes of his mate for a moment. Lucius didn't respond in any way, he did not smirk, or nod, but his eyes shone with pride and the one feeling Harry still didn't want to name.  
Lucius stepped back and went over to Snape.  
"So, whoever wants to join as well can now come forwards," he announced and as he had expected, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny instantly stood up.  
"Oh no! It is agreed that no one under the age of seventeen is allowed into the order!" Molly protested.  
Harry saw his father and mate raise an eyebrow; sometimes you would think that these two men were related, with their stoic masks and the raising of their brows.  
"I never agreed to that and I believe that we need more members at Hogwarts," Harry explained calmly. Slowly, Molly was getting on his nerves with her constant protesting, not even Sirius was that bad.  
"We already have five teachers at Hogwarts!" She argued.  
"Right now we have no members within the student body, but with Hermione, Ron, Fred, George and Ginny we will cover three years."  
"There is no need to cover three years!"  
"There is. Many Death Eater children are attending Hogwarts; even though they are not in his ranks until they have turned seventeen, they will still pick up on many things their parents discuss or even tell them, that is why we need more ears within Hogwarts. And don't forget that we have many Muggleborns who might need to be informed when Voldemort plans a huge attack," he countered.  
"We can do that as well," Molly argued.  
"I know, but my decision is not only a matter of need, it is one of fairness as well. Ron, Fred, George and Ginny are in as much danger as you and Arthur are, only because they are your children, but until now they were unaware about what is going on because they were not allowed to take part in the Order meetings and that endangers them even more," Harry turned to his friends, ending the conversation; no one would take him serious if he argued for hours about every little detail.  
He gave them a sign and Ron was the first in the line. The redhead pulled his shirt over his head and Harry started to repeat the contract words. It was a wonder that no one had picked up on the addition to his name still, but apparently, they were all too distracted right now.  
The nomination of Ron and his brothers went by quickly and smoothly, but when Hermione stepped in front of him blushing and started to open the first button of her blouse he wanted to hand his wand over to a female member and hide somewhere in embarrassment.  
To his relief Hermione only had to open her upper three buttons and Harry could lay his wand just on the patch of bare skin above her bra. He said the incantation much faster than he had done before and was relieved when the bushy haired girl stepped to the side and started to redo her blouse.  
His relief was short lived as Ginny stepped in front of him, mirroring her brother and pulling her shirt over her head, all the while batting her lashes.  
In the background he saw Lucius glaring and quietly baring his fangs, his dominant seemed quite possessive and Harry got the feeling that the last week at Grimmauld Place would be much more complicated than he had previously thought.  
Laying his wand on Ginny's chest, he focused his eyes on a spot on her shoulder and said:  
"I, Harry Severus James Potter confirm you, Ginevra Weasley, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will hold our secrets and dedicate your life to the fight against the rising darkness."  
Ginny beamed up at him, and to his shock stepped forwards to hug him and whispered in his ears: "I am so happy to finally be yours."  
Her breast pressed uncomfortably against his chest and he could smell her thickly sweet perfume. It felt so wrong, he just wanted to shove her off, but his body had frozen.  
When his mind had recovered and she had already let go of him and sat back down in her seat her words registered. A very audible, at least to him, growl and the heavy scent of rage came from Lucius' direction.  
Harry hastily cleared his throat: "If there aren't any other questions, I will end the meeting for today." Looking around, he saw that everybody was shaking their heads. "Thank you all for coming to this meeting on such a short notice," and with that, chattering started and everybody stood up.  
Harry watched as every order member slowly left the kitchen, until only Lucius, Snape, Hermione, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore and the Weasley's remained.  
They sat around the table; no one daring to speak. Harry, who had felt very confident only minutes ago, now felt very insecure. Molly was still silently glaring at him and Sirius looked as if he wanted to say something, but didn't know what exactly or how he should phrase it. The thought of Sirius being disappointed with him, or believing him crazy let him shrink in his seat and stare at the wooden table top. He had done what he thought was right, now was the moment where he would face the consequences. He knew that Remus had practically shut his godfather up and that Sirius would not have criticized him in front of the entire order, but they were mostly gone now.  
Harry's nervousness grew even further when Sirius remained silent and it was Dumbledore who finally spoke up first:  
"You have done very well Harry. I myself could not have done better and I am proud of you. It is no easy task to forgive and give second chances, but you once again proved the greatness of your heart.  
Harry smiled softly, the praise of the wise wizard meant a lot to him: "Thank you Albus."  
The wizened man turned to the Malfoy-Lord and told him: "I am afraid, you will learn that even most wizards and witches from the Light Side are not very forgiving. It will not be an easy time for you. Severus has now been working for me going on eleven years and he still is not fully trusted."  
Lucius nodded curtly: "I am sure that I will be able to handle the distrust."  
Harry saw his guardians and the Weasley's frown at the mention of eleven years, they still didn't know about his true age and were thus, still under the influence of Dumbledore's Dark Ritual, thinking that Harry was already fifteen, which would mean that Snape has been working for Dumbledore for fourteen years already. Harry had to admit that he was impressed at how thorough the ritual was, it affected all information that was connected to his age.  
"Where do I stay?" Lucius asked then and stood up in a fluid movement.  
"We have no free room," Molly huffed, clearly not happy with the idea that a Malfoy would live in the same house as her children.  
"Molly," Arthur reprimanded her, much nicer than Harry would have done at that moment. "Lucius is now a member of the Order, whether you like it or not, and he has a right to stay here like everybody else."  
Molly threw her husband a glare as well, but gave in with a huff: "Maybe the attic, if you can convince Kreacher to clean up there."  
"I will show you the way," Harry said and stood up, hoping of some private time with his gorgeous dominant; but to his dismay his over protective friends followed close.  
"We will accompany you, just to be safe," Ron explained with a fierce glare at Lucius.  
"I can promise you, Mr. Weasley, there is no need to worry about Mr. Potter. I did not kill him during our time at his home..." Lucius pronounced the word home with more distaste than he had ever done before "...where it would have been much easier than at the Headquarters of your little army."  
"Well, we would rather be safe than sorry," Hermione replied coldly and motioned for Harry to go ahead. He rolled his eyes; it seemed he would need luck to get some alone time with Lucius.  
"I will go to my room as well," Snape said, giving him a look that clearly said that it was his turn to come to him if he wished to talk.  
Nodding shortly, he led the way upstairs. He could feel Lucius eyeing the dingy house, with its dirty carpets, grey walls, worn down sofas and dusty shelves.  
"As I understand, Black owns a House Elf," Lucius commented, but Harry nodded anyway.  
"So tell me Harry, why is this place so dirty?"  
"Because Kreacher refuses to work for any of us and many rooms are still cursed. Your in-laws were a very special bunch," Harry explained dryly.  
"Former in-laws," Lucius corrected him. "and I already knew the last part. The Blacks have lost their sense of grandeur a long time ago."  
"Yeah and the Malfoy's haven't," Ron snorted.  
"Indeed, Mr. Weasley. You will not find any cursed room or shrunken heads at my home."  
"But your minds are as rotten as theirs was," the redhead muttered.  
"Ron, please. Don't make this any harder," Harry turned around and glared at his friend; he really didn't want his mate to leave the headquarters after barely an hour, only because his friend didn't know how to behave politely.  
Ron huffed, but fell silent.  
"Maybe I should try and set this House Elf straight?" Lucius asked nonchalantly.  
Harry saw Hermione open her mouth; surely about to say something about House Elf rights (she had this thing since she had met Dobby and Kreacher) and hastily said:  
"You can try it. If there is somebody he will listen to, then it's you."  
Hermione threw him a scandalised look, but he ignored her.  
"What was his name again?" Lucius asked.  
"Kreacher!" he called and the filthy creature appeared with a loud sound in front of them.  
Lucius wrinkled his nose as he eyed the dirty pillowcase which Kreacher wore and his greasy hair.  
"Mudbloods and Bloodtraitors," muttered the elf, not noticing the Malfoy-Lord.  
"Elf!" Lucius snapped. Kreacher went rigid, turned and stared with huge, watery eyes at the aristocrat.  
"Explain to me why you have neglected the home of your honourable family so much?" Lucius demanded.  
"Only worthless scum is living now here, Master Lucius Malfoy, Sir," Kreacher squirmed.  
"So you took the liberty to neglect your work?"  
Kreacher wanted to say something, but Lucius did not let him speak: "You are a House Elf, your duty is to follow orders and to keep the house of your master clean, regardless of your opinion of him and not to make your own decisions."  
"Please forgive stupid Kreacher, Sir! Kreacher will do everything honourable Master demands to please him!" The Elf whined, clearly devastated.  
Ron gave a choking noise at Kreacher's sudden humbleness and Harry wrinkled his nose in disdain, only Hermione looked as if she felt pity for the elf and glared at Lucius.  
"Go and clean the attic and prepare me a bed there. When you are finished start with the rest of the house and do not stop unless you are finished," his mate ordered and Kreacher bowed deeply and popped out of the room.  
"What a disgrace for a House Elf," Lucius muttered and turned back to Harry. "Shall we continue on our way?"  
"Stuck up bastard," Ron muttered, too silent for human ears to hear, but Harry of course did.  
"Yeah, let's go upstairs," Harry agreed, thinking it would be best to separate his friends and his mate soon. He climbed up the first flight of stairs and pointed at a door to the left when they had reached the first floor  
"This is my room. I share it with Mione and Ron," he explained, so that Lucius would be able to find him and be warned that he would most likely not be alone in there.  
"You share a room?" Lucius asked smoothly, but Harry could hear the disapproving undertone in his voice; was Lucius suspicious of Ron or Hermione? His dominant really was possessive.  
"I do, we don't have much space here," He answered and went on. As they reached the second floor he pointed to the second door on the left: "This is Snape's room, just in case you would like to visit him, but he mostly spends his time down in the Potions Lab."  
"Nothing new then," Lucius mused and they continued up the last staircase. The temperature got colder with every step, but luckily it would not affect Lucius more than it affected him since his change. Up on the small landing he pushed the wooden door open, which swung inwards with a dissonant sound.  
"Maybe you should share a room with Snape," Harry said as he eyed the attic. It was even dustier in here. Huge cobwebs hung in every corner and the windows seemed to not close correctly. Ron looked frightened and even Hermione was obviously disgusted by all the dirt.  
"It will be fine as soon as Kreacher has finished cleaning," Lucius drawled, eying the small House Elf, who was already eagerly packing things into huge boxes and apparating them away, probably to the basement.  
"Are you sure, Mr. Malfoy?" Hermione asked carefully.  
"I appreciate your concern Miss Granger, but opposed to common belief, I can very well handle living arrangements which do not stand up to my usual standards," Lucius answered politely.  
Harry could barely suppress the snort, remembering how hard a time his mate had had at his muggle home. He was sure that he never had to cope with less than the highest standard before this summer, but as the noble man had somehow survived the two weeks, he supposed that his words were not a complete lie, just a very far stretch of the truth. Then again, these were the tiny things he had started to love about his mate. The man was unbelievably intelligent and combined with his Slytherin character he had no problems to bend the truth to his advantage.  
"The bathroom is on the second floor and we all have to share it, but you are an early riser, so I don't think you will have any problems," Harry explained and watched as Lucius wrinkled his nose. "If you are hungry or thirsty, just grab something from the kitchen," Harry added for their benefit of pretence and then shuffled nervously with his feet; he didn't want to leave already.  
"Harry?" Hermione asked pointedly and he sighed in defeat. He really had no reason to stay in the attic any longer, at least not as long as his friends stood in the doorway, eyeing him and his mate sceptically. Oh, how he wanted to stay for a bit longer. The need to touch his mate had only grown stronger since the man had stepped into Sirius' kitchen and would surely not just disappear. "Well...I will go back to my room then; just knock if you need anything else," he finally said.  
"Very well," Lucius drawled and took a couple of shrunken trunks from his pocket, enlarging them with a flick of his wand.  
"Yeah, you don't need your standards," Ron snorted and Harry had to agree, that the eight trunks were a contrast to Lucius' earlier words.  
"I can assure you Mr Weasley, that there would be no room in this house for even one of us if I had brought my whole wardrobe," Lucius sneered.  
Giving his mate a final look, Harry turned and left the attic with his friends, neither of them commenting on the spoiled aristocrat. They were silent on their way down, everyone deep in their own thoughts. Much had changed this afternoon and Ron and Hermione surely needed time to process everything as well.  
It was already dark outside, but Harry knew that his day at least, was not yet over. Now he would have to face his friend's questions about Lucius and then he would go and find Snape and after that there was still Remus and Sirius, who surely had their own questions as well.  
Halting with his hand on the doorknob to their room, he came to the conclusion that he could at least answer Ron, Hermione, Sirius and Remus' questions at the same time; they would likely be very similar.  
So he turned and proposed: "Let's go to Padfoot and Remi. They will want some answers as well."  
Hermione smiled at him: "You know us too well, Harry," she said fondly and turned around.  
His guardians' rooms were at the end of the hall on the right side. He was just about to knock when Ron stopped him:  
"Man, wait! What if we disturb them?"  
Harry frowned at him; he did not know what his friend wanted to say him: "What do you mean?"  
"What if they are busy doing stuff...you know...after you told Sirius that he is Remus' mate," Ron whispered.  
Hermione rolled his eyes: "I am sure that they are not doing stuff right now. Harry had only told Sirius today and they will likely date first. Even with magical creatures it will not be that different from the way two normal wizards would start their relationship. Besides, they are most likely waiting for Harry after his little surprise this afternoon."  
Harry prayed to which ever god would listen, that she would never find out how his mating had been. He had never regretted that fate had bound him to Lucius and he had even enjoyed their first time; regardless of the shock his mate had given him in the begining when Lucius had pushed him roughly onto the mattress and had started to rip his boxers from his body, but his instincts had kicked in quickly and now it was one of his favourite memories. A blush crept up his neck as he thought about their first night and all the other encounters they had had since then.  
"Harry, man? Are you still with us?" suddenly a hand waved in front of his face and he blinked a few times to get back to reality  
"I really don't think that they are going at it right now," he replied drily and knocked. His friend did not look convinced and he would have told him that he could not hear any moaning from inside the room, but that would have disturbed Ron more, so he waited patiently as one of his guardians approached the door and finally opened it.  
"Harry," Remus greeted him with a soft smile.  
"Hey Moony, can we come in? I thought that you and Sirius might want to talk to me..." he asked quietly.  
"Sure Harry, we had hoped that you would come by. Sirius is a bit unsure since you reprimanded him over his treatment of Snape, so he did not want to search for you. He will be relieved to see you."  
Harry nodded and realized only then what his harsh words had done to his godfather. Sirius was a big child and he truly had wanted him to be a bit nicer to his father, but he had not wanted to alienate him.  
Remus stepped aside and they entered the small bedroom. It was very cramped in here, with Remus' love of books and Sirius' tendency to scatter his clothes everywhere; Harry had to be careful not to stumble over anything. His godfather sat with a dark expression on one of the single beds and his face only lightened up slightly when he saw Harry.  
"Can we sit down somewhere?" Hermione asked, looking around with furrowed eyebrows.  
"You can sit down on my bed," Remus said and pointed to the bed opposite from Sirius'.  
"I really had expected that you would be a more organized person," Hermione mumbled as she sat down.  
"Well, I normally am not this messy, but it is difficult to keep the order with so little space," Remus smiled.  
Harry tiptoed over to the bed as well and sat down next to his bushy haired friend. Ron joined them quickly and Harry waited for Remus or Sirius to say whatever they wanted to get from their chests, or to ask the first question. When he realized that both men were waiting for him to begin, he decided to clear another matter first:  
"Sirius, because I was not happy with your behaviour once, doesn't mean that you can't be your normal self around me. I know that you are a big child and a prankster at heart and I love you for it. I only wanted you to realize that you went too far back then."  
Sirius finally looked up, with relief written in his eyes: "I was afraid that you would not want me as your godfather anymore."  
Harry smiled back: "Of course I want you as my godfather; you are the best godfather I could have wished for!"  
A single tear left Sirius' eyes and Harry stood up and went over to hug the animagus. Sirius pulled him tightly against his chest, hugging him back. Harry laid his head against his godfather's shoulder and closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the closeness and the feeling of love. The question whether he would ever reach this level of trust with Snape entered his mind, but he quickly shoved that thought to the side. Now he had to talk to his guardians and not to his father.  
"You are awfully cold, pup!" Sirius commented as he finally let him go again. Before he could say anything, Sirius had dumped his thick comforter over his head and ordered: "Wrap it tightly around you and then tell me more about the two weeks with...Snape and Malfoy."  
Harry did as told with a smile and then asked: "What do you want to know exactly?"  
"Everything," was Sirius' simple answer.  
Harry lifted an eyebrow; he must have picked it up from one of the two Slytherin which meant that he had obviously spent too much time in their company.  
"Well... The first evening and the day after it was a real hassle. I had to ensure the Blood Wards were strong with Snape's help and bound Lucius to me, because we surely had not reached our agreement at that point and Snape had to leave for a while to try and contact Dumbledore without Voldemort noticing anything."  
"Snape left you alone with Malfoy?" Remus asked, not looking happy at all with that news.  
"Yeah, he did, there was no other option. We had no owl and even if we had one with us, it would have been too dangerous and Voldemort has followers at the Ministry, so connecting the fireplace to the floo system was also risky," he explained and then added with a grin: "But I had an additional safety measure!"  
Sirius grinned wickedly and Ron asked: "What did you do?"  
"Well, Lucius already knew that he would not be able to leave the house and he would starve there if he killed me, but just in case, I bound our wrist together during the night so that I would wake up if he tried to sneak down into the kitchen and get a knife. I mean, you never can be sure with loyal Death Eaters whether they would be ready to sacrifice themselves for their Lord," he explained, his grin broadening.  
"And his wand?" Hermione asked.  
"Really, Hermione, you are always so clever. As if Snape would leave Harry alone with an armed Lucius Malfoy," Ron snickered.  
"So, you survived the night and apparently the next few days as well," Sirius said and motioned for Harry to continue.  
"Yeah, but to go shopping with Lucius Malfoy in a Muggle store was a real challenge."  
Remus snickered.  
"He muttered all the way about Pureblood superiority and the way muggles live, and on top of it all he was stared by nearly every woman and man we crossed on our way," Harry sighed.  
"How disgusting! Who would stare at him?" Ron wrinkled his nose in disgust.  
"Well, he isn't bad on the eye if you don't know his character, which the muggles didn't" Hermione mused.  
"Mione! You are going to give me nightmares!" Ron exclaimed and Sirius looked pained as well. Harry tried to see the positive sides of his mate being insulted by his friends and family: At least, they would not try to steal him.  
"I made the mistake and asked him what he would like for lunch," Harry continued, the scene playing out in front of his eyes.  
"What did he answer?" Remus asked curiously.  
"Oysters," Harry said drily.  
Ron nearly choked on his laughter.  
"And did you make oysters for him?" Sirius asked innocently.  
"Of course not! Back then he was still an arrogant prick and I didn't have enough money to cook such fancy food every day," Harry huffed.  
"So, what did you cook in the end?" Sirius prodded.  
"A chicken soup with noodles."  
"And he didn't die because of common food-poisoning?" Hermione asked.  
"Surprisingly he didn't," Harry chuckled. "Well...one or two days later I dragged him to muggle London."  
"Why did you do that to yourself?" Sirius asked sternly.  
"Because his only Death Eater robe started to smell and he could not change into any other clothes my relatives owned," Harry explained.  
"Yeah, I remember your whale of an uncle from the summer before our second year..." Ron muttered.  
"Dudley has gained his height and weight this summer," Harry informed him. "Believe me, it is not easy to find clothes for Lucius that fit him and were acceptable enough. The quality of the fabric was of course, always too substandard, but they had to at least resemble something a wizard would wear."  
"Black trousers and white button downs?" Hermione asked, guessing correctly.  
"Yeah, we found something at H&M," Harry told her.  
She nodded and agreed: "They do have very small sizes."  
"What is H&M?" Sirius asked curiously.  
"A store for fashionable young muggles," Hermione explained.  
Sirius looked interested. "Remi, we should go there, we are still young and fashionable as well," the animagus widened his eyes in a puppy-dog-eyes fashion, but Remus only said: "Let Harry finish his story."  
"We had a very serious conversation in an ice cream parlour at the end of that day. He tried to ask me things about my private life and I told him off fairly harshly, but surprisingly after that we talked for real for the first time; and when we were back at Privet Drive, we had silently agreed on a truce."  
"When did Snape show up again?" Hermione asked.  
"On that day, before we went to London and two days later. He had connected a muggle floo illegally to my house to tell Lucius that Voldemort had killed Draco and Narcissa," Harry answered.  
Sirius flinched at the mentioning of Voldemort's name but didn't complain.  
"And that was the reason, why he changed to our side?" Remus asked reasonably.  
Harry sighed; this part would be difficult, but he didn't want to hide more things from his friends and family than he had to, so he told them: "Not entirely. The night after our visit to London I had a nightmare. A really bad one," he mumbled.  
Sirius eyed him worriedly as did Remus, but Ron only asked:  
"Just so that I can follow...that was before Snape told Malfoy about his dead wife and son?"  
"Yeah," Harry confirmed. "As I said, I had this really bad dream and because we slept...in the same room,..." Harry described their very intimate sleeping arrangement harmlessly, "...I woke him up. He actually woke me and calmed me down afterwards. I kind of had a breakdown then..." he mumbled shyly. "I told him everything I hate about my life and he promised that he would help me with the things I want to change."  
"He did what?" Remus asked shocked and Sirius added: "Do you hate your life so much?"  
Harry didn't answer for a long moment, not knowing what he could say so as not to hurt his godfather too much. Finally he spoke softly: "I never hated my entire life, but there were parts I was not happy with, but they are getting better now."  
"Is that the reason why you took over the order today?" Remus asked.  
Harry didn't know if the werewolf had used the words took over on purpose or just randomly, and as he searched for an answer in his face, he could not find any hint.  
"Yes," he answered truthfully.  
"I always warned him about hiding so much from Harry," Sirius muttered darkly.  
"You did?" Harry asked in wonder.  
"Of course I did. Did you think I would not notice how much you suffered under his secrecy?"  
Harry blushed; he had obviously underestimated his godfather. He quickly changed the topic back to his story to avoid another argument:  
"Snape was a real help from the beginning. He went to the solicitor for me and made him believe that he was my guardian so that I could get my heritage sorted out. It turned out that I was my relative's only heir. Now I own their house, their money and their car."  
Sirius grinned: "Then they were useful for something."  
"Lucius said the same," Harry snickered and Sirius nearly fell off his bed in shock.  
"That was mostly everything that has happened in the two weeks. We played a lot of chess and I had another nightmare but beside that, there was nothing interesting;" Harry finished his story abruptly, leaving all the really interesting events out.  
"Well, that was quite a lot and you haven't even mentioned Nagini," Remus smiled.  
"She really was no hassle at all, we were friends on our second day together," Harry told him.  
"Yeah, that sounds about right I think, but Harry, Lucius Malfoy living here? In my house? How could you just invite him?" Sirius complained, but Harry could hear that he was not really angry, more annoyed.  
"I don't think that he will stay for long, but he is working with me and Snape on solving a little problem, so it is easier this way," Harry explained truthfully.  
"What little problem?" his godfather asked.  
"Do you know about the Horcruxes?" He asked innocently.  
Sirius and Remus' expressions darkened: "Dumbledore indicated something about it, but back then he told us that it was still only an assumption."  
"Well, it is not an assumption anymore, but we have come up with a possible solution; at least for the Horcruxes residing inside Nagini and myself."  
"What? A Horcrux is residing in...?" Sirius gasped in shock and Harry got the distinct feeling that Dumbledore really hadn't told them much.  
"Nagini and I," Harry affirmed again. "But we spent one week reading through books; Lucius' library really came in handy and I found a book that gave us an indication as to what to do, but we didn't understand it until Nagini came to us with one of Dudley's golden necklaces."  
Everybody looked very confused and Harry started to explain the whole story: "The book I found said something like: _To pull out the impure you must use the purest of all kind_ and it was written in an Alchemy tomb."  
"Of course," Remus said and Hermione nodded in understanding, whilst Ron and Sirius still looked confused, so Hermione explained: "Alchemy deals mostly with elements and the purest element is gold. You cannot use normal gold, naturally, because it is mixed with other metals to make it stronger, but Snape will know of a way to purify it."  
"The prophecy that was made about me says, that: _Either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives_ , but Snape says, that he will be able to draw the piece of soul out with gold and a connecting potion," Harry told them.  
Sirius sighed: "That's good. Maybe I really was too harsh with Snivellus. He can be really useful."  
"That was my point," Harry snorted.  
"You really had two very eventful weeks," his godfather mused.  
"I did," Harry agreed, with a small smile.  
"I believe it is time to go down to dinner," Remus said with a look at his watch. They all stood up and left the room, but at the staircase Harry said: "You go ahead; I have to check on Nagini."  
Hermione and Ron gave him a knowing look and he went to the second floor, as soon as they were out of earshot.  
He strode down the dark corridor and had nearly reached Snape's door when he heard a silent voice whispering: "Is that you, Harry?"  
Harry smiled happily. "It's me," he answered, as silently as Lucius had done so that nobody but a vampire would be able to hear him. His mate's long legs appeared at the top of the staircase and he quickly ran over. There would be less chance of anybody finding them hidden on the stairs to the attic.  
"I thought it was your footsteps," Lucius greeted him with a smug smirk.  
Harry's heart was beating in anticipation by now, so he ignored the comment and wrapped his arms around Lucius, pulling him down for a deep kiss. Oh, how he had wanted to do this!  
Lucius obliged happily and their lips and tongues met. Harry groaned happily into the kiss, feeling his body going limp under the talented administration. He felt his skin finally warming up again when a long fingered hand slid under the hem of his button down, gently stroking his lower back, whilst the other came up to his neck.  
He shuddered, when a sharp claw glided down the sensitive skin and sliced it open on its way downwards. Drawing in a deep breath, his lungs filled with the intoxicating scent of his mate.  
Lucius deepened the kiss further and Harry stood up on his tiptoes, trying to get better access to his mate. Without breaking the kiss, Lucius lifted him up into his strong arms and Harry's legs automatically wrapping around Lucius' strong body.  
Harry broke the kiss then, bending down to nibble at his dominants neck. Lucius moaned silently, as he gave the vein on his throat a particular harsh nip.  
"I am so happy that you are finally here," he mumbled, licking over the abused skin.  
"Me too," Lucius whispered back, combing through his thick locks. Harry leaned into the touch and closed his eyes; he did not want to separate from his mate any time soon, but he would have to.  
"Miss Granger and Mr Weasley are quite the nuisance; are you sure they are the best friends someone could ever wish for?" Lucius smirked.  
Harry groaned: "They mean well."  
"Well is not good enough and they were a hassle regardless of their motives," the aristocrat drawled.  
"You are right," Harry admitted and gave Lucius another kiss on the corner of his lips.  
"Where were you heading to?" Lucius asked, pushing his head gently but firmly down on his shoulder, so that he could rest for a moment.  
"I was on my way to...what should I call him? To call him Snape feels wrong, but father or dad as well..." he asked, finally able to voice the question which was nagging at him since Snape's appearance at the meeting.  
"Call him Severus, he will understand that you cannot call him father right away," Lucius answered.  
Harry nuzzled the shoulder in front of him, mumbling: "You always know the right thing to do. I wish I was as intelligent as you."  
"You are as intelligent as I am; you only need more experience my little mate."  
At the word little, Harry looked up: "Did Severus tell you...?"  
"He did tell me about your age, but let's talk about it another time, you should go to your father now," Lucius cut him off.  
"Does it bother you?"  
"I will not abandon you, Harry," Lucius said softly, pressing a kiss onto his hair.  
That was neither a yes, nor a no, but Lucius had told him the important part, so it was enough for the moment.  
His dominant let him down then and his face grew serious again: "Harry, do you know how the transformation into a vampire normally works?"  
Harry shook his head.  
"It is painful and I only did it for Severus because he wholeheartedly wants to be there for you and asked me to help him, otherwise, I would never have done it," Lucius said silently.  
"How does it work?" Harry asked.  
"I had to bite him and drain him within an inch of his life," Lucius explained.  
Harry gasped in horror. Snape had gone through this torture for him?  
"Then I had to feed him my blood. It prevented him from dying fully, but his body died slowly nonetheless, whilst his body transformed under agony. It was a long procedure, which took almost the entire night."  
Harry swayed for a moment, nausea rising in his stomach. Lucius quickly picked him up again and pressed his head back down on his shoulder.  
"I did not want to tell you about it at first, but you should realize what he has done for you last night," his mate murmured into his ear.  
"I realize. I realized it already when he came into the kitchen this afternoon, but did not fully comprehend…," Harry sniffed, a single tear rolling down his cheek.  
Lucius held him and stroked his back soothingly until he had calmed down again, then he was placed back on the ground.  
"Go and visit him and if your worrisome friends let you go, come up to me tonight," Lucius said and gave him another soft kiss.  
"I'll try," Harry promised, before going down again.  
In front of Severus' door he hesitated only a moment, before knocking.  
"Come in," came the immediate answer from inside.  
He carefully pushed the door handle down and slowly opened the door, his heart racing, as if he was about to face Voldemort and not his Professor. Professor, that was a good title for Severus right now, because that would always be true. Remembering that Severus could probably smell his nervousness, he tried to calm down, but to no avail.  
As he finally stepped into the room, he could not make out the man at first. The room was even darker than all the others in the gloomy house and Severus actually merged into the shadows with his black cloak.  
"Please close the door," came a voice to his right and Harry noticed him at last. Closing the door behind him, he remained standing awkwardly on his spot, looking around curiously. He had never been in one of Severus' private rooms and even though this was not his personal quarters, he imagined that the bedroom would still be more personal than his classroom or neat office at Hogwarts.  
The first thing he noticed was the piles of books and the amounts of scrolls which covered every free surface, Harry suspected that it was due to the missing space and not the man's tidiness.  
The second thing he noticed was the small cauldron that simmered silently even in his sleeping quarters. Severus really lived for potions. He looked around for another minute, but could not find any more interesting things on the first sweep, so he looked over at the man, who had, until now, waited patiently for his inspection to end.  
"Would you like to sit down?" Severus asked and pointed at a free chair across from him.  
He nodded and strode slowly over, thinking about what he should say to the man, how he should express his feelings and shock about what Snape had done for him.  
"I...you didn't need to transform for me...something smaller would have been enough," he mumbled as he sat down.  
"No, it wouldn't have. You asked me to prove to you my sincerity and I wanted to do it properly, because you were right when you said that I have much to make up for. Besides, you are my twelve year old son, who will be a child for eternity, so you should have a father who will be able to be by your side for the same amount of time."  
Harry gulped, he was touched by Severus words; more than he could ever admit at the moment, but his shaky voice was probably enough of an indicator as he mumbled: "Thank you."  
Severus smiled at him softly, warmth filling those black and red orbs: "You are welcome Harry."  
"So, how will we go about this?" Harry asked, waving between himself and Severus.  
"There are quite a few things we have to consider," Severus told him.  
"Which would be?"  
"Firstly I believe we should get to know each other better. So I want to invite you to join me in my room or lab whenever you would like. You might even be able to see Lucius more often that way, because I can't imagine that he will spend his time with anybody else besides you and me within the Order."  
Harry nodded: "I would like that; if it doesn't bother you."  
"I would not have invited you to do so if that were the case," Severus smiled and then added: "I am sure we will be able to find topics we both enjoy after we have spend some time together, after all, the ritual Lily used only affected your appearance and not your character."  
"Unbelievable that you have managed to create a proper Gryffindor son," Harry snickered and then slapped his hands over his mouth, shocked by what he had just said.  
To his relief Severus only smirked: "It is, isn't it?"  
"Well, the sorting hat wanted to put me in Slytherin at first," Harry mused.  
Severus blinked in surprise: "Really?"  
"Yeah and I can even see why, but I didn't like to act on my few Slytherin tendencies, so it is better that I ended up in Gryffindor than in Slytherin." He watched Severus thinking for a moment, before the Potions Master said: "Your way to take over the Order was quite Slytherin like, I can see that."  
"What else do we have to take into account?" Harry asked.  
"I assume you have not yet spoken with your guardians?"  
"No. I wanted to find out where we are at first," Harry affirmed.  
"Where we are at?" Severus furrowed his brows.  
"What kind of a relationship we will have, or if we will even have one," Harry admitted.  
"Ah, well...I think that issue is settled and you can't live on the base of false documents forever, so I would like to make our relationship official, but only if you agree to it. It will be another major change in your life" Severus said slowly.  
Harry pondered the proposition for a moment. Severus was right, he could not continue like this; that counted in favour of his relationship to Severus, as well as for Lucius, but he really could not take his relationship with the aristocrat out into the public eye just yet, but wasn't it the same with Severus?  
"What about your job as spy?" he asked.  
"I would suggest that we tell your close friends and family first: Your guardians and the Weasley's. I can name you my heir without the Ministry or Voldemort noticing it, because Gringotts conducts these things."  
"Then I agree," Harry said.  
Severus' smile broadened a bit. "Good. When would you like to talk to your guardians?"  
Harry chewed on his bottom lip: "I don't know. I would like to spend some time with you and Lucius tomorrow...maybe after dinner, when most of the order has gone to bed?"  
"I think that will be early enough," agreed Severus. "So, how did your guardians take the Order meeting?"  
Harry grinned: "Much better than the fact that a Malfoy is now residing here."  
"I can imagine that," Severus snickered and it was a true, warm sound and not the cold, evil one he had used around Harry for the past four years.  
"I really think that everything will just get better from now on," Harry mused suddenly. "I can decide how the Order should work now, Lucius is living here, I...have you now," he said the last part a bit hesitatingly and then added "and Sirius even admitted that you are useful."  
The Potions Master's eyebrows shot up.  
"Unbelievable, right? But I told him about the Horcrux inside me earlier and that you are working on a solution to get the thing out of my body," Harry explained.  
"As if I haven't saved you before that," Severus huffed.  
"I know. You saved me in my first year and tried to help me in my third and after last term as well and now again," Harry mused, deep in thoughts.  
"I did. But it was not for you back then. Not even when I started to help with the Horcrux and the Order, was for you in the beginning; but what I did last night, that was entirely for you."  
Harry smiled, he really was grateful. "Lucius told me that it was very painful?" He asked, not knowing what exactly he wanted to know by asking.  
"It was, but more not more than the thought that you might never accept me. That I have a son after all and that he might never want me as a father because of my own stupidity," Snape said softly.  
Harry averted his eyes: "You know it didn't hurt when I changed. It was overwhelming, but nothing more."  
"I think that was due to Voldemort's curse as a trigger, or even more likely to your parallel mating," Severus told him.  
"Do you feel different about our mating since you know that you are my father? I mean...before, it didn't concern you in any way, but now..." Harry broke off, unsure if Severus already had those type of feelings for him.  
"Yes, I feel different about your mating now. Before it didn't really bother me. Of course I tried to look out for you a bit, because you were- you are my student, but now I see the whole matter from a different angle. I do not only know that you are my son, I can smell it now. I can also smell how young you are and that you are mated to my best and much older friend. It is quite disturbing and my instincts waver between being happy for you that you have found your true soulmate, because every parent wishes that for his child, especially a non-human one; and wanting to rip Lucius' head from his shoulders for touching you so early. Luckily the still rational thinking part of my mind supports the first tendency, knowing that Lucius didn't know your true age when you two mated."  
Harry nodded in understanding, then he remembered something what Severus had just said and asked: "If you can smell that I am your son, why can't I smell that you are my father?"  
Severus chuckled: "I believe my love for potions is to blame there. The scent of ingredients and potion fumes most likely cover my natural scent. I will buy new robes and clean them with a special soap, so that you will be able to smell our familial relation as well. It has helped me more than a bit and it lies in our new natures that we want to be aware of certain relations through our sense of smell."  
Severus was right, a vampire's mind worked different to a human's and he would miss something if he couldn't smell his bond to Lucius. It would be nice to get the knowledge about him and Severus affirmed by his nose; it would probably feel more real then.  
"Would you like to accompany me to Diagon Alley tomorrow? We could go together with Lucius and prevent him from murdering a Weasley?"  
Harry grinned widely, that sounded like fun. "Sure. We could go directly after breakfast and conveniently miss supper."  
Severus wrinkled his nose: "That is a good idea."  
Something occurred to Harry then: "How do you eat? I mean, you are not Blood-mated?" Would Severus need to go around and kill people? He did not wish for his father to need to kill on a weekly basis. To his horror Severus face grew grave and he feared the worst, but what the man said only irritated him:  
"I do not know what to eat or drink yet."  
Harry stared at him in confusion, when Severus bared his left arm and turned it, so that he could see the faded mark on the underside of his wrist. Examining it, Harry noticed that he recognized the two symbols there, which had melded into one.  
"That is your and mum's family crest," He whispered.  
"It is. Apparently we were soul mates as well and would have become blood mates if she did not die so early, but that for me means that I get no nutrition from normal human blood, like you do not get any sustenance from it either."  
Harry's eyes widened in horror. Would that mean that Severus would starve within weeks or month? Could vampires actually starve? He did not believed so, but they probably would fall into an unconscious, drained state. That couldn't happen, not after he had just accepted the man as his father, or was at least in the process of accepting him.  
"What will you do?" He asked, worry thick in his voice.  
"I have not counted on this and I will understand if you do not want to help me..."  
Harry cut the man off quickly: "I will, just tell me what I have to do!"  
Severus sighed: "I believe that you, as not only my, but also as Lily's son, will be able to sustain me. Your blood will most likely do as a substitute."  
The reaction of Lucius drinking his blood sprung to his mind and he blushed.  
"It will not have any of those effects on you," Severus huffed and Harry sighed in relief.  
"Ok...then the problem is solved," he grinned.  
"I will talk to Lucius then, because you will need more blood from him than before."  
"Do you need blood now?" Harry asked carefully.  
Severus shook his head: "No, currently the magic and life force in Lucius' blood is still sustaining me, it will be enough for the next few days. I will come to you when I start to feel hungry."  
Harry glanced at the clock above Severus' door and said: "I should go now, before Ron and Hermione get worried."  
Severus snorted. "They will see us tomorrow then," he said and rose to his feet.  
Harry stood up as well and looked a bit awkward at the man. Should he hug him? He did not feel ready for that, so in the end he only waved at him and smiled, saying: "Good night," before leaving the room and going downstairs on his own.  
"Harry, that was the third meal you have missed today!" Hermione greeted him as he closed the door behind him.  
"Severus had sandwiches prepared, I think he knew that I would come and visit him," he lied smoothly. Maybe he would feel bad about all the lies concerning his meals if he really was on a crazy diet, but as it was, he drank enough.  
"Oh...good. I was already getting worried," Hermione said and grabbed her nightshirt, before leaving for the bathroom.  
Harry sighed: "You would think now that I actually have a father, she would stop mothering me."  
"Snape doesn't make the impression of a prime example for a good parent," Ron replied dryly.  
"No, he will never be a typical father, but that doesn't mean that he will be a bad one either," Harry defended the man.  
"You know more about him than I or Hermione, but I really can't imagine him as your father," Ron said, starting to change as well.  
Harry went over to his own bed, quickly changing at vampire speed, before Ron could turn around again and said: "I actually can...or I am starting to..."  
"So, your talk went well?" Ron inquired, as the door opened and Hermione came back in again.  
"Yeah, it did. We talked for quite a while and he invited me to go with him to Diagon Alley tomorrow after breakfast," Harry smiled.  
"He did?" Hermione asked, crawling under her comforter.  
"Yes, he said he needs new robes and asked if I wanted to accompany him," he explained.  
"Maybe you can talk him into some other colours than black," Ron snickered.  
Harry snickered as well, imagining Severus in an outfit of red and gold.  
"I doubt he will succeed," said Hermione, frowning. "But maybe you can persuade him to at least wear a white button down under his black robe."  
"I don't think so, he can be quite thick headed," Harry replied.  
"At least we now know where this bad character trait of yours has come from," Ron commented.  
"Sirius once told me that my mother could be rather stubborn herself," Harry laughed, thinking that there had been no way for him to not end up stubborn himself.  
"It is still hard to imagine your mum with Professor Snape, isn't it?" Hermione asked.  
Harry sighed: "It is hard to imagine her at all. I know so little about her. Sirius and Remus mostly tell me about James. I think they didn't know her very well themselves, after all, James married her very abruptly to help her and not because they had been dating for two years or something like that."  
"You could ask Snape to tell you more about her, he seemed to know her very well," Hermione suggested.  
"Maybe I will at some point, but for now I want to get to know him better," Harry answered.  
"Do you think, he will treat you better in potions now?" Ron asked, sounding honestly interested in the answer.  
Harry thought about it for a moment; the question had never come to mind. "I think he will treat me more fairly, but that doesn't mean that he will suddenly transform into a Gryffindor- fan and he will surely not give me better marks than I deserve."  
"That sucks," Ron grumbled and turned the light off. "Sleep well, man and you too, Mione," the redhead added, already sounding half asleep.  
"Good night," Harry said, lifting his blanket for a moment to let Nagini slither underneath it.  
"Good night," Hermione echoed.  
He laid in the darkness for about half an hour, until his friends breathing had evened out. Then slowly, he climbed out of bed. He still wanted to visit Lucius, but as soon as his feet touched the ground Hermione's tired voice asked him: "Where are you going, Harry?"  
Harry froze; he really was unlucky today. His mind worked quickly to come up with a logical explanation: "I just wanted to get a pair of trunks, I feel a little cold."  
Feeling quite annoyed, he walked over to his closet and pulled a pair out, before climbing back into bed again, promising himself that he would visit his mate in the morning at least.


	14. Chapter 14: Realization

**AN: The story is getting a little graphic again, so you are all warned ;-)**

 **Chapter 14: Realization**

 **HP**

Harry was awoken early by a harsh knock at the window. He groaned in annoyance as the loud sound ringed in his sensitive vampire ears and turned on the side in hope of it not occurring again. When the knock came the second time, he thought that the demanding sound seemed slightly familiar.  
Opening his eyes, he arched his neck in a very inhuman manner to get a look at the window. Lucius' falcon was sitting there, glaring directly at him. The look reminded him of those he had received from his mate before their mating.  
Knowing that the bird would not just fly away, he sighed and propped himself up, before going over to the window and opening it.  
The evil bird flew in with a deafening screech, waking his two sleeping friends, who groaned as well.  
"Is your mistress sending you more clothes?" Ron muttered, whilst Harry stretched his arm out for the bird to land on. The bird settled down, but not without a second screech, clearly displeased that he had to wait in front of the window for whole three minutes.  
"I don't think so," Harry answered, as he saw the small, golden velvet pouch on the falcon's leg.  
"Is your mate sending you a letter?" Hermione asked, purposefully using a term which did not indicate a gender.  
"A love letter?" Harry could hear the grin in Ron's voice.  
"No, it's a small velvet pouch," Harry answered, untying the bag from the leg whilst the bird looked with interested at Harry's hand.  
"Don't bite me or I will tell your owner," Harry threatened quickly and the clever bird huffed and turned its head away from him.  
As soon as Harry had untied the bag, the falcon flew off again.  
"Stupid bird," Ron muttered, but finally sat up, looking curiously over at him.  
"Open it, Harry," Hermione said.  
He opened the little pouch and put his hand inside. His hand closed around something small and egg shaped and as he had retrieved his hand and opened it, he saw that it was indeed a small, golden egg.  
"It's an egg," he said dumbly and then remembered that he had told Lucius that Hedwig could not be his post owl anymore and smiled softly. His mate really remembered everything.  
"Wow! That looks like a phoenix egg!" Ron exclaimed, but Hermione shook her head:  
"No, it is not a real phoenix egg. Do you see the black engraving on the egg?"  
Turning the egg around, Harry indeed found some engravings.  
"Infans expositus Phoenicis Justitius," he read out loud. "What does that mean?"  
"Foundling of the Phoenix and the last word is his name," Hermione answered.  
"His? How do you know that?" Ron asked.  
"Because of the way the word ends; it is the masculine ending in Latin," Harry replied, not knowing where the knowledge had come from, or more precisely, knowing that it had come from Malfoy Manor, but not that he had it.  
"Are you learning Latin, Harry?" Hermione asked in wonder.  
"Hm," he shrugged. "So what is a Foundling of a Phoenix?"  
Hermione took a deep breath and Harry knew that a lecture was coming. Smiling gently, he sat back down on his bed; he really liked even this slightly annoying side of his brainy friend.  
"Phoenixes have mates, as most other magical creatures, but they can only lay one egg in their entire life. So it sometimes happens, that they adopt other chicks that have fallen out of their own nest and would die otherwise. They envelop the foundlings in an egg and breed them for a few weeks, giving the chicks' phoenix like powers this way. It is said that these foundlings burn to ashes and come to life like their adoptive parents and often have other remarkable powers as well. They are considered as rare as phoenixes themselves and equally valuable and like the birds, they can only hatch when they are taken in by the right wizard."  
"By the right wizard?" Harry asked, not quite understanding.  
"Yes, the wizard or witch's character has to fit the character of the hatchling. For example: Your...whatever bird it will be has the name Justitius. It is the male version of Justicia, the Roman goddess of balancing justice, so he will most likely only hatch for a true Gryffindor; and who would be more fitting than you?" she smiled at him.  
"Yeah, man, you pulled Godric's sword from the sorting hat," Ron added needlessly and then asked: "So your mate is not a Gryffindor?"  
"No," Harry answered.  
"That's not bad. Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws can be nice as well," Ron grinned.  
Harry said nothing and just looked down at the egg. It was a bit smaller than a chicken's egg and much lighter. He really was curious as to what kind of bird would be in there and how Lucius had gotten this egg in the first place.  
"What if it doesn't hatch for me?" Harry asked, but at that moment the egg started to move in his hand and a crack appeared in its shell.  
"Look, it already is. He must really like you," said Hermione and hastily came over to his bed, followed by Ron.  
"What do you think it will be?" the redhead asked. "Another one of those falcons?"  
"I hope not," Harry muttered, really not wanting such a stuck up bird, even though he doubted that there were any stuck up animals that would hatch for a Gryffindor.  
He looked in awe as one piece after the other fell from the shell until it revealed a tiny and very black something. The bird was still folded tightly, due to its long stay in the egg, so he could not yet see what it was, but it really didn't look very bird-like at first sight, even though he could recognize a pair of large wings. Large in comparison to the tiny creature, that was.  
"Does it have fur?" Hermione asked frowning.  
Harry thought so as well, but didn't dare to touch the fragile looking animal just yet. After another moment it lifted its small head with its big ears and blinked at him with huge, golden eyes.  
"It's a bat!" Harry gasped, grinning widely. He had to laugh; it was so fitting, that he as a vampire would get a bat as a second familiar.  
"He is so cute," Hermione giggled.  
"He is," Harry agreed, stroking the small head carefully. "Welcome Justitius," Harry greeted him. The bat, no bigger than his pinkie yet, unfolded its wings (which had a golden underside instead of the usual black).  
"He really looks special," Hermione said in awe.  
"He does," Harry grinned, tickling Justitius under his little chin. The bat closed its big eyes in relaxation and gave a little sigh.  
"So, do you need to mark me as well?" Harry asked and the bat opened his eyes again, looking at him with intelligent eyes, before crawling closer to his left hand and biting him in his pinkie. The bite really didn't hurt, not in comparison to Nagini anyway, and he watched as an intertwined pattern formed like a ring around his smallest finger. This was his third binding mark.  
"Oh, that's beautiful," Hermione hummed, eying his new mark.  
"A bit girly," Ron commented.  
Harry only shrugged, he liked the mark and it fit his new style perfectly. Justitius crawled up his arm and attached himself upside down on his sleeve, folding his wings around his body and closing his eyes.  
"I bet he is tired after hatching. That must have been tiring," Hermione mused.  
"Probably. What is the time?" Harry asked, hoping that it was early enough that he would have time to go up to Lucius and thank him personally.  
"Only 8 o'clock," Ron answered grumbling. "Your mate must be an early riser."  
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "I think I will take advantage of the early hour and take a bath," he announced and went over to the enlarged wardrobe, taking out the dark blue outfit, before leaving the room.  
 _"Where are you going?"_ Nagini asked curiously from her place on the bed, her big head just sticking out under his covers.  
 _"I told my friends that I would go and take a bath, but I will go and visit Lucius,"_ Harry explained.  
 _"Would you fill me a bath then?"_ Nagini asked hopefully.  
 _"Yeah, sure,"_ Harry said and the reptile followed him quickly.  
"You know, it is kind of strange that you always take Nagini with you and now also your bat," Ron commented.  
"Nagini needs the water for her skin, or it will dry and split open," Harry explained.  
"I guess, London's not the right living area for a reptile," Hermione agreed.  
"No, it isn't, but it is fine as long as she can moisten her scales once in a while," Harry answered and waved at his friends before closing the door behind him.  
" _Shall I just start the shower for you or do you want a real bath?"_ He asked Nagini as they entered the small room.  
 _"A real bath would be nice,"_ she hissed, slithering into the old tub.  
 _"Okay, tell me if the temperature is right,"_ Harry told her and started the water.  
 _"That's good,"_ she said after a moment and he went over to the toilet lid, waiting for the tub to fill, which didn't take long with the giant snake already fully inside.  
Turning the water off he said: _"I will lock the door from the outside, so that no one notices that I am actually not in here and get you in about an hour. Is that okay?"_  
Nagini nodded lazily and closed her eyes in relaxation.  
Opening the door carefully, Harry checked that no one was in the hallway, before coming out and whispering: "Colloportus!"  
He quickly ran over to the staircase and then in the blink of the eye, stood in front of Lucius' door. He knocked once and waited for his mate to let him in.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

"Come in," Lucius' deep voice answered and he didn't wait a moment longer to get inside.  
"Finally," his mate huffed. Lucius sat, leaning against the head board of his bed, a thick book in his lap, but he closed it and put it to the side as he saw Harry. "I already suspected that your little friends would never let you go."  
"They didn't, but I am busy taking a long bath right now," Harry explained, striding over and climbing onto Lucius' lap, leaning against his muscled chest and sighed. It felt so good to touch Lucius again. He had not noticed during the week before Grimmauld Place, how often he touched or kissed the man and it was torture to not be able to do so whenever he felt the need.  
The aristocrat folded his strong arms around him, but stopped suddenly. "What have you got there?" Lucius asked, pointing to Justitius who was still hanging on his arm.  
Harry smirked: "You should know the answer to that, after all, you gave him to me this morning."  
Lucius' eyes widened comically: "The egg has already hatched and it is...?" His mate didn't finish, clearly not able to recognize the small creature that hid himself away in his wings.  
"He is a bat," Harry snickered.  
"How fitting," Lucius snorted. "Do you like him?"  
"He is great, thanks! But how did you get him?" He wanted to know.  
"The egg was a present to my grandfather, even though the person who gave it to him knew that the egg would never hatch for one of our family. But a phoenix egg, or the egg of a phoenix' infans expositus is immensely valuable and as such fitting as a present for a Malfoy. It lay in a safe in my study for the last 70 years, I believe, and when you told me that you needed a new post-animal it immediately came to mind. No creature deserves to lie sleeping in an egg for eternity; besides the Foundlings of a Phoenix are highly intelligent and thus ideal for the work as a post owl," Lucius explained.  
"Do you think he will ever be big and strong enough to carry a letter or a package?" Harry asked, eying the miniature bat.  
"He will grow, not much I think, but he is no normal bat and will be strong enough... but I always thought that phoenixes would only take in other birds."  
"Maybe a bat is close enough to a bird?" Harry asked.  
"Apparently," Lucius mused, and started to comb through his black locks.  
"Justitius already marked me," Harry said and lifted his left hand.  
"Beautiful," Lucius said and kissed the new mark.  
They sat in silence for a few minutes, just relishing in the company of each other, until Harry started to fidget. He still wanted to know how his mate felt about his true age, but didn't know if this was the right moment. On the other hand, was there ever a right moment to ask something like that?  
"Harry, what did I tell you about fidgeting?" Lucius growled.  
Harry stopped immediately, only then noticing the hardness he suddenly sat on. Blushing he turned a bit, so that he could lay his head on his mate's shoulder. Harry knew that Lucius liked this position; he supposed that it gave the man the feeling of protecting Harry.  
"What do you want to ask?" Lucius asked him and pressed a soft kiss on his head.  
"I..." Harry stuttered and wished that he could still take a calming breath of air, but it wasn't a calming movement any longer. "You still wanted to tell me what you think about...you know...the thing with my age. Does it change anything between us?"  
Lucius was silent for a moment and Harry started to get nervous, but when he wanted to lift his head and look at Lucius, the blonde nobleman pressed him back down.  
"I have to admit that it was a big shock, to say the least. If I had known before our mating, I would have restrained myself for a few years, at least until you had gotten of age. But we cannot change it anymore and we never had any chance with Voldemort's curse as the trigger. This all doesn't change that you are my mate and the most important person in my life and that I already told you that you will have to set the pace with everything concerning our...physical relationship. There is nothing more that I can do to protect you from this bond."  
"So, nothing will change?" Harry prodded, needing to get an explicit answer, or he would forever fear that something might change suddenly, when he least expected it.  
"No, nothing will change between us. It was, is more of a mental process for me, than something we both have to deal with," Lucius mused.  
"What do you mean?" Harry asked in confusion. That sounded as if everything was not fine after all.  
Lucius sighed. "It was already quite disturbing to find myself very interested and aroused by a fifteen year old boy, but at that age a wizard can be legally viewed as a sexually mature person, who can rightfully participate in sexual encounters; but at twelve the legal matter is entirely different. Wizarding children have to be protected from everything sexual, because it can still scar them at that young age. I always believed that men who take advantage of little children belong in Azkaban, only to find out that I have become one of them."  
Sneaking his arms around his dominant's neck, he pressed a soft kiss to Lucius' neck wanting to reassure him. "But I don't feel scarred and you know that we can't compare me to a normal twelve year old boy anymore. I am not human any longer and I feel entirely different than before."  
"I am aware of this Harry, that is why I have mostly made my peace with the matter," Lucius replied and a warm hand sneaked around his body and under his shirt.  
"Hm, still not wearing anything beneath?" The aristocrat purred in his ear, making him blush.  
A shiver ran down Harry's spine and he pressed closer to his mate's body, licking the thick vein on his dominant's neck. It had been much too long since he had tasted his mate's skin, he had missed this. It had been a torture knowing that the man was so near, but not being able to go to him the whole night. Lucius groaned like always and his head came down to nibble at his neck. Gasping, Harry turned his head and met the other mans lips, opening his mouth for Lucius' talented tongue. They kissed for a long moment, Harry making happy little purring sounds.  
When they parted again, he was flushed all over and very aroused, but he didn't want a quick stroke before breakfast, so he turned back around and cuddled against his mate.  
"Are you coming to Diagon Alley later?" Harry asked.  
Lucius hummed in affirmation, "Yes, Severus will give me a polyjuice potion, so that I can accompany you without drawing any attention to it. He also said that if you still want to get your uncle's car for the order, we could do it afterwards."  
Curious to see his father drive a muggle car, Harry exclaimed:"That would be great!"  
Lucius only wrinkled his nose: "I had hoped to not see that house of yours so soon again, but at least we will have some more time away from this even worse excuse of a home." He gestured to the attic and Harry nodded. He could actually understand his spoiled mate for once, even for a normal person, who was not used to the Malfoy standard, Grimmauld Place was hard to endure.  
"So, how was your talk with Severus?" Lucius asked.  
"It was good, I think. We mostly talked about important things and not too much personal stuff though," he answered.  
Lucius smiled softly at him: "Have some patience; you will get to know him soon. Severus deserves to have a part of the family he had always dreamed about at least. Your father is a good and kind hearted man, even though he rarely shows it and he has lost so much in his life already. And you deserve it as well."  
"Ron and Mione said nearly the same," Harry grinned.  
"Really? I would not have thought them so wise and understanding."  
"They can be if they really need to. But Ron especially can blow up rather quickly sometimes," Harry admitted.  
Lucius chuckled and for the next few minutes they fell into a comfortable silence. Harry savoured the feeling of his mate's strong chest behind him and the soft touches. Sighing contently, he snuggled deeper into the embrace and his eyelids began to droop as warmth finally spread through his body once more. But all too soon Lucius pulled him from his drowsy state.  
"You should get dressed soon, or your friends will fear that you have drowned in the tub," Lucius mused, sliding the hand that was still under his shirt down to his butt, where it rested for a moment.  
"Yeah, especially when they knock on the door and no one answers," Harry grinned and begrudgingly slid out of his mate's lap.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

Walking over to the wooden chair where he had dumped his blue garments, he pulled Lucius' long button down over his head. Harry didn't need to turn around, to notice the heated gaze of his mate. Relishing in the attention and suddenly in a playful mood, he bent down provocatively to pick up one of the blue stockings, which had fallen to the floor, before taking the other as well and sitting down on the chair so that he was facing the aristocrat. He then spread his legs just enough for Lucius to get a glimpse of his cute cock, and if the man was lucky, his rosy opening, before pulling one leg up and starting to pull on the first stocking. It really was amazing how quickly he had become comfortable with exposing himself so openly in front of this mate, when he had even been too scared to change into night clothes in front of him only two weeks ago; but the time of separation had made him more bold, or maybe simply more desperate for his dominant's touch, or maybe, it was the vampire genes changing him in this manner. Whatever it was, it didn't matter. He was comfortable enough to expose himself in front of his mate and Lucius would never misuse it.  
Lucius groaned, a deep, growling sound that vibrated in his mate's chest and the scent of arousal started to heavily fill the air. Harry smirked, an expression that looked so devilish and so innocent at the same time on his young face.  
"Seeing something you like?" he asked, repeating a sentence Lucius had once teased him with.  
"You are getting more open and comfortable," Lucius just replied, but his voice sounded a little husky.  
"I am," Harry agreed, thinking that he really liked the attention he got from his dominant; it gave him a feeling of gratification. "And why shouldn't I? I know you would never do anything to me that I would not want."  
"You are right, Harry," Lucius said, his eyes not leaving his small frame for one second.  
Standing up, Harry took the white button down from the pile, not Lucius', but the one that actually fit him and pulled it on, before sitting down again and doing the same with the black shorts.  
"Do you want to help me with the waistcoat?" he asked and picked the garment up. The one he had chosen this morning had beautiful silver clasps at the front and had to be tied at his back, making it more difficult to fasten it himself.  
One corner of Lucius' mouth rose in a seductive smirk: "It is a pleasure to help my mate," he all but purred and came over with the stride of a wild animal, ready to pounce on its prey. Harry's eyes were fixed on the silently fluid, but strong motions of his mate, and his cock twitched in his trousers.  
Lucius grin broadened and one of his fangs flashed in the morning sun, as he came closer. As he reached him, Harry was pulled to his feet and turned around, before Lucius guided his arms through the sleeveless openings of the waistcoat.  
Harry jerked in arousal and a shiver went down his spine as Lucius bent forwards and whispered into his right ear: "Close the clasps," whilst one hand landed on his small backside, gliding over one trouser leg and then under the fabric; one single claw started to tease his crack.  
"Lucius..." Harry moaned, pressing into the touch.  
"Don't forget to dress yourself," the claw was scratching over his puckered opening now, making it twitch in need.  
"How can I...like this?" Harry gasped.  
"Still so innocent. So deliciously innocent. It makes me want to do all kinds of things to you and deteriorate your mind. But you will always stay this innocent...and that knowledge arouses me even more," Lucius claw glided over his opening one last time before it left again and the aristocrat stepped in front of him, closing his waistcoat. Harry currently could not have done that himself, not in his state. His legs felt like jelly, his mind was clouded with lust and he had to lean against his mate to stay upright.  
"Such strong reactions. I would hate to have missed out on them, if you were any more experienced."  
"What does my inexperience have to do with my reactions?" Harry asked, gasping when his cock gave a violent twitch at another touch of Lucius' claws.  
"The body gets used to this kind of pleasure and the reactions grow weaker with time, but due to your age at your transformation you will always react so sweetly," Lucius purred.  
Harry wasn't really sure whether he liked the sound of that. That only meant that he would always be reduced to a shivering pile of arousal whenever his mate touched him.  
"I think I have gone just a bit too far, or not far enough," Lucius mused, looking down at him with a raised eyebrow.  
Harry blushed, but didn't answer. His dominant was right. He was painfully aroused. It would have been better if Lucius had only laid his hand on his backside, without teasing him or if he...  
His mind blanked, as the aristocrat suddenly kneeled down in front of him, opening his zipper with one quick motion.  
"What are you...?" He didn't finish his sentence, because Lucius had already pulled out his cock and leaned forwards. The little bell around his penis jingled silently and Harry blushed at the sound. He groaned as he was suddenly surrounded by wet heat and Lucius began to suck. Heat gathered in his lower stomach and his hips gave an uncontrollable jerk as his dominant's tongue licked the pulsing vein on the underside of his shaft. His legs started to shiver more violently and two strong hands took hold of his arse to steady him.  
He brought his hands up and intertwined his fingers with Lucius' soft, silver-blonde hair, whilst trying desperately not to jerk again, when Lucius teased his sensitive slit in an upwards motion.  
"You do not need to restrain yourself. You can fuck my mouth if you want," Lucius purred around his pulsing flesh, sending shivers up the sensitive length and making Harry gasp again.  
Hesitatingly he moved his hips forwards, changing the angle a bit, so that his penis was rubbing over Lucius tongue more firmly. But he was only hesitant for a moment. To be able to move himself drove his inexperienced mind and body into a frenzy. His hips quickly picked up the pace, desperate to find more friction, whilst the green silk band around the base of his length provided a wonderful pressure. The rhythmical ringing of the silver bell mixed with the silent thrusting noises as he pounded Lucius' mouth harder and faster. The tingle in his belly intensified and he stumbled a bit, changing the angle of his cock inside Lucius' mouth again, making it brush against one of his mate's long fangs.  
Harry groaned loudly, that was what he needed. His thrust grew harsher and quicker, driving his cock against the sharp fang with every motion and fucking Lucius' mouth with uncontrolled and erratic thrusts.  
He felt the familiar sensation of pain mixed with pleasure and his balls tightened quickly. By now Lucius was only holding him up, whilst he did everything else. His hands tightened in Lucius' hair and white stars erupted in front of his eyes as he exploded. He spilled his semen down his dominants throat, who swallowed every drop of it without even blinking once. Those silver-red orbs were holding his gaze as Harry rode out his orgasm, driving his cock against the sharp tip of Lucius fang a few more times whilst he came, then he slumped boneless against his mate, feeling utterly relaxed and satisfied.  
Lucius released his flaccid cock, but Harry needed a moment to come down from his high and gather himself again. As he finally looked up after a minute or so, Lucius was still staring at him, but not with lust anymore.  
Harry could see that his dominants lips were red from his blood and as he looked down at his abused member he knew where the sudden hunger in Lucius' eyes had come from. Thinking about it, Harry realized that Lucius' last meal was quite a while ago for a dominant, the aristocrat needed more blood than he himself after all.  
His cock stirred again at the opportunity of a possible second high and without hesitation, he grasped the back of Lucius' head and pressed the face of his mate against his left leg, where his leg artery was pulsing. He saw the moment when the aristocrat's eyes glazed over and the man's instincts took hold, just the split second before Lucius' long fangs pierced his skin.  
Harry groaned as Lucius sucked the first gulp of blood from his vein and his cock hardened fully, pressing to the side of Lucius' face. One of his hands left his backside, grasped the heated flesh and started to stroke it with slow, but also bruising force.  
"Yes," Harry hissed, holding onto his mate's shoulders.  
Lucius sucked again and tightened his grip around his member even further. Desperate for his mate's touch, Harry pressed himself against Lucius' fangs and hand. The hand holding him in place started to trace soft patterns on his sensitive backside, deliciously caressing his sensitive arteries on its way. Since these veins had become visible, they were so much more sensitive, it was nearly maddening. "Please Lucius, mark me!" he groaned, not able to suppress a needy whine.  
An appreciative hum vibrating through his mate's chest, before Lucius' fingertips were replaced by his claws. Harry gasped again when little pinpricks opened his skin.  
"More, please!" he begged desperately. The tingle in his lower stomach had risen to a nearly unbearable level, but it still wasn't quite enough. Lucius drew in another mouth full of his blood and increased the pressure of his claws, opening deep gashes on his smooth buttocks.  
He mewled softly in pleasure and closed his eyes to concentrate fully on the many sensation assaulting his body. Harry could feel that he wasn't far from his second orgasm and it only took another suck and a teasing touch to his slit, for him to come again. With a cry of bliss he spilled himself all over Lucius' perfect hand, whilst leaning unconsciously into his mate's hand on his backside, embedding Lucius' claws deep inside his skin. The aristocrat took a last mouth full of blood and then withdrew his fangs and claws, licking once over the punctured wounds to close them up, before zipping up his shorts again.  
Harry watched with a goofy grin when Lucius stood back up and smoothed his robe. Only then did they notice how bloody Lucius' fingers were:  
"Turn around," Lucius commanded and Harry obliged without hesitation. His mate kneeled down again and pushed his trouser legs to the side a bit before proceeding to heal the wounds on his buttocks as well.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

Harry didn't react in any other way than to entwine his arms around his Lucius' neck when he was lifted into strong arms and carried over to the bed, he felt too relaxed to do anything right now, like always after this kind of experience.  
"Wait a moment," Lucius chuckled and placed him down on the mattress, before going over to the wooden chair and picking up his long, blue coat.  
"I still need to fasten your waistcoat," Lucius said and Harry hummed in agreement, but didn't move otherwise, he was just too relaxed right now; all his muscles felt like pudding and he did not have the energy to move an inch.  
"You need to sit up or roll over onto your stomach, or I will not be able to help you," His mate smirked down at him.  
Rolling over lazily, Harry waited patiently whilst his mate grabbed the silver ribbons and started to tie the clothing. When the aristocrat was finished, he had reconnected to reality again and sat up, a goofy smile still on his lips.  
Lucius raised an eyebrow: "If me drinking your blood always has such a strong effect on you, we should only do it in the evening, when no one is likely to notice your overjoyed behaviour."  
Harry giggled happily and hugged Lucius around his midsection. "I think this must be what feeling drunk must feel like."  
Lucius only groaned: "If you do not restrain yourself a bit more, there will be no need for hiding our relationship any longer, because everybody will know it as soon as we step into the kitchen."  
"Don't worry," Harry huffed. "I will restrain myself, but we are not in the kitchen yet, not even out of your room." He pulled his coat over and stood up, glancing over at the door. "We should probably wash ourselves; I don't know how good a werewolf's nose is..."  
"That is probably a good idea. I am not keen on finding out how a werewolf reacts when he finds out that his pup has an inappropriate relationship with a much older Ex-Death Eater," Lucius mused.  
"His pup?" Harry asked in irritation.  
"Of course. As Sirius' godson you belong to his pack. My nose is as good as yours, so don't believe that I have not noticed their bond yet," Lucius explained.  
Harry sighed; there really was a lot of things he still did not know. Sure Severus had covered werewolves in his third year, when the man had taught DADA after the full moon and Remus had not been able to show up himself, but they had only discussed the danger of these creatures and not much else. Maybe he should search for a book about werewolves, and if he was lucky, it would also help him with his relationship to his guardians. But for now he had to go down, clean up and get back to his friends before they became worried.  
"We will see you downstairs then," Harry said, looking around. Where had he left Justitius? As if the little bat had sensed that Harry was searching for him, he came fluttering over from a corner of the attic where apparently, he had been hanging on a curtain. The little creature landed on his shoulder, screeched softly in greeting and glared at Lucius as if the man was at fault for being dumped on a wooden chair alongside Harry's nightshirt.  
Lucius lifted an eyebrow and drawled: "I see he likes Slytherins as much as most other Gryffindors do."  
"He isn't a Gryffindor, he's a bat," Harry replied and glared back for good measure, but without real malice.  
"He is a magical creature who was only willing to hatch for a Gryffindor. I think that makes him an equal with your red and gold loving kind," Lucius huffed.  
"Are you trying to insult me Lucius Capricornius Malfoy?" Harry mock-glared.  
"No, of course not; I would never insult my mate," Lucius said and stepped nearer to Harry, whispering: "Beside, I have become very fond of your Gryffindor character." Harry met the lips of his dominant in a soft see-you-later kiss and then finally left the attic, even though he didn't want to; only the prospect of seeing his mate at breakfast actually made his feet move.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Using his vampire speed, he rushed unseen into the bathroom, where Nagini was waiting patiently for him, still enjoying the hot water.  
As soon as he had stepped in the snake sniffed the air and asked: _"Have you mated again?"_  
He nodded, a bit embarrassed and hastily took a washcloth from one of the cabinets.  
 _"Why do you mate if you cannot bear hatchlings anyway? Your bond is formed and your mate takes care of you, so there is no need to mate"_ The reptile asked.  
Harry flushed darkly, as darkly as he could anyway, but tried to explain: _"Because it is nice. Humans and vampires need to mate regularly to feel close to their mates."_  
Nagini frowned. Harry mused that the concept of mating for closeness, pleasure and even fun was not easy to grasp for an animal which only mated to create offspring.  
Turning around, he shoved his pants down to quickly clean himself.  
 _"Is the scent gone?"_ he asked Nagini, who nodded her heavy had and slithered out of the tub.  
He quickly clothed himself again and had just finished when someone knocked at his door:  
"Harry? Is everything ok? You have already been in there for over an hour and a half," Hermione asked worriedly.  
Rolling his eyes he opened the door: "I am just finished. It took me longer to get dressed, because the waistcoat has its ribbons on the back." It was good that he knew his worried friends so well, or he might have been back too late and that would not have ended spectacularly.  
"Oh. Why didn't you just come to our room? I would have helped you," Hermione asked, sounding a bit hurt.  
Ron, who was standing behind her rolled his eyes and muttered: "Girls," but it was too silent for Hermione to hear.  
"I need to learn how to dress myself. I will have my own room at Hogwarts and you can't come to me every morning to fasten these blasted things," he explained carefully.  
To his relief Hermione sighed her sigh that meant that she understood: "You are right, Harry. I forgot. It's just that I always had this need to look after you and now that I know how young you really are..."  
"But Harry has a father now, Mione," Ron interrupted her and Harry knew that he had said it to stop their bushy haired friend and not because he suddenly thought that Severus would be a good father.  
"I know, but I still can't imagine Professor Snape taking care of him like a father should. I can't imagine him as anyone's father," she argued.  
They fell silent, but luckily steps sounded before Hermione could start again. The steps were purposefully heavy, like human steps would be, but Harry knew instantly that his mate was coming down.  
Ron and Hermione turned around when Harry looked up and glared at the Malfoy-Lord as soon as he was in sight. Lucius sneered back but said: "Good morning, Harry," before continuing his way.  
"I hate this stuck-up prick!" Ron muttered.  
"Hmm," Hermione agreed and they followed the man into the kitchen.  
The kitchen was already crowded when they entered. Harry saw his mate's eyes instantly settling on him and his hips gained a seductive swing. Their little encounter a few minutes ago had shown him how much the older vampire liked it when he did things like that. It was as if he presented his body to his mate and it felt really good.  
Unfortunately, not only Lucius noticed his seductive stride, but Ginny also. The girl blushed, but he ignored her and sat down next to Sirius and opposite to his mate and Severus with an enticing crossing of his legs. At that moment, not even her stares disturbed him knowing that Lucius would never let anybody else touch him.  
Severus wrinkled his nose and glared at his friend, who pretended to not notice anything. Somehow, he got the feeling that merely washing with a cloth might be enough for a werewolf's nose to not be able to smell anything anymore, but not a vampire's. His cheeks heated at the thought of what exactly his father smelt right now and quickly looked down onto the table, noticing that the plates of all three of them were still empty, but he would not do anything about it as long as Hermione or anybody else would not start nagging him about it again.  
"Hey Harry, have you slept well?" Sirius, who had only noticed him just now, asked him suddenly.  
"Yes, thank you. And you?" Harry asked.  
"Me too. Anything planned for today or do you want to play a game of catch the snitch with your old godfather?" The animagus asked.  
Glancing over to his father he said: "I am going with Severus to Diagon Alley today..."  
"So it's Severus now?" Sirius glared at Severus and Remus sighed loudly next to him.  
"...but," Harry continued without acknowledging the comment "...if you can persuade everybody who is currently staying at Grimmauld Place to a second game, we can play tomorrow."  
Instantly, two sets of glares landed on him, one belonging to Sirius and the other to Severus.  
Ron, who had listened to their conversation, snickered. "Don't do that Harry, I bet Snape will fall of his broom like a giant bat with broken wings."  
Severus' glare intensified and turned to the redhead, who realized what he had just said: "That will be fifty points from Gryffindor even before term has started, be grateful that Harry has earned his own lost points back already, or your house would be a hundred points in the negative by now. And let me tell you Mr. Weasley, only because I do not like to chase after a little ball, or get knocked from a broom by a bludger and prefer my cauldrons, does not mean that I cannot fly. In fact, I am fairly talented myself."  
Ron snorted in disbelief.  
"Really you are?" Harry asked, his curiosity awoken, only to have Severus' glare fixed on him again.  
"You uneducated brat, but at least I know by now who's fault that is," Severus muttered and Harry grinned. Next to him his friends lifted their eyebrows, astonished that the man had not taken points from Harry as well. Maybe, he hoped, they would soon see that Severus had the potential to be a good father.  
"You know that it's unfair to take points from them before the school year has even started? How did Harry earn his points back anyway? Did you make him scrub cauldrons?" Sirius snapped.  
Severus merely shrugged: "You will come to know this evening, Black."  
Harry sighed inwardly, but said nothing. His mate also wore a slightly annoyed look by now, obviously quickly coming to understand what had made him so annoyed in the last few days.  
"Who is that little one on your shoulder?" Remus suddenly asked and pointed at Justitius in order to steer the conversation away from the topic of house points.  
"Oh, that is Justitius he is an Infans exositus Phoenicis. My mate gave him to me, because Hedwig can't carry my post anymore," he explained happily.  
Justitius opened his big, golden eyes at the mention of his name and he started to bounce excitedly on Harry's shoulder. Harry chuckled and stroked his little head carefully.  
"Hush, I am just introducing you," he said and the bat puffed out his unimpressive chest. Remus eyes had widened in awe; so had Severus'. The Potions Master quickly glanced over to Lucius and then back to the bat, whilst Hermione, Ginny and Molly started to giggle.  
"Women, all the same, no matter their age," Arthur laughed loudly at the three witches and then eyed Justitius curiously as well.  
"He is so cute!" Ginny cooed.  
"He is," Molly agreed and smiled at the bat. Justitius clearly enjoyed the attention he was getting and spread his long wings.  
"Little show off," Harry chuckled fondly.  
"I really would like to get to know your mate. She must really love you if she gives you such valuable present," Sirius commented, making Harry blush heavily.  
"This certainly indicates that Harry's mate is a good catch," Lucius smirked and Harry threw him a quick glare.  
"Yeah, I am sure I will greet her with open arms," Sirius said, for once agreeing with the aristocrat.  
Harry saw the twins exchanging a look. He could understand them.  
"So Harry, are you finished with breakfast? We will have to go soon if we want to get the car after we are finished at Diagon Alley," Severus asked innocently; too innocently.  
Harry saw his godfather's temper flare again.  
"You are going with...Sni...with him? I thought you were going with Ron and Hermione!"  
"Sirius," Harry sighed and Sirius deflated.  
"Is anyone else coming with you at least?" his godfather muttered.  
"Yes, there will be someone else, no need to worry about your precious godson," Severus sneered.  
Ron leaned closer to Harry's ear and muttered: "It seemed your new found relation doesn't matter; as soon as he can, he riles Sirius up."  
"Yeah and I can promise you that it will get even worse. I plan on telling Sirius and Remus everything this evening and I am sure Severus will start to rub it into their faces that I am his son," Harry muttered back.  
"Really, boys," Hermione sighed exasperatedly.  
Turning back to the conversation, Harry heard Remus asking: "Who will accompany you two?"  
"Another teacher from Hogwarts. I still don't know who Dumbledore will send. But surely he will not send Sybill Trelawney and he cannot send me anymore, so do not worry wolf," Snape drawled.  
Sirius huffed, but fell silent.  
"Yeah, I am finished," Harry said and rose up. "Let me just get my money and then we can go."  
Severus and Lucius rose to their feet as well.  
"Is the bastard accompanying you as well? I thought only you, Snape and another teacher?" Sirius asked.  
"I am floo'ing over to Malfoy Manor to get some paperwork done. I cannot concentrate in this... loud environment," Lucius drawled.  
"Why don't you just stay at your precious Manor if it is so much better there?" Sirius taunted, but Lucius only turned around and left the kitchen.  
"I'll see you all later then," Harry said and quickly followed his mate.  
Lucius had already gone into the living room, so he just went up and got his pouch.  
"Hey Justitius, do you want to go shopping?" he asked, as he fastened the red velvet bag. The little bat only blinked at him with questioning eyes.  
"You will like it," Harry promised. "Severus and Lucius are coming as well.  
Justitius eyed him sceptically at the mention of his father's name and started to glare at Lucius'. Chuckling Harry slipped into a pair of high boots and went down again.  
"There is no need to bring any money. I wanted to tell you earlier, but the kitchen was not the right place." Severus said and Lucius nodded.  
"It's ok, I still have enough money from when I visited Gringotts the last time," Harry answered.  
"You will not pay as long as you are with one of us. You can pay when you go alone to Hogsmeade with your friends on the weekends," Lucius huffed and eyed the pouch. "Besides, you didn't take very much."  
Harry goggled at the heavy bag; he never had taken so much money from his vault before.  
Severus pressed a small vial into Lucius' hand and explained:  
"This is a potent version of the Polyjuice Potion; it will last for three to five hours, depending on how your body reacts to it."  
"Up to five hours? The one we made in our second year only lasted for one hour. It would have been much easier if we had known that such a recipe existed," Harry said.  
Severus narrowed his eyes: "So it was you and your little friends who stole my ingredients back then? How sneaky of you."  
Harry flushed.  
"What did you brew Polyjuice Potion for?" Lucius purred and Harry's flush darkened. How could he tell his mate that he had suspected his dead son of being the Heir of Slytherin and the attacker of all those students?  
"We can ask him all our questions later when we sit down in a cafe, but let us go now," Severus interrupted them.  
Lucius turned back to the vial in his hand and asked: "Whose hair did you throw in there?"  
"I am not sure, I collected it when I was at Hogwarts last night, but the teachers have a meeting today, so whoever it is will not be seen in two places at the same time," Severus grinned.  
"How delightful, a surprise," Lucius glared.  
"Can I assume that you will be able to transform your robes in something appropriate?" Severus just asked.  
"Of course. At least it is not black hair," the aristocrat said, referring to Hagrid. "But I will kill you anyway if I change into McGonagall or someone equally unbearable."  
"You have my permission to try it," Severus smirked and turned to Harry, who had watched the conversation between the usually stern men with interest.  
"Let's go ahead, Lucius will follow as soon as he is ready," Severus said and gave him the pot with Floo Powder.  
Shoving his hand inside, Harry took a handful of the powder, before tossing it into the flame and shouting. "The Leaky Cauldron!"

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

The swirling in the Floo Network really was no better as a vampire than it had been as a human. He stumbled out of the Floo ungracefully, but was prevented from falling by a strong hand that grabbed his arm luckily.  
"You definitively inherit your floo'ing skills from your mother," Severus huffed from behind before letting go of him.  
"Really?" Harry asked interested, suddenly his tendency to stumble from the Floo didn't seem so bad anymore; at least he had something else that he had inherited from his mother other than his eyes.  
"Hasn't anyone told you before?" Severus asked, clearly astonished.  
"No, I know close to nothing about her," he mumbled a bit sadly. To his surprise Severus laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it.  
"If you wish, we can change that," the man said softly.  
Harry smiled up at him gratefully, but then noticed the huge fireplace flaring up again and he turned around curiously.  
"Did you really not know who the hair was from?" he asked the Potions Master.  
"No," Severus replied.  
Harry nearly choked on his laughter, as a thunderous looking Dumbledore in green and golden robes stepped out of the Floo with blazing eyes instead of sparkling ones.  
"I will definitively kill you, Severus," Lucius said with the headmaster's voice.  
Harry saw that Severus had a difficult time suppressing his own grin, but the intelligent man quickly turned around and started to stride out of the crowded pub.  
Harry quickly noticed that many confused looks followed them and especially him. He assumed that most witches and wizards did not recognize him with his new style and without his trademark glasses and were now asking themselves who was going shopping with the most famous and infamous teachers of Hogwarts. He could hear the whispered words exchange student, celebrity, relative of Dumbledore and even council member as he went by and he rolled his eyes.  
"We will be the headline of tomorrow's Daily Prophet," Lucius muttered behind him and Severus drawled: "Most likely."  
"I think Dumbledore will find it funny. I even bet he will have no problems to guess who had posed as him," Harry grinned and quickened his space to catch up with Severus, who had come to a halt in front of the pub.  
"So, where do you want to look for robes, you could..." Harry started to suggest but was cut of by Severus: "Do not finish that sentence. I will not change my entire style only because you have a bet going with your little friends or something similarly stupid. We will go to the store which sells the traditional robes for Potions Masters."  
"So you aren't just wearing some strange..."  
"Don't finish that sentence either," Severus huffed.  
"But you could buy some more luxurious robes and you did receive your certificate as the best Potions Master of the Wizarding World last year. You should buy the proper uniform; it would be beneficial for Harry as well if more people knew about your achievement."  
"Fine, I will take a look at them," Severus gave in.  
"So, where is this store?" Harry asked, looking around.  
"At the end of Diagon Alley, near the beginning of Knockturn Alley," Lucius answered as they started walking down the bustling street.  
"Why am I not surprised?" Harry asked sarcastically, but followed without hesitation.  
"Well, it is a very convenient place; most Potions Brewers have their fair share of experience with the black market due to ridiculous rights concerning rare or foreign ingredients," Severus explained.  
Looking around, Harry saw many familiar faces, but no one seemed to recognize him. They passed him without looking, or sometimes a curious or irritated look, like the witches and wizards in the Leaky Cauldron had done.  
The first familiar he had seen had been Lee Jordan; he had waved at him, only to receive a very irritated frown. The boy had obviously not recognized him, but instead thought that he was a foreigner, who wanted to flirt, after that he had refrained from waving at anybody.  
"Lucius, Severus?" he asked quietly.  
"Yes? Severus replied, whilst Lucius asked silently: "What is it, Harry?"  
"Have I changed so much? I mean, shouldn't they notice me even in the new clothes?"  
The two men glanced down at him; finally Severus answered carefully: "I think that if we look at it rationally, you have changed quite a lot: Your hair has darkened, your skin is now nearly translucent white, where it had been toned before and you must have lost at least 20 pounds, more likely 22. That added to your new wardrobe can fool even the closest of friends and they are only some fellow students."  
Harry glanced over at a shop window, looking at the picture he made on the reflecting surface and had to admit that the man was right. His features were the same, but only now he noticed how different his new skin colour and frailness made him look. He also moved differently; more elegantly, which sadly didn't mean that he was less clumsy. Of course, it was nothing compared to Lucius' elegance, but still. And his clothes...they really suited him and were breathtaking beautiful, but looked as if they came from a whole different era.  
"You look beautiful, that is why everybody stares at you," Lucius said, but Harry could only see irritation in the headmasters face.  
His disguised mate huffed in annoyance and they fell silent. Five minutes later they had reached a nondescript looking store with a door made of a dark red wood, which Harry had never seen before.  
"Blood oak," Lucius explained from behind him and pushed the door open. He followed Severus inside and his first thought was that this store was anything but nondescript:  
It was fairly dark inside; Harry started to think that every Potions Brewer loved dark and gloomy places. The shelves, tables, counter and chairs were all made from dark and very expensive looking wood. Mirrors were framed in gold and every door knob was made from the same material.  
Whistling in astonishment, Harry went over to the next shelf. Justitius had left his shoulder and was exploring the shop himself, returning to him or Severus every so often, and fluttering excitedly around their heads. Harry found it fairly funny and was happy to see his little friend so excited, but the Potions Master was obviously annoyed with the hyperactive bat. Right now he was trying to shoo him away, but Justitius continued his circles around the man. Harry chuckled silently as he watched the spectacle, doing nothing to help his father.  
"Do you have your certificate?" Lucius asked behind him and Severus answered:  
"Of course I have, you need an actual license or certificate to buy anything here."  
An elegant looking wizard, with brown hair and a similar robe to Severus' came over to them asking: "Can I help you somehow, Sir?"  
"Yes. I need new robes," Severus said and pulled his certificate from one of his pockets and gave it to the assistant. The man read the small document written on thick parchment and gasped.  
"Of course Sir, please take a seat. Would you prefer red, silver or gold for the under cloak?"  
"Silver," Severus said, whilst pulling Justitius from his long hair, where the bat had successfully gotten tangled. "Watch him," the dark man huffed and put the little animal down on Harry's shoulder again, before going over to the sofas in front of the changing rooms, whilst the assistant disappeared into a back room.  
Harry stroked Justitius, who had by now settled back on his shoulder and took a seat next to Severus.  
"Why was the man so surprised?" he asked, when the little fellow had settled down again.  
"The criteria for the title of best Potions Brewer in the World was set by no one other than Slytherin himself and to gain the title, you must be better than the last master who held this title, regardless of whether he or she is still alive or not. For the past four hundred years the title belonged to Grindelwald's great-great grandfather, but he never succeeded with the Wolfsbane Potion."  
Harry's eyes widened as he realized at last what a famous person his father really was. Severus Snape was probably far more known in his own circle and it was only due to his disinterested in anything potions related, that he never had read about him in any book before. It really vexed him that he didn't know very much about the man; but that was the case with his mate as well if he was honest. Harry knew which professions the aristocrat had learned, but nothing more. Mentally he promised himself to find out more about these two. Maybe Hermione would even help him with his research.  
"So Grindelwald's great-great grandfather was better than Slytherin himself?" he asked. Severus snorted: "Of course not. There was never and most likely will never be any better brewer than Salazar, with the exception of Merlin, that is. But Slytherin never took the title, he wanted to encourage young brewers and not scare them away."  
"Oh, I see, but that means that you are still very good;" Harry smiled.  
"I think your father would someday be able to pass Slytherin, but he is not able to read most of his books, like everybody else aside from you and the Dark Lord," Lucius mused.  
"So they are in Paseltongue? But I could translate them for you, if you have them that is," Harry offered.  
"I have a few of them and we would certainly find some more in Lucius' library," Severus said.  
"To be honest, I am not sure. There are too many books in my library to remember those I cannot read." Harry snorted and looked at his mate: "You have to give me a tour through your home sometime soon; it is after all the place where I will live in the future."  
"I definitively will, the house elves are already becoming unsettled," Lucius promised.  
Harry frowned; he didn't see the connection between his visit and his dominant mate's house elves.  
"In a traditional marriage it is the duty of the Lady to control the house elves. When two males are married it is the submissive partner who has to care for them, as it is assumed that he will take on the role as the house wife," Severus explained.  
"Oh..." Harry said; he hadn't known that. "Does that mean I have the say in everything house hold related?" he asked.  
"Yes," Lucius confirmed.  
"Maybe we should go to a bookstore later and buy you some books about the topic," Severus suggested.  
Harry nodded; he really had no idea how to manage a classical wizarding home and he would not want to disappoint his mate as soon as they started to live together. It was still four years until then and Harry was sure that he would manage to learn everything he needed to know about a wizarding marriage.  
"Then I would suggest we go to a proper second hand book shop. The modern books about Pureblood marriages are not as thorough as they should be," Lucius commented.  
The assistant came back then with a stack of robes in his arms. He laid them down on a second couch and gave one ensemble to Severus, who disappeared into one of the stalls before Harry had a chance to look at the new robes.  
Harry huffed silently and looked over at Lucius, who eyed his own robe with distaste.  
"You know, Dumbledore never makes that an expression and maybe you should try and make your eyes appear more twinkling," Harry grinned and received a filthy glare.  
Luckily Severus came out of the changing cubicle and stepped in front of them.  
Harry's first thought was that this robes billowed even more and would surely impress and frighten the Hogwarts students more than the old ones:  
The tight black trouser and the nearly knee long and high-necked, black jacket looked nearly identical to his old robes, only this jacket had elegant, silver buttons, but the cloak he wore over it all looked entirely different. It was made from a thin fabric and as he had already noticed, billowing even more than before, but that was not the part which separated the cloak from its precursor, but the fact that it had two layers. The lower layer was silver, whilst only the upper one was black like before. Furthermore, the silver layer was slightly longer so that it seemed as if the cloak had a silver hemline. When Severus turned around he saw that the black sleeves also had some silver embroidery at their hems.  
And then the smell hit Harry. Severus had already told him that it was most likely due to his old robes having absorbed the scent of the potions he always brew, that Harry was not able to smell their relation, but now he could. He took a deep breath and his mind swirled with the new information this one action gave him. He really could smell it; he and Severus were more alike than he ever could have imagined, even after his mother's ritual, he and Severus smelled nearly exactly the same, like honey and sun, the only difference was that Severus' scent had a more harsh edge to it, whilst he smelled a little softer and sweeter. It reminded him of a glass with golden, sweet honey and one with a brown, tart one.  
Next to him, Lucius, who had by now stood up seemed shocked as well, so did Severus, apparently the fumes had influenced the man's nose enough to not make him realize how alike they really were.  
Harry swayed in shock and Severus quickly grabbed his arms to hold him steady. He grabbed the man's arms as well, so that father and son were suddenly holding on to each other and whispered: "Dad."  
Harry looked into his father's dark eyes, who nodded in affirmation, returning his intense gaze.  
"Harry," Severus breathed and a single tear rolled over the man's cheek. Harry answered him with a shaky smile, before he flung himself into Severus' arms, inhaling deeply for the second time. He really had a father. Not someone who was ready to accept him as his son, but a real father, someone he was related to, by blood and love. Tears started to spill as his heart could finally realize what his mind had known since the night in Dumbledore's office, but only now he could feel the truth behind the words on his birth certificate.  
Severus tightened his arms around his fragile body and rubbed his back soothingly, but the fatherly gesture, filled with so much love, only made him cry even harder as his mind and heart was overwhelmed by all the emotions: The happiness of finally having a family, not only a mate and a godfather, but a real parent; sadness, for they had lost his first twelve years; then happiness again, because now they could be there for each other for all eternity, followed by sadness again, for his mother could not witness their reunion, but the happiness was slowly overpowering any lingering sorrow as the rubbing continued. Not once had someone comforted him with such a simple, but loving gesture before. He had seen fathers console their children like this before, but he had never even dared to dream about experiencing it himself.  
"Daddy!" He sobbed, sorrow and gratitude mixing in his voice.  
"Hush, Harry, it is all good now. We have each other now," Severus whispered, but Harry couldn't stop. He pressed his face deeper into the folds of his father's robes and clung to the man he had hated for so long.  
They stood there for over ten minutes, until the last tear fell down his cheek and he looked up with swollen eyes and a smile on his lips taking in his father's appearance once more.  
"Dad. You look great! Really impressive!" He suddenly shouted, breaking the emotional moment. His father really was not as bad on the eye as he had always thought. The new robes underlined the muscled chest he had so far hidden under too many layers of thick, black fabric and his change into a vampire seemed to have corrected his hooked nose that had always looked as if someone had broken it twice. Now the nose was straight and fit perfectly with his piercing eyes and the high cheekbones, whilst his long, black hair added some additional shadows to his cheeks.  
"Indeed," Lucius chuckled, for once sounding like the man he was supposed to be.  
With Harry still in his arms, Severus turned around to the assistant: "I will take ten pairs of robes, please wrap them all up for me, my old ones can be thrown away, I will keep this pair on."  
"Very well, Sir," the wizard said with a bow and hurried over to the counter.  
His father once more looked down at him and Harry's heart skipped in joy as he saw the same happiness he felt mirrored there. For a moment they simply stood there, softly smiling at each other, before they followed at a more leisurely pace and only reached the counter when everything was packed and ready, Lucius following close behind.  
Harry stood still next to Severus, one hand holding onto his father's robes, very much feeling like a small child, but a very happy small child when his father paid.  
"That makes the total of 648 Galleons and 3 Sickles," the assistant announced and his father pulled a heavy leather pouch from his pocket.  
"650," Severus told the man and the brown haired wizard gave him his change.  
"Shall I shrink your purchase or send it to your house, Sir?"  
"I will take everything with me," his father answered and with a flick of the wizard's wand the packages had shrunk.  
"It was an honour to meet you Professor. Please visit us again," The man said when they turned around in order to leave.  
"Wow, you really are famous," Harry commented as they were in front of the shop again.  
"Indeed, not only Quidditch players are famous," his father huffed and glared mockingly down at him.  
Flushing, Harry pulled his head between his shoulders, before looking for Lucius.  
"There is a good book shop nearby," his mate announced and rounded the corner to Knockturn Alley.  
"Do you think it is a good idea to go into Knockturn Alley as Dumbledore?" Harry asked, following his mate uncertainly.  
"The owner of the book store will not ask any questions as long as we pay well and none of the lowly dark wizards and witches who visit this street mostly would ever dare to attack the man," Lucius answered.  
"Okay, if you are sure," Harry mumbled and quickened his pace to catch up with his mate. Instinctively he stepped closer to his disguised mate, as he noticed the evil glares which followed them. Harry tried to avoid looking at the mostly shabby, evil and often slightly insane looking witches and wizards, but the scenery was no better to look at either. He saw all kinds of animal parts, magical and non-magical, hanging in front of apothecaries, jars filled with blood and even a basket that suspiciously looked as if it contained human eyes.  
His father stepped next to him so that he was shielded from most of the gazes and he carefully slipped one hand into Severus' larger one. Severus squeezed it reassuringly and they silently went on for another five minutes until Lucius stopped in front of a black door with a silver door handle.  
The store they entered was small, dark and had rows upon rows of bookshelves lining the walls; the only other item of furniture was a small desk with thin legs that functioned as a counter. Harry saw a small and very haggard man sitting behind the desk, who eyed them with narrowed eyes.  
"Can we hurry a bit?" Harry whispered.  
Lucius nodded and pulled his wand from his pocket. "Are there any other kinds of books you want to have besides those about classical wizarding marriages?"  
"Are there books about werewolves?" Harry asked quietly.  
Severus frowned down at him: "Don't tell me that you have already forgotten everything that I have taught you and your fellow students about werewolves."  
"I want books about their social structure," Harry explained hastily.  
His mate nodded and swung his wand with a wordless summoning charm. Books from nearly every shelf flew over to them and piled in three neat piles in front of them. They all grabbed one book and started to sort through the pile.  
Harry really didn't know how he should know which one would be useful and which not. The tombs were mostly very old, bound in thick leather and without any description on their backside. In the end he just browsed through the pages and read the titles of the chapters he came across.  
"I think I have found a good book about werewolves," his father mumbled and gave the tomb over to Harry. Harry took the book which was as big and heavy as an atlas and opened it to the foreword. The author apparently had been a werewolf himself and wanted to show the wizarding population that there was more to his kind than the blood thirsty monster. He pointed out, that werewolves, like normal wolves and dogs were very faithful, loving family creatures and that many of his kind tried their best to lock themselves up during the full moon in order to not harm anybody.  
"I think you are right," Harry said and smiled up at his dad.  
"I have found one as well. It is part of a series and deals with the rights and duties of a housewife within an traditional marriage," Lucius said.  
"The second book is over here," Severus said and pulled a green book from one of the piles. After taking a look he explained: "You should take this one as well, it describes the rights and options a wife has if she does not desire to stay at home only."  
"You mean what rights I have, if I wish to work after school?" Harry asked.  
"Yes," his father answered.  
"But...my mate said that I am allowed to take on a job," Harry frowned, purposefully not calling Lucius by his name.  
"I have, but it is always good to know what the law says about a matter," Lucius said and took the book from Severus, before going over to the counter. Harry followed him and placed the tomb about werewolves on the desk next to the others. He was a bit irritated when the man behind the counter remained silent, but Lucius didn't seem to find it odd.  
"I want to buy these three books and I would appreciate it, if you forget that you have seen us in your store," His mate said.  
The wizard nodded, eyed the books and then said: "350 Galleons: 100 Galleons for each book and 50 Galleons for my silence."  
Lucius nodded and pulled a chequebook out. When he had paid he shrunk the books and they left the gloomy store without another word.  
Harry was glad when they were finally back in Diagon Alley. Sighing in relief he asked: "Where do we go now?"  
His father lifted one eyebrow and said: "I would propose that we go to Eeylops next and buy a perch for Justitius. Really Lucius, where did you get this Gryffindorish pet from?"  
"The egg was a present given to my grandfather and seeing that it would never hatch for me, I gave it to Harry," Lucius explained in a drawling voice, that didn't fit Dumbledore at all. It was really irritating to see the old wizard behaving like a stuck up Malfoy.  
Justitius snuggled against Harry's cheek as if he wanted to affirm that he would never have hatched for Lucius, before turning his little head to Severus and sniffing indignantly.  
"I think the creature doesn't like Slytherins at all," Severus mused and glared at the bat, who glared back.  
"Hey, he has a name!" Harry defended Justitius.  
Lucius only ignored him and replied: "At least he only looks at you with scepticism, whilst he is constantly glaring at me."  
"Maybe he accepts me as Harry's father, but is jealous of you?" his father suggested.  
"Possessive little..."  
"Hey! If you insult Justitius I won't speak to you for an entire day and I won't kiss you either!" Harry interrupted his very jealous mate. Lucius eyed him, as if daring him to go through with his threat, but didn't finish his sentence.  
They had reached the owl shop and stepped inside. The owner instantly brightened at the sight of Dumbledore.  
"Good morning, Professor!" He greeted Lucius warmly, who turned and tried his best to look cheerfully and all over Gryffindorish. Harry didn't think that he succeeded very well, but luckily the shopkeeper noticed nothing off, instead asking:  
"How is Fawkes doing? Shouldn't his burning day come up soon?"  
"Yes, it is approaching, but I never was very good at guessing the exact day that it will finally happen," Lucius answered with a tortured look in his now bright blue eyes.  
"Well, that is always hard to tell and it never gets any easier. I personally think that the birds can influence it at up to a point."  
"Ah, I can definitely agree with you. But we are actually here for a specific reason," Lucius cut the happily chatting man off.  
"Of course, Professor, how can I help you?" he asked.  
Severus gently pushed him in front of the counter and said: "I want to buy a perch for my son's pet - It shall be made with gold and the engraving: Infans Expositus Phoenicis Justitius."  
The shopkeepers eyes widened he looked up at the infamous Potions Master at the word son, before his eyes started to search for a sign of Harry's pet.  
Harry pointed at Justitius, who puffed his small chest out again and looked proudly back at the round man.  
"How interesting, a bat," the man said and pulled a parchment from under the counter to write the engraving down. "The perch will be ready in about an hour. Do you wish to come back and collect it or shall I send it to your home?"  
"We will come back," Severus answered and gave a curt nod, whilst Lucius tried to smile like Dumbledore always did.  
"Where do we go now?" Harry asked.  
"I would propose to take a short break at a cafe. I do not feel like eating anything either, but we can sit down there and talk for a while. You still have a ton to tell us from your second year and I want to ask Lucius something myself," Severus said.  
"I think I can deal with a cappuccino, at least a drink does not lay so heavily in my stomach like a full meal does," Lucius agreed.  
"Okay, then I will drink a coke," Harry said and they went to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.  
Harry had talked the two men into going there, because he liked the ambience and Florean as well.  
They ordered a coke, a cappuccino and a black coffee, before Lucius and Severus eyes expectantly fixed on Harry.  
Harry fidgeted nervously: "It really is not a very interesting story."  
"Oh, but I am interested in all of your stories," Lucius purred and Harry made a face.  
"Fine, I will tell you, but only if you stop making such sounds with Dumbledore's voice, it is disturbing," he quickly said.  
"I agree," his father said, looking fairly green; Lucius was by now looking faintly ill himself and nodded in agreement.  
"Your second year was the year where Voldemort's memory sent the Basilisk after Muggleborns," Lucius started.  
"So, what made you and your friends think that you had to steal potions ingredients from my private storage and brew a Polyjuice Potion?" Severus added.  
Harry flushed in embarrassment and started to fidget in his chair: "You remember the message on the wall, saying: Enemies of the Heir...beware?...well we thought that it had to be Malfoy... I mean Draco...and even if it wasn't him, that he would probably know who it was,"  
Lucius nearly choked on his cappuccino and snorted: "How did you come to this conclusion? I knew that you and your friends had many stupid ideas, but...this..." he didn't finish his sentence, clearly not finding the right words.  
"He did always brag about being the Prince of Slytherin," Harry huffed in defence.  
"I am slowly coming to see why you and my son never got along," Lucius sighed.  
"It was Hermione who stole the ingredients, whilst Ron and I saw to some trouble in your class," Harry grinned sheepishly.  
His father narrowed his eyes at him: "The exploding cauldron!"  
"Yeah..." Harry laughed feeling a bit intimidated for once.  
"Hermione brewed the potion in Moaning Myrtles bathroom and Ron and I drank it and sneaked down as Crabbe and Goyle," Harry continued, remembering their adventure.  
"Why did Miss Granger not go with you?" Lucius asked with a lifted eyebrow.  
"She wanted to, but she accidently threw a cat hair in her potion," at his words his father grinned evilly:  
"I believe I can remember this particular incident, what a delightful day it had been."  
Harry glared at the man: "You know that you are talking about the friends of your son?"  
"I do," Severus replied dryly.  
"No bad feelings whatsoever?" Harry asked sarcastically.  
"No, I am not talking bad about you, merely about your friends, as you already noticed correctly."  
Harry huffed but went on: "In the end we only found out that the chamber had been opened once before and that they kicked out a student back then."  
"I could have told you that much as well," Lucius drawled.  
"Yeah, but would you have done it?" Harry snorted.  
"No," his mate replied.  
"You see, " Harry sighed and quickly changed the topic, turning to his father: "You said earlier that you wanted to talk about something?"  
"Yes, I did," Severus said and watched Lucius for a moment, before he told his friend: "I already talked with Harry about the matter, but as it will most likely effect you as also I wanted to ask you as well."  
Lucius raised an eyebrow in scepticism, but said nothing for the moment; waiting for the Potions Master to continue. Harry, who had by now guessed what his father wanted to talk about, started to chew on his bottom lip, uncertain about how his mate might react to another man drinking from him as well.  
"I noticed after my turning into an vampire, that I am not able to live from the blood of other wizards and witches," Severus continued.  
"What do you want to tell me? I know that you cannot really die, so that cannot be it," Lucius mused.  
Harry watched as his father laid his left arm on the round table between them, exposing his faded mark: "I had a soul mate once; Lily would have become my blood mate, if she was still alive."  
Harry saw the moment when realization dawned on his mate: "Be glad that you are Harry's father and we all can smell that very clearly, otherwise you would have no chance that I would agree to this, but as it is, you are no threat to me and I want to keep Harry happy and you alive."  
His father nodded in understanding and Lucius sighed: "Am I right in assuming that you have asked me because Harry's need for blood will increase?"  
"You are," Severus said.  
"You should know that I could never take you away from Harry, not after all those years where he had to endure everything alone," Lucius said and fixed the dark man with a stern look.  
Severus inclined his head slightly and then changed the topic: "Harry, Dumbledore gave me your rather formidable family tree, would you like to visit your new vault before we collect Justitius' perch?"  
"Sure," Harry smiled, suddenly curious as to what the vault of the four Hogwarts founders would look like.  
"A new vault? How can it be that I was not informed?" Lucius asked.  
"Because, you will have no claim to this one," Severus smirked and Harry had the suspicion that his father was secretly enjoying telling Lucius what great heritage he had currently received. Especially because the aristocrat would never have any right to the vault.  
"That cannot be possible. Harry must have received an inheritance, where it was written into the testament that a spouse or mate has no claim over it and neither the Potters, nor the Evans did anything like this."  
"You cannot believe how much I am going to enjoy telling you something that you could never even begin to guess," Severus chuckled and Harry had to chuckle as well.  
"So, who is it from?" Lucius asked, getting irritated and impatient.  
"The Founders," his father said and Lucius blinked dumbly. Harry had never seen a expression remotely like this on the blonde's, or just now, Dumbledore's face.  
"Which Founders?" his mate asked.  
"The Four Founders of Hogwarts!" Harry grinned.  
Severus huffed: "I wanted to tell him that."  
Lucius eyes had widened comically: "You are the heir to Hogwarts? To all four Founders?"  
"Yep. Dad has Ravenclaw and Slytherin ancestors and mum Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Now I own the castle, the Sorting Hat, the Elder Wand, a Hogwarts Signet Ring and the Key to the Founders Quarters," his father was right, it was fun to surprise Lucius.  
Lucius huffed: "And my family has always been proud to be descendant of Slytherin."  
"Well, see it like this, a powerful submissive can be an ornament as well," Severus smiled smugly.  
"You really have created a special brat, you know that, Severus?" Lucius asked.  
"I know," Severus replied and smiled warmly at Harry. Blushing, Harry quickly picked up his coke and downed the rest of it.  
"If you collect the Potter family ring, the goblins will be able to unite your two rings into one. It is quite a common procedure when the line of a family is continued by a man who has already accepted another family inheritance," Lucius told him.  
"That is a good idea; you really should do it," Severus nodded.  
"Ok, if you two say so," Harry agreed.  
"Shall we go then?" Lucius asked and waved to the waitress, without waiting for an answer.  
"We should collect some gold from your vault as well, I think I have the potion to free Harry and Nagini from their burden ready before Hogwarts starts again," Severus announced.  
"We will do that then," Lucius agreed fluidly.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

After they had left the Ice Cream Parlour, they went over to Gringotts, lining up behind the counter. The row was fairly long and they had to wait for almost fifteen minutes before they could step in front of a Goblin.  
"What can I do for you, Sirs?" the little creature asked, eying them sceptically.  
"Harry wants to visit his newly inherited vault," Lucius said.  
"Yes, we got your letter just this morning," the Goblin said to Dumbledore and then asked: "Does he have the ring with him?"  
Lucius and Severus looked at him expectantly, so he quickly said: "I have," and pulled the ring from his pocket.  
"And if it is possible, he also would like to retrieve the Potter ring and unite his two heritage rings," Lucius added.  
"Very well sir, it will only take a moment," The goblin said and disappeared with the ring.  
"I am really curious as to what the ring will look like," Harry mused.  
"Probably gold," his father said dryly.  
"Gold?" Harry asked.  
"The Potter family ring is gold as well," Lucius explained and chuckled.  
"Hmm... I think that sounds fitting, gold is after all one of the Gryffindor colours," Harry grinned.  
"It is," Lucius wrinkled his nose.  
"Hey, gold is not such a bad colour," Harry huffed and elbowed his mate, who only raised an eyebrow and replied: "But red is."  
"Stop teasing me because of my house or I will paint every room in your precious Manor red. I am sure as the Lady of the Manor I have all rights to do that," Harry threatened.  
His father snickered: "Now he has you, Lucius."  
Grinning, Harry asked: "So I really could do that?"  
"Yes and without even asking," Severus smirked.  
"I am starting to like this whole rights and duty thing," Harry said, just before the Goblin returned to their counter.  
"This is your new ring," the creature said and placed the item in front of them.  
Harry picked the ring up and eyed it attentively. It really was still gold and the Hogwarts symbol was still engraved into it, but it had been joined by the Potter crest on the ring's band.  
"Thank you, it looks great," he smiled and gave the ring back to the Goblin, who said:  
"Then follow me."  
They followed him to the far end of Gringotts where the door to the underground vaults and the Malfoy vault was located, but instead of leading them through either of the two doors the goblin said: "Would you give me the ring please?"  
Harry handed him the jewellery and the goblin started to count eleven stones to the left of the silver Malfoy door and then pressed the ring to the stone. The stones blurred for a moment and then melted into a golden door with the Hogwarts crest on it.  
"The door will lock and ward itself again when you leave," the creature explained and gave Harry the ring back, before leaving them alone.  
"Then go ahead," Severus said softly and Harry pressed down the door handle, opening the door carefully. Torches lit up as soon as they stepped inside. The air was cold and smelled dusty, as if no one had been here for hundreds of years, which had been the case. Besides that little difference and the fact that every massive door was made of gold and not silver, this vault looked very similar to Lucius'.  
"What do you think, how many doors are there?" Harry asked curiously.  
"I have no idea, but we can take a look," Lucius answered and started to make his way down the corridor.  
Harry meanwhile decided to take a look inside the first vault to his left. It was full of golden and silver coins he had never seen before.  
"How should I pay with these?" he asked, turning to Severus, who followed him curiously at his words.  
"I would propose to not by anything with them and rather keep them; they are most likely very old and valuable. Take some with you so that we can try to determine their age."  
They went to the next vault and found a similar picture. They had to look into thirteen vaults, before they finally found the first Galleons, even though they looked still slightly thicker than the current ones. He had collected a sample of ever new coin so that Severus and Lucius could examine them later.  
"49 vaults," Lucius answered, stepping up behind Harry. "What did you two find?"  
As an answer Harry put his hand into his money pouch and pulled out a handful of the strange coins. Lucius blinked in surprise.  
"Do you recognise any of them?" Harry asked.  
His mate took a closer look and then said: "I believe this one is around four hundred years old, but I have forgotten the name of the currency. I must admit, I was never really interested in money from the past."  
"Well, Harry has thirteen vaults full of those and I believe he could make a lot of money by selling only one of each," Severus snorted.  
"Indeed, and it would bring him great standing within the wizarding society if he approaches a museum with his proposal," Lucius mused.  
"49 Vaults? That's really not as much as you own, but I already knew that," Harry, who didn't find the topic very interesting, commented.  
"I believe that the founders were the richest wizards and witches of their time, but there has been no one to invest in their names for a long time, so it is only natural that another old Pureblood family has surpassed them," Lucius said.  
"The value in your inheritance doesn't lie in the money it gives you, but the regard and power the title gives you," his father said and laid an arm around his shoulders, drawing him closer. Harry snuggled happily into his side and said:  
"All that doesn't really matter to me. I never wanted fame and it doesn't make me any happier. What makes me happy is this," he gestured between Lucius, Severus and him.  
"I know, Harry," Severus smiled.  
"A true Gryffindor," Lucius muttered. "Harry was right. How you succeeded in making such a real Gryffindor child is and always will be a mystery to me."  
"You already mentioned this. Are you getting old and forgetful my friend?" Severus raised an amused eyebrow. Lucius glared back at him.  
"I think it makes things more interesting. Why would you need another boring Slytherin?" Harry teased and Severus poked him harshly in his side as punishment.  
"Ouch," he complained.  
"Don't get cocky," His father smirked.  
They left Gringotts and went back to Eeylops to collect the perch. The shopkeeper was already waiting for them and stood expectantly behind his counter, a huge grin on his face.  
"I did my very best for your son's perch," he said a bit breathlessly and went into the backroom to get the item.  
Harry gasped in awe as he saw the beautiful perch. It looked like an elegant and slightly fragile tree, made purely from gold and with delicate golden leaves on the many and beautiful sculptured branches. It stood in a black basin, where the ashes would land when Justitius had his burning day and at the highest point of the trunk, just before it divided into its many branches was the engraving they had ordered in a beautiful script.  
"That's beautiful," Harry whispered. "Hey, Justitius, do you like it?"  
The small bat, who had fallen asleep on Harry's shoulder after all the excitement of going out for the first time in his short life, opened his eyes and started to scuttle curiously back and forth on Harry's shoulder.  
Harry chuckled: "Do you want to fly over and take a closer look?"  
Immediately the bat took off and fluttered excitedly around the perch, looking at every branch and leaf, before hanging himself on one of the smaller branches.  
"I think he likes it," Harry smiled at his father.  
"How much is it?" Severus asked the shopkeeper who answered:  
"1035 Galleons and 1 Knut."  
Severus raised his eyebrow at the strange sum: "Harry, do you have a Knut? I only have Galleons and Sickles with me and I know that I do not need to ask Lucius, he never takes anything other than Galleons or a new chequebook from Gringotts."  
Harry rummaged in his red velvet pouch and took out a Knut.  
"Thank you, Harry," Severus said and gave the man his money, muttering: "Now I already have to borrow money from my own son."  
"That is why I always tell you to get a chequebook. You always get these strange amounts when you commission something unique or specific," Lucius lectured him.  
Severus glared at him but said: "Harry, call Justitius back, or he will get lost on our way home."  
"Wait a moment, I want to see if there is something specific like bat treats for him," Harry said and went deeper into the store, Justitius following him curiously.  
"Is there anything that smells delicious to you?" He asked his little friend, who started to sniff rather loudly for such a little animal, before flying off.  
Harry followed him quickly and found Justitius hovering in front of a small shelf with colourful boxes.  
"Which one do you want?" He asked, looking expectantly at the small guy. Justitius started to flutter in front of a yellow and a red box and Harry picked both of them up. The yellow box was labelled Honey Drops and the red Candied Fruits. Justitius was obviously a sweet fellow.  
"Choose one," Harry told the bat, who only turned to him with pleading puppy-eyes.  
Sighing Harry took both of the boxes and carried them over to the counter. "I guess it is your birthday after all," he said. When he had pocketed everything, he caught Justitius with his seeker trained and vampire enhanced reflexes and put him down on the shoulder: "Stay there, we are leaving now."  
Severus shrunk the perch and pocketed it as well, before asking: "Are you ready to leave?"  
Nodding, he followed his father and mate out of the shop. They were just three houses away from the Leaky Cauldron, when Harry looked up at his disguised mate and noticed that the long white hair was shortening.  
"Lucius, you are reverting back," he whispered and Severus turned worriedly to the man.  
"Quick, Dumbledore has connected Privet Drive to the warded Floo System, but we need to get you into the Leaky Cauldron before you change back," Severus said and quickened his pace. They nearly ran the last few meters to the pub and made their way over to the huge fireplace as quickly as possible. Luckily the fireplace was empty right now and Severus nearly shoved Lucius into the hearth, whose beard was shortening as well, whist his eyes grew lighter and gained a faint red tint at the edges.  
Lucius quickly threw a hand full of Floo Powder into the flames, which he had taken from one of his many robe pockets and hurried into the flames, shouting: "Privet Drive number four!"

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry followed him quickly and nearly collided with his mate at the other side of the network. Luckily Lucius looked like his old self again and was just transforming the bright robes into something that suited him more when the fireplace flared up again and Severus stepped into the living room.  
"4 hours and 43 min..." Severus started to say, but was interrupted by a loud shout:  
"Boy!"  
Harry flinched as the familiar voice rang in his sensitive ears and he expected a hand to collide with his face, when he remembered that his uncle was dead. Looking up, he saw to his horror, three silvery figures hovering in the doorway to the living room.  
"Please Merlin!" Severus sighed behind him, whilst Lucius only blinked and stared in a mixture of surprise, shock and disgust at Harry's ghostly relatives.  
"Why are they ghosts? I always thought that Muggles cannot come back," Harry asked silently.  
"I do not know the answer to that particular question," his father whispered, only to be interrupted once more:  
"How dare you to bring your freakish kind into our house?" Vernon bellowed.  
"It seems that you are not aware of the circumstances," Lucius sneered "...but this is now your nephew's house."  
"We would never give that freak our house" Petunia shrieked.  
"Petunia, what a pleasure, after all these years," Severus drawled coldly.  
Harry watched with interest at how his aunt's eyes settled on his father and widened in acknowledgment: "You are that disgusting boy!"  
"You know her?" Harry asked with interest, although it seemed logical that his father would know his mother's sister as well.  
"Of course I do," both of them answered.  
Petunia huffed and when her husband gave her a questioning look she sneered: "Lily had this disgusting boy as a friend. He always followed her like a love sick puppy and tried to hide in our house; I believe his father was an alcoholic. He wore nothing other than black and his hair was always greasy, really disgusting. He also infected her with his freakishness and two years or so after they met, they went to that place together."  
"What does she mean with that place?" Lucius asked curiously.  
"Hogwarts," Harry replied dryly.  
"Don't say those kinds of words inside our house!" Vernon bellowed.  
Harry smirked evilly: "What kind of words? Do you mean words like magic, wand, wizard or Quidditch?"  
"Dad, Harry said magic," Dudley whined next to his fat father.  
By now Lucius was looking as if he had landed in a very bad comedy series. "You should not talk down on magic muggle, or I will show you why wizards are the superior species," the vampire threatened. Harry sighed inwardly; hopefully his mate would soon notice that his family's prejudices where just as deeply embedded in their character as his own dislike for anything non-magical.  
"Enough! Get out of my house, before you lot infect my Dudley as well!" Vernon shouted.  
"I never thought it possible, that you could be even more stupid than you look muggle," Lucius sneered. "Were my words not simple enough? This house does not belong to you and your ugly excuse of a wife any longer."  
"Why would we give that freak our house?" Vernon mocked back.  
"You did not give him your house, you died and he was the only heir left," Lucius explained in a strained voice.  
"Whatever hocus pocus he did with us… we did not die! And you boy," Vernon turned his blubbery face to him again "...will take whatever spell you used off from us. Now!"  
"I didn't curse you. Why should I? You were not worth a lifelong stay in Azkaban. Voldemort killed you; I had nothing to do with it!" Harry defended himself.  
"Of course you did! Everything always has to do with you! Since you were dumped on our door step..."  
"Oh enough!" Severus roared. "Don't blame my son for your pitiful lives!"  
"Your son? No wonder he was even more freakish than we had expected! I should have known that Lily would have landed in a bed with you one day!" Petunia shrieked.  
Harry could not even feel hurt anymore by his relatives spiteful words, he had listen to them long enough and Lucius and Severus were slowly teaching him that he was worthy after all and that he deserved being loved.  
Lucius, who had finally enough of Harry's stupid relatives drew his wand and shot some green and silver sparks right through the three ghosts, shocking them into silence.  
"I will give you two options: First, you will cease this unbearable shouting and these unfounded accusations and I will let you live your dead lives in peace, or Severus and I will set up a ghost-circle and ban you three into the tiniest object I can find. What shall it be?" Lucius hissed.  
The Dursley's fell silent, turned and floated up the stairs.  
Harry followed their retreating forms with amusement; he had always wished that someone would tell them off. "They do know that they could just float through the ceiling?" He asked, shaking his head in irritation.  
"Probably not," Lucius replied and pocketed his wand again.  
"Let's get your car and then leave this hellish place," Severus grumbled and held his hand out for the key.  
"I will try and copy the parchment of the ritual as soon as I am called to Riddle Manor. Their appearance has to be related to it in some way," Lucius said whilst Harry gave his father the key to Vernon's Mercedes.  
"I want to sit in the front and watch dad drive!" Harry announced and made his way to the front door. The Mercedes was parked in the garage and Lucius quickly opened the door before Harry could start to search for the right key on his key ring. When he opened the door on the passenger's side, Lucius flicked his wand again and the seat enlarged to fit two people. Harry quickly got into the car, whilst the two older men followed him at a more leisurely pace. When Lucius had settled down next to him, he snuggled into his mate's embrace, who instantly started to comb through his hair and waited expectantly for Severus to get into the car as well. His father had some trouble to find a comfortable sitting position with his new, billowing and double layered robe.  
The man really looked odd behind a wheel, Harry thought, as his father had finally managed to sit down. As soon as the car started a horrible country song started to play from the small radio. Shuddering, Harry quickly turned the device off and Severus maneuvered the vehicle out of the garage. With a third flick of Lucius' wand the door was closed again and they made their way down Privet Drive.  
His dad really was a good driver, as if he drove to work every morning, which was, of course, not the case, but Harry had the feeling that the Potions Master was one of those people who never forgot anything.  
"How long does it take to get back to Grimmauld Place?" he asked curiously and looked out of the window.  
"About an hour and a half, if we don't get stuck in a traffic jam," Severus answered.  
Harry took Justitius from his shoulder and put the bat down in his lap, before he started to stroke the little boy.  
"Maybe we could drive a little slower and miss dinner? Molly told me that she had planned a roast and as much as I loved her roast, I am sure my stomach can't handle it anymore," Harry mused.  
"I will try my best," Severus replied.  
"Do you still plan to talk to Harry's guardians later?" Lucius asked.  
Harry laid his head against his mate's shoulder, before answering: "I guess."  
"We will talk to them," Severus affirmed.  
"How will you tell them?" Lucius asked, sounding uninterested, but Harry knew that he would like to be there as well.  
"Is there any good way to break something like this?" he asked.  
Lucius didn't answer.  
"I will tell them that I have applied for Harry's custody. Would it be possible for you, to forge the custody papers?" Severus asked.  
"I can give you the custody over Harry and rank them highly sensitive. That way only the ministry official who drew up the document will have access to it and neither you, nor I could be arrested for forgery of official documents later on," Lucius suggested.  
"But I thought that I am already of age," Harry huffed.  
"You are," Lucius agreed. "But no one can know about it just yet, or you would draw too much attention to yourself from Voldemort and the ministry. We don't need either of these options."  
"I know, but why the whole thing with the custody then?"  
"Because, I want to show your godfather, Lupin and everybody else that matters to you, that I am serious about taking care of you. It will also be very beneficial. I already know that you are of age and will treat you as such and protect your freedom in front of everybody who thinks that he or she has a say in your life. Just imagine Miss Weasley or Sirius getting suspicious about your secret mate. They might try and keep you away from Lucius, but with me as your approved guardian something like that will not happen and later on, when you announce your relationship to Lucius, some people, maybe even the minister himself, might try to refuse you the right of independence due to your young age. They could argue, that you were too young when you were turned into a vampire, that you cannot yet understand what it means to be mated and thus, cannot honestly tell if it is fine for you to take part in an sexual relationship or not and that you therefore need to be protected from your bond to Lucius. Worst case scenario, the ministry could apply as your legal guardian, because with Sirius still on the run and your muggle relatives dead you are officially an orphan right now."  
Harry gulped, if something like that would happen, he surely would not be allowed to see Lucius any longer. The Ministry would maybe even try to use him to gain power over his mate or separate them permanently.  
"Ok...will I tell them or will you do it?" He asked after a moment of silence, turning his head to look at his father.  
"I will. I should have been there to settle unpleasant things for you much earlier; we cannot change the past anymore, but I can help you to the best of my abilities from now on," Severus answered, his eyes fixed on the road in front of him.


	15. Chapter 15: A Shock For The Marauders

**Chapter 15: A Shock for the Marauders**

 **HP**

Harry had fallen asleep in his mate's arms by the time Severus had stopped the car nearly two hours later in front of Grimmauld Place. He didn't notice when Lucius carefully leaned him against the seat and went ahead so that they would not arrive at the same time.  
After another ten minutes, he was awoken by careful shaking and opened his eyes still tired and slightly confused.  
"Where are we?"  
"We are in your uncle's car in front of Grimmauld Place," Severus answered from his place beside him.  
He awoke fully and the memory of their shopping trip and the horrible visit to Privet Drive came back. Groaning, he asked: "Where is Lucius?"  
"He has gone ahead. It would be suspicious, if we all arrived at the same time," his father said and Harry nodded in understanding.  
"When did he go?" he asked and looked at the small digital clock on the radio.  
"Ten minutes ago, I think we can follow him now. Besides, I want to get out of this car as soon as possible, I always hated these things.  
"Yeah, I was surprised when you told me you had a license. Why did you learn to drive in the first place? Had you planned on going back to the muggle world after Hogwarts?"  
His father snorted: "No. To be honest, I do not really know the answer to the question myself."  
"There really is a question you can't answer?" Harry mocked him and unbuckled his seatbelt.  
"Cheeky brat," Severus muttered but got out of the car himself.  
"Yes, but I am your cheeky brat," Harry smiled joyfully. As soon as he had closed the door on his side of the car, the front door to Grimmauld Place swung open and Ron and Hermione came out.  
"Harry, you're back!" Hermione flung herself around her neck, as if she had feared for his life.  
"So you really can drive?" Ron asked Severus, who ignored the question in favour of one of his glares.  
"He can," Harry affirmed.  
"How was your trip? Everything went well? Ron and I started to get worried when it was already 5 PM and you weren't back yet," Hermione asked at a rapid pace and Harry had to blink a few times and sort her questions, before he was able to answer.  
"Shopping was fine. Da...I mean...Severus got some really great new robes and he bought Justitius a really beautiful perch," Harry told his friends.  
"I bought the perch for you, not for that annoying, hyperactive bat," his father huffed, shoving Justitius away, who was once again excitedly fluttering around and had come too close to the Potions Masters head.  
"Yeah, but I am not the one who will hang on it," Harry replied, before turning his attention back to his friends: "We also visited the founders' vault and I brought some strange coins I found there and..." Hermione interrupted him excitedly:  
"Oh, you have to show them to me! I bet they are historical...you know, coins they used in the past..."  
"Hermione, we know what the word historical means," Ron muttered. "We are not that stupid."  
"I can lend them to you. To be honest, neither I nor Severus has any clue as to which era they are from, they must be really old," Harry told his brainy friend, who beamed happily at the perspective of learning something new.  
"But what I actually wanted to tell you was that the Dursley's are back!" Harry told them.  
"What?" Ron asked incensed and Hermione said: "I thought they were killed by the killing curse."  
"They are not back in the sense you are thinking of right now Miss Granger," Severus drawled. "They are ghosts."  
"Ghosts?" Ron echoed dumbly.  
"Yeah, now I'm living in a house where a crazy portrait screams Mudbloods and Bloodtraitors and own a house where three ghosts get upset about the freaks I bring to their precious home," Harry complained.  
"Then let's hope that you don't find any other evil portraits at your mate's home," Ron chuckled, but Harry paled and threw a questioning look at his father, who only shrugged. Somehow, Harry had the feeling that it was very likely that he would find some more ranting relatives at Malfoy Manor.  
"We should go inside, it is not wise to stand around in front of the headquarters," Severus said and they quickly followed him inside.  
"Have we missed dinner?" Harry asked innocently and Ron looked apologetic.  
"You have, and there is nothing left. When Bill and Charley found out that mum was preparing a roast, they floo'ed over."  
"It's okay, we ate back at Diagon Alley, so I am not hungry yet anyway," Harry replied and went down the hallway to the dingy living room, only the the room wasn't really that dingy any more.  
It was still not beautiful and the carpets were perforated as before, but at least it was clean.  
"Wow, Kreacher must have been really diligent today," Harry said appreciatively.  
"Yes, it was really annoying, he ran through the house the whole day, cleaning like crazy and muttering 'For great Master Lucius', or 'Finally a respectable wizard back in my dear Lady's house'," Ron muttered darkly.  
"I am really not happy that Malfoy has ordered him to clean the whole house alone; it was too much. Wizards really need to have more respect for their house elves," Hermione huffed."Mione, the lazy elf has done nothing for the last ten years or even longer. It was about time that someone set him straight again," Ron said. "I only wish that Sirius would have been the one, to accomplish that feat as now we have to be grateful to that prick," Ron replied dryly.  
Harry really hated the fact that his friends and guardians insulted his mate so often. It hurt him physically to listen to all those foul words whilst he could not defend Lucius. The feeling of guilt was quickly growing in his stomach since the aristocrat's arrival and he was about to open his mouth and probably say something stupid and better left unsaid, when his father saved him:  
"Lucius Malfoy is an intelligent, talented and most of all useful acquaintance. He is one of the best lawyers in Britain, has a lot of influence in the Ministry and holds the highest rank among the Dark Lord's followers. Harry was wise to add him to the Order, so you better be careful with your words, because he will not be as forgiving with all these insults and might leave the Order very quickly if you and the other members don't cease your disrespectful behaviour."  
Harry knew that Lucius would not just leave, but his father's words had the desired effect:  
Ron grumbled something like: "Would be better if he left; and as if you are so forgiving," but shut his mouth after that.  
Harry gave his father a thankful smile; he only held his gaze for a moment, but didn't react in any other way. He sighed; it would probably take his father a while, before he would be as openly loving and caring as he had been in Diagon Alley at Grimmauld Place, where all the people who had always made his life difficult resided.  
"Do any of you know where the mu...where Black and Lupin are right now?" Severus asked.  
"I believe they went back to their room," Hermione answered quickly as ever when she was asked something by a teacher.  
"I will go and ask them to come down," Severus said and disappeared back into the hallway quickly.  
Harry sat down awkwardly; he really was nervous about the upcoming conversation, more so than he had been before he had introduced Lucius to the order. Back then, he would have had Dumbledore's support and it was not really a personal matter, at least not as far as the other knew, but now it was different. His father was probably the one person, who was hated by Sirius as much as Lord Voldemort himself, maybe even more. Sirius' dislike, or hatred for Severus, whatever it actually was, went back even further than the man's hatred for Voldemort. The animagus had fought with the Potions genius when he wasn't even old enough to completely realize what a frightening person the Dark Lord was.  
He would not even begin to hope, that his father and godfather would someday miraculously get along, they had far too much history, but at least both men tried their best to not insult the other in front of him, which probably didn't mean that they didn't throw hateful words at each other as soon as he left the room, but still, it was at least something.  
"So, you are going to tell Sirius and Remus about...you and Professor Snape?" Hermione asked, pulling him from his thoughts.  
"Please, Mione, don't make it sound as if Harry had an affair with our Professor!" Ron exclaimed, flopping down next to him. Harry snickered; at least an affair with a Professor was something he would not have to confess to his friends someday.  
"Yeah. I am sick of my life based on lies. I want them to know the truth," He answered truthfully.  
"I can actually understand that, it must be unnerving to live a life where all the important things were made up by others. But you really didn't have much luck there; first the thing with Snape, your mum and the ritual and along comes Dumbledore and puts another ritual on top of that. How we could ever have believed that you are our age is a mystery to me. I mean, I even saw you under the showers after Quidditch practice, at least I should have noticed that something was seriously wrong," Ron mused.  
Harry only blinked, he still had no feelings about the impression he made on other people.  
"You're right Ron," Hermione agreed. "It is obviously now when we aren't under the ritual's influence anymore. I am really glad that you don't belong to those kinds of magical creatures who mate as soon as they have found their other half. You are still much too young for that type of thing."  
"I suppose I am," Harry replied evasively; they were right after all, but that didn't change anything anymore at this point.  
"So, you have accepted Professor Snape then? You wanted to call him dad in front of the house, didn't you?" his brainy friend asked suddenly, changing the topic.  
Harry nodded. "I have. It is hard to describe, but when we were at the robe shop for Potions Masters and Severus came out in his new robes, which didn't reek of potions fumes, I could suddenly smell that he is my father, so it feels kind of natural to call him dad," He told them.  
"And he would have let you call him dad?" Ron asked in disbelief.  
"I have been all the time in Diagon Alley," he replied and smiled happily at the memory. "It was nice to call someone father."  
Ron made a face and Hermione looked back at him slightly disturbed. Harry could see that his friends were still torn between being happy for him to finally have a parent and not liking their unpopular Potions Professor. Ron had honestly told him this yesterday. They tried their best to understand him, but they had not witnessed how caring the grumpy man could be and they didn't have Harry's keen senses and instincts, which helped him to accept Severus Snape as what he was.  
"Your new abilities are really impressive," Hermione finally said after a moment of awkward silence. "I really wish that you would tell us what kind of creature you have become, it must be something spectacular. I cannot even start to imagine what it must be like to be able to smell things like blood relations to somebody, it is really awesome."  
Harry smiled: "It is and without this ability I would have a much harder time to come to terms with the whole having-Snape-as-a-father-thing, but my instincts took care of all lingering doubts."  
"I am really happy for you...but I am also happy that it's you who found out that he is your father and not me," Ron chuckled.  
"I think you are not the one who is most happy about that. I think Severus would have passed out if Dumbledore had told him that you were his son and not me," Harry snickered; the picture was far too hilarious.  
"Harry, you can call him dad in front of us," Hermione said.  
Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Hermione shoved her elbow into his ribs hard, making him gasp and shut up.  
"Thank you, Mione," Harry smiled, it meant a lot to him that his friends were at least comfortable enough with the situation to be fine with hearing him talking about Snape as dad.  
"Call him dad if you want to, but promise me that you will address him as such in one of our potions classes, when it is safe to do so of course, but I really want to see the faces of all his Slytherins realizing that the Gryffindor golden boy is the son of their beloved Head of House," Ron snickered.  
"I will do that," Harry promised, liking the idea of shocking the snakes into silence for once, and seeing Hermione's expression, so did she.  
They could hear footsteps coming downstairs and Hermione took Ron by his arm: "We will go up to our room and wait there for you."  
Ron didn't look as if he wanted to leave Harry alone, but Hermione pulled on his sleeve once more: "Come on, Ron, Professor Snape will not appreciate us being there for this conversation. We really should not stay."  
"Good luck," Ron mumbled, before he was dragged off.  
His friends were just gone for a moment, when Severus entered with Harry's two unofficial guardians in toe. Sirius looked fairly grumpy and annoyed, whilst Remus tried for a neutral expression and Severus face was a blank mask.  
Harry had the feeling that his father had had a hard time to get the two remaining Marauders downstairs and his suspicion was confirmed when Sirius muttered: "Don't think that I would have come down for you, Snape. I still don't understand what kind of news Harry has to tell us, which requires you to be present as well."  
"As I already told you Black, it is not only Harry who has to tell you something, but both of us," his father snapped.  
Harry flinched, that didn't sound very promising.  
"Please Sirius, just sit down, it really is important," he tried and gave his godfather his puppy-eyes. Sirius sighed and wanted to sit down next to him, when Severus had already fluidly taken the seat himself. Sirius looked as if he would blow up any moment, but luckily Remus pulled him by his arm to the other couch, dragging him down next to him.  
"So, what is it you have to tell us? Do Remi and I need to go on a long mission for the Order with that stinking...?"  
"Sirius," Remus growled and bared his fangs. Harry had never noticed that they were actually a bit longer and sharper than human ones until now. The werewolf was always so balanced and calm that he never growled at anybody. Sirius huffed and fixed his eyes on Harry, refusing to acknowledge his father.  
Severus pulled out a scroll then and laid it on the table between the four of them, but Sirius still didn't look at the man.  
Sighing in irritation, Severus said: "I am applying for the guardianship and custody of Harry."  
That finally made Sirius snap his head around: "You what?" The animagus barked, rage blazing in his dark blue eyes. Remus suddenly looked very angry himself and Harry saw his former professor's nails digging into his godfathers arm in an attempt to stay calm.  
"Why?" the werewolf asked coldly.  
Sirius interjected his friend's words with a growl. "It doesn't matter why Moony, the git has no right to apply for Harry's custody, if anyone should try to get his custody, it should be you, me or even the Weasley's but not him!"  
"By Merlin's beard, for once sit down and listen first before jumping up and shouting like the stupid Gryffindor you are!" his father barked and Harry grabbed one of the man's hands to calm him down, but he quickly realized that this had been a silly gesture, when Sirius roared:  
"Are you molesting my godson? I swear Snivellus; I will take you to Azkaban even if it means that they shove me back in there as well!"  
Now Severus looked positively angry: "Oh shut the hell up mutt, or I will hex your unbearable trap closed!"  
Remus started to growl protectively and Harry saw his father's glamours starting to flicker at the edges, as he bared his fangs and hissed. Shoving him harshly, Severus luckily realized that they had to calm down unless they wanted a real disaster to occur this evening.  
"Just tell him the story," Harry urged him and at his father's incredulous look he added: "You don't need to add many details, just the important facts."  
Severus nodded and then asked surprisingly politely: "Would you sit down again, so that I might be able to finally tell you the story behind the matter?"  
Sirius and Remus growled, but did as asked.  
"You were right, Lupin, when you said James Potter did something big for me to pay his debt back," Severus started.  
Remus blinked in confusion, having not expected to hear this confession from the man and Harry sighed in relief as the shouting stopped for a moment.  
"Lily and I had a much deeper and intimate relationship than you two ever knew and it was in fact me, not James who had been in a relationship with her."  
Sirius snorted: "Don't make me laugh, Lily would never have chosen you over James. Why would she? James was attractive, funny, and talented at Quidditch and he was a Gryffindor, whilst you have always been grumpy and greasy and..."  
"You are right mutt, James was all that, but he was also Lily's cousin," Severus cut him off. Harry watched as every expression glided over his godfather's face, leaving only a very confused look behind. Using the silence that created his father continued with his story:  
"Lily and I had a single night together, before we fell out, you surely are able to remember the day I speak about; it must have been one of your more joyful memories."  
Sirius and Remus nodded in affirmation. Harry wanted to growl at them, but quickly squashed the urge and continued to listen instead.  
"As it was, Lily noticed that she was pregnant and went to her cousin for help. Unfortunately, I had already joined Voldemort's ranks at that time, so they apparently decided to perform a ritual that is called the heritage ritual."  
Remus eyes widened in disbelief. "But that is dark magic," he said.  
"You of all people should know that Gryffindors are not above using the dark arts," Severus sneered, referring to Peter Pettigrew.  
Sirius gave Remus a questioning look who quickly elaborated: "The heritage ritual makes sure, that only physical traits of one parent develop. As far as I know it can be made even stronger by using a bit of blood from one of the relatives of the parent the child should resemble later."  
"You mean James gave Lily his blood to make sure that Harry would look like him?" Sirius asked, his voice sounding disgusted.  
"That is what he did," Severus affirmed.  
Sirius eyes shifted back to Harry and Harry had the feeling that his godfather was trying to find any resemblance to Severus in his face. He tried his best to endure the scrutinizing glance from his godfather, but with his new instincts it wasn't easy and he began squirming in discomfort. Only when his father placed a soothing hand on his shoulder did Sirius seem to notice what he was doing and asked: "But why?"  
"To protect Harry and myself from Voldemort's wrath," Severus explained.  
"Who told you all this, Harry? Do you have any proof?" Remus asked, eyeing his father coldly.  
"Albus told us, Severus didn't know until the day before the Order meeting himself and we have proof." He said and his father gave the parchment over to Remus at his words.  
The werewolf unrolled the document and his godfather leaned over his shoulder to be able to look at it as well. Their eyes flew across the lines and then both men gasped in unison.  
"Harry Severus..." Sirius mumbled.  
"How did Dumbledore know about this? Did Lily tell him?" Remus asked; Sirius was currently too shocked to do anything else but listen. Harry saw the pain, confusion and expression of loss in his godfather's eyes and he had to close his own eyes for a moment. He had long ago realized that he was not only important to his godfather as a person and his godson, but as a last connection to his late best friend and right now Sirius looked as if James had died all over again.  
His father eyed his godfather for a moment, before explaining: "Lily and James preformed the ritual in the room of requirement and Albus noticed the gathering magic. When he went to check what was happening, he found Lily and James and they told him everything. Albus helped them to protect Harry, but they died not even two years later."  
"Why didn't Dumbledore give Harry to you after their death?" Remus inquired.  
"Albus had the suspicion all along that the Dark Lord would rise again and Harry and would have been in even more danger if he had found out that I am his father after his resurrection, besides, I went to him and offered to work as his spy in hope of revenge for Lily and end this war once and for all," Severus sighed.  
"And only for the sake of the war Harry had to live with the Dursley's for eleven years?" Remus growled.  
"Not for eleven years, for eight," Harry mumbled absentmindedly, not realizing at first, that he had corrected Remus automatically.  
"What do you mean by eight? You lived with this horrible muggles until your Hogwarts letter arrived," Remus said.  
Harry fidgeted nervously, he could tell the whole story now that they were at it anyway, but it would be a lot to take in for the already overwhelmed looking man, although Remus still looked slightly better than Sirius and he was slightly nervous about the outcome.  
He quickly looked over at his father, asking him with his eyes if he was against telling them, but Severus only nodded curtly.  
"I...I never told you how bad the Dursley's abuse really was," he stuttered. "They locked me in that cupboard under the stairs for days. They starved me, hit me and I had to do chores since I was very small..."  
Remus growled angrily.  
"Albus had watched all this until I was nearly eight and it grew even worse..." Harry's voice left him then and he snuggled into his father's side, not able to tell them about the beatings.  
"It was still important to keep the protection of the blood wards for Harry, but it also became unavoidable that someone had to save Harry from the abuse he had to suffer. Albus decided to perform a second ritual on him, one that would make every human who had ever heard about him think that he was already turning eleven instead of eight. This way, he was able to send Harry his Hogwarts letter three years earlier and ensure the blood wards during the summer holidays," his father continued for him. He was thankful that the man had not mentioned the extent of his abuse either, but as someone who had lived through physical abuse as well, Severus had to know how humiliating it felt.  
His guardians' eyes fixed on him once more and it was as if a veil was lifted in front of them, as the ritual lost its effect on the marauders.  
"Oh no...Harry," Remus looked sad beyond belief and Harry could see the same expression in Sirius' face for a moment, before despair and anger ripped his features apart:  
Suddenly Sirius jumped back to his feet, pointing with his finger at Severus: "I can't accept this story!" Harry looked in shock at his godfather. The talk had gone so well so far, what had suddenly gone wrong?  
"And even if everything is apparently true, that doesn't mean that you have the right to become his father! You thick bastard! You should have loved Harry for being Lily's son all along and not hating him for being James'! You made his life even more miserable for the last four years and now you come along and want to play happy family with him? I won't let you!" His godfather continued.  
His father rose as well; his expression thunderous. Harry tried to hold him down, but as a submissive child vampire he was not strong enough to restrain his father:  
"Don't think I do not regret all the hateful and hurtful words I have thrown at my own son in the last years Black! You are right, I hated him for not being mine; I knew it was wrong, but it was too painful to see a child every week, that was made by my soul mate and another man! And how should I have known with all those rituals affecting everybody around him?"  
Harry grabbed the hand of his father again; it was enough that he still blamed himself, he didn't need Sirius' accusations on top of that, but his godfather didn't see his pleading look.  
"Harry was always James' son and he always will be, regardless of who his sire might have been! And I can't believe that you are accepting him, Harry! How can you betray James' memory like this?" Sirius shouted, before turning and stomping out of the living room.  
For a moment Harry hoped that Remus at least would see reason, but the man only said: "I think Sirius is right; you have no right to become his father," before following his mate upstairs.  
Harry sat there for a moment in frozen shock, then the realization of what had just happened and what Sirius had said hit him and his walls broke. Tears started to pour down his cheeks, first silently and then accompanied by loud sobs. As soon as the first sound left his throat his father was next to him again, lifting him into his lap and cradling him against his strong chest.  
"Shh, Harry, he will come to terms with the truth. Even your little friends did, didn't they?"  
Hiccuping, Harry asked: "Was it so important to him, that I was James' son? Did he only love me because everyone thought that I was the son of his dead friend?" He could not understand why his godfather and Lupin rather wanted to see him as an orphan than with Severus Snape as father. How could they be so cruel? Hadn't they seen how happy he was with Severus? Hadn't they seen how much the dark man loved and cared for him?  
"No, I am sure he loves you for yourself as well and if he doesn't know it yet, he will come to realize it soon," his father stroked with a calming gesture over his back and rocked him gently.  
"Am I really throwing James' memory away by accepting you? And why was Remus so infuriated if he already knew?" he mumbled.  
"No, of course not, Remus himself told us that James has acted as your father to save you, and in hope that we would be happy as a family together someday," his father reminded him.  
Harry sniffed and snuggled even closer.  
"He didn't know exactly what James had done for me and it wasn't what he had expected or what he would ever have wished for," Severus explained softly.  
"Why do they all hate you so much?" Harry cried and buried his hands in his father's robes.  
"You should know that yourself. I am a closed off and unpleasant man to those I don't like. Sure, it was them who started our animosity all those years ago, but since then I did my fair share to make it worse instead of better."  
"Why does everybody insist on keeping old grudges up as long as possible?" Harry wanted to know, he could not understand why it was apparently so difficult to just forgive sometimes. He never had those problems, especially if it was with someone who was important to him.  
"Not everybody has been given such a great heart as you have. But I am sure that you will be able to teach us how to be as kind-hearted as you are," his father chuckled. "I really have a son who is too good for this world. How could I of all people have done this? I was always so bitter myself," he mused.  
"And now you aren't anymore?" Harry asked, his sobs stopping abruptly and he looked up with huge, questioning eyes.  
"No, not anymore. Maybe a little, but you have taken nearly all the bitterness away from me," Harry felt a kiss pressed to the top of his head.  
"I am glad," He sniffled. He felt a movement on his shoulder and suddenly a small, warm body pressed to his cheek, hugging his face and chirping consolingly.  
Harry chuckled: "Justitius," he mumbled and lifted a finger to stroke his small friend.  
"Do you think you are calm enough to go up to your friends? It is very late already and they are probably either asleep or worried sick about you."  
"I think I will be fine," He sat up and smiled at his father.  
"Do not worry too much, you are a far too lovable brat, they will realize it soon," Severus said and hugged him one last time, before placing him back on the ground.  
"Sleep well," Harry mumbled and went up the stairs. When he was on the first floor, he could hear Sirius' aggravated voice from the room across, but he didn't listen and opened his own door silently.  
It was already dark inside and soft sleeping sounds came from the beds of his friends. He didn't feel like lying down in his own bed alone and sniffed silently. He wanted the comfort of his mate, or his father. Was it because Albus' ritual had had an effect on him as well, or because of his change into a submissive or merely the fact that he now had two people he could go to for comfort, that he did not have the energy to go through his misery alone anymore?  
Feeling cold, lonely and still very hurt by Sirius and Remus' words he silently changed into his nightshirt, sniffling all the while. When he had changed he crawled under his blanket and turned on his side, before closing his eyes.  
Unfortunately an hour later found him still wide awake. Whenever he closed his eyes, he saw Sirius' hurt expression, his look of loss and then his anger. His godfathers and Remus' words echoed in his mind:  
 _And even if everything is apparently true, that doesn't mean that you have the right to become his father! You thick bastard! You made his life even more miserable for t he last four years and now you come along and want to play happy family with him? I won't let you! Harry was always James' son and he always will be, regardless of who his sire might have been!  
I think Sirius is right; you have no right to become his father! _  
The tears started to gather in his eyes again and his body started to shake. How long would it take until he could have a peaceful life? Would that ever happen? And why was he still laying cold and alone in this bed, when he had two people he could go to? Sitting up slowly, he tried to decide where to go. It probably would not be a good idea to go to Lucius, just in case someone went looking for him. Taking his new wand from his nightstand, he quickly transformed Lucius' shirt into something more appropriate, a t-shirt and a short pants, both in Gryffindor colours.  
This time Hermione didn't awake when he tiptoed over to the door. Justitius, who had been hanging onto a curtain until now, fluttered over to him and landed on his shoulder, apparently set on accompanying him wherever he would go. Sirius and Remus must have gone to bed as well, because nothing but silence came from their room as he passed the closed door on his way to the stairs. He made his way up quickly, but stopped in front of his father's room.  
Severus was probably sleeping as well and he didn't want to wake him, so he pushed down the door handle carefully, praying that it wouldn't be locked. It wasn't. The door made no sound as he pushed it open and slipped inside. Last time he had been here he had not paid any attention as to where the bed was located, but he found it quickly to his left. Wondering, how he should climb under his attentive father's blanket unnoticed and whether he should even do so without asking first, he went over to the big piece of furniture.  
Severus lay motionless on his back, his pale face framed by his black hair and looking more relaxed than he had ever seen the man. He really didn't want to wake his peaceful slumber, but just when he was about to turn and go again, his father's red ringed eyes opened, instantly settling on him.  
Without saying a word Severus lifted a corner of his blanket and invited him in. Harry didn't have to be invited twice and quickly climbed onto the mattress, before snuggling against his father's side, whilst his little bat searched the room for a place to sleep. Justitius found his golden perch in one corner and settled down once more, chirping joyfully.  
Harry, who had watched his little familiar chuckled softly and laid his head onto the soft pillow. Severus then turned around and laid one arm over Harry's waist, drawing him closer. Happily, Harry noticed that his father's touch provided as much warmth as his mate's touch always did and sighed in comfort.  
"I love you, dad," he mumbled before closing his eyes. The last words he heard before finally drifting off was his father's unusually soft voice echoing: "I love you too, Harry."

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HG**

When Hermione woke the next morning Harry was still gone. She had still been awake when the small raven had returned, but said nothing. To be honest, Ron and she had decided to give their friend a bit of space after they had witnessed the argument from their place on the stairs where they had listened in on everything, too worried about their young friend to just leave him alone. This way, they had also witnessed how truly caring the normally cold Professor was with Harry.  
When Harry had started to sob loudly, Ron and her had come down to comfort him, thinking that Snape would surely not do so, but they both had been frozen in shock as they had seen the man pulling Harry onto his lap, stroking his back and whispering comforting words to him. It was then that they had finally left, and to be honest, she had been surprised that Harry had returned at all.  
Yawning, she sat up before standing up and going over to the snoring redhead in order to wake him. It wasn't an easy task after they had stayed awake so long last night, but she finally just pushed him out of his bed and onto the hard wooden floor.  
"Hey," Ron grumbled sleepily, but finally sat up.  
"I will go and get ready, you better do the same," she said, before grabbing her toiletries from the place where she had put them on a stool next to her cot and went out of the room and over to the bathroom.  
Whilst brushing her hair she thought that Severus Snape might turn out to be exactly what Harry needed. The man could obviously be very warm and caring with the few people he loved; it almost seemed as if he spent all the love he possessed on Harry, whilst everybody else divided their love between the many people he or she cared about. Harry was of course a whole different matter; no one else possessed as much love as he did. Hopefully his mate would be somebody who was worth the boy's love as well.  
In contrast to Ron, she could easily imagine Harry as a submissive. Harry wasn't the strong hero with the sharp edges. He was kind and gentle and warm-hearted. It hadn't even really surprised her to hear that he was not willing to fight any longer and she was sure, if any person could find something similar to a peaceful way of ending this war, it would be him.  
Putting her brush aside, she quickly dressed into a short sleeved summer blouse and a knee long skirt before going back into the room she shared with her two best friends.  
"Where is Harry?" Ron greeted her as she came back in.  
"I think he went back to... Snape," the whole name-issue bothered her a bit; for Harry it was easy, he had been calling their Professor dad since yesterday and sometimes Severus, but how should she and Ron address the man? They didn't have a personal relationship with the Potions Master, but it was just weird to call the father of one's best friend Professor outside of class at least.  
"Did he come back yesterday?"  
"Yes, but only for an hour or so, he was still very... distressed when he left," she answered.  
"I really thought I would get a stroke when I saw Harry sitting with the git cuddled together on the sofa," Ron muttered and pulled a shirt over his head.  
"It was strange to see, but don't you think it is great?" she asked, putting her toiletries back down.  
"Of course it is great for him. I never said anything else and Sirius and Remus are pricks to tell him all that shit about how Snape shouldn't be his father and he should not accept him."  
"I never thought that I would say something like this about them, but they are," Hermione agreed.  
Silently they went down to breakfast. They were fairly late, so they didn't meet anybody on their way downstairs. Entering the room, she saw Dumbledore to her surprise sitting at the long table. The old headmaster looked a lot more relaxed than the last couple of times she had seen him; maybe Harry had been right to assume that the Professor was getting too old for all the responsibilities he had taken on himself. Currently he was sitting across from Mr. Weasley chattering animatedly.  
Sirius and Remus were already there as well, looking as if they were in a particular sour mood. Far away from everybody sat the Malfoy Lord, having a grumpy expression himself, so did Ginny, who was looking at the door every so often, most likely waiting for Harry to show up. Only Fred and George were cheerful as ever and so she decided to take a seat next to the twins. Ron followed her, grabbing a mug of cocoa in passing, before sitting down himself.  
"Is Harry coming down soon?" Hermione looked up and saw Sirius leaning over to him.  
"I don't know, he didn't sleep in our room last night, but I think he will be down in a few minutes."  
"What do you mean he didn't sleep in your room last night? Where did he sleep then?" Sirius cut her off. Sighing she answered pointedly: "I believe he went back to Snape. The conversation really distressed him." Her glare was lost on the two men when the animagus jumped to his feet, shouting: "He is sleeping over by the git and you didn't stop him?"  
"What do you think will happen? He is Harry's father," Ron muttered and his twin brothers spluttered.  
"Snape is what?" they asked in unison and Molly nearly dropped the pan with scrambled eggs she was holding in her hand.  
"That can't possibly be right," Ginny huffed and rolled her eyes. "My Harry could never be the son of that disgusting and scary person."  
"Is that true, Albus?" Arthur Weasley asked calmly, seemingly noticing the tense atmosphere for the first time.  
"It is," Dumbledore answered, his bright blue eyes twinkling merrily.  
Hermione sighed heavily, some days she believed she was living in a house full of big children.  
"When did you find out about it Albus?" Molly asked, but no one answered her when Sirius stood up:  
"I will go and take him out of there. Who knows what Snivellus is doing with him? Harry doesn't need to be insulted by the slimy bastard more than he already has been...who knows, maybe he will even use the chance and hand him over to Voldemort after all," Sirius grumbled and went to the door.  
Immediately everybody was on their feet, hurriedly following the enraged animagus. Absentmindedly Hermione noticed that even Lucius Malfoy was following him, at a more leisurely pace and with a bored expression on his face, but nonetheless he still followed. She wondered about his reasons, but then she just assumed that the Malfoy-Lord was coming along because he and Harry had formed some sort of strange...acquaintanceship and he probably saw it as his duty to appear concerned about the boy who was supposed to revenge his lost family for him. Purebloods worked like that, they had an odd code of duties and their morals were often even more disturbing to someone with a Muggle background like hers.  
"Sirius, enough! You are going too far!" Dumbledore was shouting after Sirius, trying to catch up to him, but the man had too much of a lead.  
Suddenly Malfoy passed them all, stopping Sirius at the door to the Potions Masters bedroom:  
"You should think carefully, Black, before you make everything worse. Harry deserves to have a father and he also deserves a supporting godfather, not someone who tries to separate him from the only family he has left out of his own egoism," the aristocrat spat.  
Sirius shook the hand on his arm off spitting back: "Snape his only left family? Lily and James were his parents and they are dead. The git will never be able to replace them and I don't trust him one bit. You probably are in league with him in whatever plan you two have been plotting to lure him out and bring him to your true master!"  
Closing her eyes, Hermione thanked whatever god was listening that Harry didn't hear this particular argument right now; it would surely destroy the fragile Gryffindor to hear all those things. Next to her Ron clenched his fist, apparently she was not the only one who wanted to shake some sense into the adults, and Ron looked as if he was barely restraining himself.  
Sirius opened the door to Snape's room then and stomped inside, quickly followed by everybody else. She quickly grabbed Ron's hand and dragged him through the small crowd, so that they would be able to see everything that would happen.  
The room was dark and her eyes needed a moment to adjust, but as soon as she could finally make something out she froze like everybody else:  
Harry and the Professor lay cuddled together in the Potions Masters huge bed. Snape had one arm protectively wrapped around the small boy, who was turned towards the man, holding on to the teachers black nightshirt, his face buried in the man's chest and still fast asleep. A soft expression lay on Snape's face. The man shifted in his sleep and consciously or unconsciously pressed a soft kiss to Harry's black locks. Harry sighed happily in his sleep, snuggling even closer and just when Hermione was sure that nobody would dare to disturb this peaceful picture of father and son sleeping together, Sirius grabbed the arm that was lying on top of the covers and tried to yank Harry out of bed.  
Both males reacted instantly:  
Snape's arm tightened around Harry's waist, preventing the boy from being pulled away even before the black eyes of their Professor had opened. Harry woke up as well and for a moment, Hermione thought she had seen something red flashing in those normally warm, green orbs. Then Harry moved quickly, far too quickly to see exactly what he had done but a second later Sirius hissed, five long gashes marring his arms, like wounds of sharp claws, but when she looked down at Harry's hand, the boys nails looked normal.  
Hermione saw Sirius, Remus, Harry and Snape's eyes flashing, but before any of them could make another move Ron shouted:  
"Enough!"  
Looking over to one of her best friends she saw that Ron was too enraged to be able to find the right words, so she stepped in front of the bed, glaring fiercely at the animagus and his mate:  
"How could you? Both of you! You say that Harry is the most important person to you, but you behaved like little egoistic and self-centred three-year olds! Is it that important who his father is that you are now ready to make him miserable only because you are unhappy that Harry's father is a man you never liked, instead of being happy for him that he isn't fully alone after all? You two talk about honouring James Potter's memory, but James Potter sacrificed himself, so that Harry and Professor Snape could one day have what they are now having, a loving relationship!"  
Sirius wanted to protest, but Ron quickly cut him off once more, having found his voice again: "Isn't it enough that Harry was alone for the first years of his life? Haven't you all messed enough in his life?" By these words he even glared at Dumbledore shortly. "I don't like Snape either and it is really strange to see him like this with my best friend, but he makes Harry happy so I try to come to terms with it and be happy as well!" Fuming like a provoked dragon, Ron turned and stomped out of the room.  
For a moment silence hung heavy in the gloomy room, until Snape had apparently overcome his shock of being woken by a horde of Gryffindors and barked: "Out!"  
To Hermione's relief, Dumbledore grabbed Sirius arm and dragged him out and leaving no option but to follow Snape's order. With a last hesitant smile at her friend, who still looked sleepy and very shocked, she left as well.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry stared at the door, which had just closed behind Hermione. His mind was still not fully aware and he had difficulties to process what had just happened.  
"Was it a bad dream, or did Sirius try to drag me out of bed without even waking me first?" Slowly his anger was surfacing and he had to concentrate to keep his glamour intact.  
"Sadly, it was not a dream," his father replied dryly.  
"And did I really injure Sirius?"  
Silence for a moment and then: "Yes, you did."  
Turning back around, he snuggled back into his father's chest, hugging the man tightly and mumbling: "Should I apologize?"  
"No," Severus answered without missing a beat. "Black was stupid by trying to pull a sleeping magical creature out of bed without waking you first. You only followed your instincts."  
"Ok...but I really feel bad about it..." he admitted. Severus sighed, a 'why do I have such a Gryffindorish son' - sigh and he quickly added: "...even though, I don't want to apologize."  
"I really had hoped for a quiet and peaceful morning," his father muttered and lay back down.  
"Yeah, but at least Ron and Hermione gave them a piece of their minds," he sighed.  
"They surely gave them a talk worth remembering," Severus agreed.  
Harry chuckled happily: "I will tell them that you complimented them."  
"Don't you dare, I have a reputation," Severus huffed.  
"You can't be grumpy in front of them all the time, they are my best friends and you will see them more often than before; besides, they already saw you and me cuddling in the bed," He argued amused.  
"I do not cuddle,"  
"Yes you do," Harry replied.  
They fell silent for a few more moments, until they felt more awake and then sat up.  
"Shall I transform your night clothing into some of those tasteless muggle outfits you preferred before your mating or do you want to go down to your room and change?" Severus asked and stood up.  
"Some muggle clothes will be fine for now, I can change later after breakfast," Harry answered, still lying lazily in bed.  
"You have to get up then," his father smirked and he finally sat up.  
Ten minutes later they arrived in the kitchen, Severus in one of his new robes and Harry in a green t-shirt and a pair of yellow shorts with Justitius happily following him and even Nagini had joined them on the stairs.  
Everybody seemed to wait for them; probably to prevent any possible continuation of the dispute from half an hour ago, but his guardians were currently not there. It was strangely silent when he sat down between his father and Ron and across from Dumbledore and Lucius. How those two had ended up seated next to each other, Harry wasn't quite sure, but he assumed that both men had sat down near his friends to talk to him or just have an eye on him and Severus.  
Hopefully glancing subtly over at his mate, he saw that the noble man looked pale and tired, even paler than he normally was these days. Lucius must have seen his unspoken question, because he lifted an eyebrow and told him pointedly: "I retrieved the document about the ritual that ensured the blood wards at your house last night."  
So his mate had been called to Voldemort, no wonder that he looked like death warmed over. Worried, he took another look at the aristocrat from under his bangs, whilst seemingly eying his empty plate. Lucius couldn't die easily anymore, but that didn't mean that Voldemort couldn't make a visit to Riddle Manor a hellish event. Sadly he noticed, that the shadows under Lucius' eyes and on his cheeks were more pronounced.  
"We will talk after breakfast," he said, slipping into the role of the Order Leader. Lucius gave a curt nod of understanding.  
A huge amount of bacon and eggs were dropped on his plate then. As he looked up Molly smiled brightly down at him: "Eat up, you need it and in three days you lot go back to Hogwarts and Merlin knows, that you will not eat as much as you should once you are there."  
"Thank you, Molly," he said and took a bite.  
"Oh Harry, look! You are in the paper along with Professor Snape and Dumbledore," Hermione said, holding the paper out for Harry to take, but Lucius was faster. The man unfolded the Daily Prophet and stared at the front page for a moment, before glaring at Severus, who only lifted one eyebrow in amusement.  
Huffing, Harry snatched the paper from his mate's hands and took a look himself.  
"Can you read it out loud?" Ron asked.  
"Sure," he replied, before he had even taken a look at the headline, he had been too transfixed with the picture, showing his mate, who luckily was looking at the ground so that his annoyed face was hidden, and his father and him just exiting Eeylops.  
When Harry started to read, he quickly noticed, that it was a mistake to agree to read the article out loud:

 **Intriguing boy seen in Diagon Alley at the side of two Professors (by Rita Skeeter).**  
Witches and wizards alike were stunned into openly staring as they came across an intriguing boy in Diagon Alley yesterday. This reporter had the fortune of getting a glimpse of the charming child and is now able to give you a detailed description of the beautiful boy:  
With his frail and small frame, his pale complexion and his gracefulness the young child looked like those who are closely related to the folk of fairies. His hair was black, which in addition to his bright, forest green eyes gave a shiny glow to his soft looking skin. The boy (around eleven years old) was clad in the attire of the wizarding council. Yes, my dear readers, you read correctly! One of the council members had shown himself in our most favourite shopping street!  
Accompanying the boy was none other than Professor Albus Dumbledore (Headmaster of Hogwarts, School of Wizardry and Witchcraft) and Severus Tobias Snape (infamous Potions Master of Hogwarts and recently announced Best Potions Brewer of the Wizarding World).  
This author can only assume that this special child will start at our beloved school next term and was taken out from his secluded and certainly most aristocratic home to get his school supplies for his upcoming first year by the two teachers.  
Mothers around the world will want to send their daughters to Hogwarts in hope of their beloved children becoming this boy's future fiancée. Already the young raven has a charisma and sex appeal that rivals nearly every adult witch or wizard.  
We can surely await excellent achievements from this child and are waiting impatiently for his sorting and the proud parents of this fabulous boy; we can only advise they keep a close eye on their little darling.  
Who exactly this boy is, this journalist cannot yet say, but I promise my faithful readers to provide you with all news I get my fingers on,  
Rita Skeeter."

Harry spluttered at the end of the article and a whole body flush adorned his pale skin. Everybody looked stunned and silently at him, only Albus had a very amused expression on his face, his eyes twinkling over at Lucius, and suddenly Harry had the feeling that the old man knew much more than he admitted once again.  
Ron slapped him reassuringly on his shoulder: "See it like this: the big uproar is yet to come when they realize it is you they are lusting after."  
Harry didn't know what to say or where to begin. Skeeter had described him like some kind of eleven year old sex-god, born to a noble family, which sadly wasn't very far from the truth anymore, apart from the sex god thing, that is, but he certainly didn't want this title. Neither did he want that parents would send her daughters to Hogwarts in hopes to get one of them engaged to him. Why did the annoying writer have to make such stupid suggestions?  
He wanted to write to the bloody witch and tell her that she had written utter bullshit, but in fact, she had guessed his age almost correctly and everybody would soon know about his relation to the four founders and that indeed made him a noble man, even without his mating to one of the council members. Sighing he slumped down; he would surely be the hot topic of Rita Skeeter for the next month...even more than usual.  
"Ron, that really is not very reassuring!" Hermione snapped next to him and his redheaded friend, grasping for the paper to read over it again.  
"Sex appeal, Harry?" Fred and George whistled and snickered.  
"Well, he is already taken," Ginny huffed and Lucius hissed: "Indeed, Miss Weasley."  
"At least we can be sure that he has a parent who will have an eye on him and scare every annoying suitor away," Ron mused and grinned at Severus.  
"That I will do," the professor promised, his eyes flashing protectively.  
"Oh dear, this reporter really is a nuisance," Molly huffed. "What does this impertinent woman think? Promoting a boy like a piece of meat on the market?"  
Harry saw his mate and his father exchanging a look. Sadly, the two men could not do much as long as they needed to keep their relationships and Harry's mated status a secret.  
"Can we just change the topic?" he asked desperately and to his surprise they all obliged, but the arisen silence was honestly not much better. Starring down on his food, he shoved the scrambled eggs around, not intending to eat them.  
"Harry, I have something for you," Albus suddenly said, giving him a reason to ignore the meal for the moment. The old wizard, today clad in red and lilac, put his hand into one of his many robe pockets and pulled a small, golden book out.  
"It used to be mine, but Fawkes is already trained and I do not need it anymore. I hope you do not mind that it is second hand."  
Taking the book, he read the imprinted title: Phoenicem Edoceo.  
"Educating a phoenix?" he translated before looking at the author: "It was written by Merlin?" he asked curiously.  
"Yes, it is even today, the best book about the topic of phoenix education and it is still published today, but this one is the only original version that exists," Albus hummed, his eyes sparkling brightly.  
"But Albus, I cannot accept this book then. It must be immensely valuable," Harry exclaimed and laid the book back down in front of the headmaster.  
"Of course you can, Harry. I haven't looked at this book for about 90 years, it is getting dusty. Books like this should be read and not waste away in a bookshelf of an old man."  
"Okay...if you are certain. Then I guess thank you," he mumbled in embarrassment. "But Justitius is not an actual phoenix, can I still train him the same way?" he asked. Justitius had started to flutter excitedly like always when he heard his name and was now buzzing around Albus' head, who chuckled and stretched a finger out for Justitius to land on.  
"He is a fine guy and will surely be a faithful companion," Dumbledore mused and stroked the little bat.  
Harry watched his little familiar, who seemed to have taken a liking to the crazy headmaster. The bat had closed his huge eyes and enjoyed the treatment.  
"I know and I am really grateful that my mate gave him to me. He is one of the best presents I have ever gotten," he agreed.  
"What kind of presents did you get that were as good as a phoenix foundling?" Lucius drawled, in a seemingly uninterested voice, but when Harry turned to him he saw jealousy hidden in his eyes. Lifting an eyebrow, Harry asked himself if his mate could be jealous that he had not given him his best present and answered:  
"For example, Hedwig. She is just a normal owl, but I had never gotten any presents before. She was my first one and the invisibility cloak of James. Albus gave it to me at Christmas in my first year."  
"I knew you had a secret, you sneaky brat," his father muttered to his right, but Ron exclaimed:  
"How can you tell them about your invisibility cloak? I know Snape is your father and all, but he still is our teacher and now he can catch us when we sneak down to the kitchen!"  
"It is Professor Snape to you, Mr. Weasley, or it will cost you some house points," his father sneered.  
Harry could see his father's eyebrow twitch in annoyance, as Ron ignored him and just went on:  
"And really, telling Malfoy of all people about your cloak? That is not only plain stupid; that can very well be dangerous." Ron glared at his mate, who narrowed his piercing eyes and glared back.  
Harry decided to interrupt the glaring contest and said: "I will wait for you in the garden, Lucius," before standing up and leaving the room, sure that Lucius would follow him within minutes.  
It was already warm outside, even though the sun seemed to slowly lose some of her power as the summer came closer to the autumn. Justitius had apparently followed him and was now happily fluttering from one flower to the next like a huge, black bee. He sat down beneath an old tree and pulled Merlin's book from his pocket, opening it on the first page.  
It was written by hand entirely in Latin, but Malfoy Manor had provided him with enough knowledge already that he could read it without any difficulties. It was strange how he gained knowledge and wasn't even aware of it until he came across something that he would need it for.  
The book started with a preposition, telling the reader that it was a great honour to be the chosen companion of a phoenix and the greatest proof of someone's power, because Phoenixes only hatched for very powerful witches and wizards. Merlin himself apparently knew of only one other person who owned a phoenix and that was his wife Morgana, who he had two children with.  
Merlin also wrote that until the time of his great grandchildren no one from his line was able to get a phoenix as his familiar. Therefore he was apparently very proud of one of his great grandsons, although he speculated that four of them should have been able to incubate a phoenix egg, but they were so rare, that it failed due to the fact that the other three could not find one.  
Harry snickered silently; somehow, he had the picture of an old guy in front of him, similarly crazy and wise to Albus, but with a whole bunch of children, grandchildren and great grandchildren to fuss over. It was a shame that there was no portrait of Merlin, he would have liked to get to know the man and it sure as hell would have been an interested conversation to listen in on, if somehow Albus and Merlin could meet.  
A heavy weight pressed against his side and as he looked up from his book, he saw Nagini watching him intently: " _The young female is coming,"_ the reptile hissed in dismay, only a second before a redhead appeared in the door to the garden and waved at him.  
Sighing, Harry closed his book and put it away, he really would prefer to read a bit more.  
"Finally!" Ginny sighed as she plopped down next to him: "I was afraid that we would never find time for each other."  
Harry shifted uncomfortably, he honestly feared other things, for example his mate or father losing their tempers if they found Ginny yet again flirting with him. Severus might not have liked that he had been so young at his mating, but he had also told him that he was happy for Harry to have found his soulmate; furthermore, Harry's instincts told him, that to vampire's family was held above all else, so his father would protect his blood bond to Lucius as fiercely as the Aristocrat himself.  
"With you becoming the new leader of the Order and the whole Snape issue you were really busy, but you really should make some time for you alone and just relax now and then," she said and scooted closer, whilst he tried to gain some distance from her. Every cell inside him refused her attention, only Lucius was allowed to come this close to him in such a manner. Sadly, Ginny had not noticed his hint or plainly ignored it, both was equally likely:  
"I really think it is great that you are in charge now. I like men with power," she giggled.  
Harry felt nausea rising in his stomach, oh how he hated her flirting! Ginny didn't even see that he was not the guy she saw in him; she chased after a famous hero figure, a strong man to protect her and to provide her with a good home, not noticing that he didn't like to be in charge that way.  
"Yeah," he answered evasively.  
"So, do you need some help to relax? I could give you a massage..." the girl offered suggestively. That offer really went too far. He wanted to explode in rage, but right now his submissive side had won over his Gryffindor side and all that he could do was stutter:  
"Thanks, but no, Ginny... Don't worry, I am taking care of myself and I have plenty of free time where I can relax," he tried to scoot a bit further away again, but Ron's sister followed once more, pouting: "Why haven't you visited me then?"  
A dry voice saved him from answering this particular uncomfortable question: "Miss Weasley, it is inappropriate for a Lady to fling herself so openly at a man...or boy."  
Harry sighed in relief at the voice of his mate and rose quickly, he hadn't known how to get away from her right then; those bursts of submissiveness were really annoying.  
"It is even more inappropriate to do so when the man already has a mate and is therefore not available anymore," Lucius, leaning casually on his cane, wrinkled his nose in disgust and glared down on the still sitting girl, who pouted first and then glared back:  
"Harry's and my relationship is none of your business, Mr. Malfoy," she spat. "Harry didn't complain, besides, I don't really believe that he really has a mate, or he would have introduced her to me long ago and even if he has a mate, it sure doesn't seem to be going very well, or can you see her anywhere?"  
Lucius' eyes flashed for a split second in anger, before he had his emotions back under control:  
"As far as I could see, Harry was scooting away from you, so I would say that he did complain in some way, although apparently not loud enough for you to hear, Ms. Weasley. And if you really think that you have a chance with him, talk to your parents so that they can agree on a period of official courtship with his father, like it is proper to do," the aristocrat hissed.  
Ginny huffed: "As if Snape would do anything for a Weasley and I didn't notice Harry scooting away from me."  
Harry, feeling more confident again with his mate close by finally found the courage to take a stand, stepping a bit closer to his mate, but not close enough that she would suspect anything: "Ginny, it's enough. Lucius is right. I don't want your attention in any way. I have a mate, I am already taken."  
Hurt eyes settled on him: "You only say that because Malfoy is here. It is not a crime to find out that the person who is your mate is not the right person for you, even though this stuck up Pureblood bastard tries to talk you into believing it. I bet she is somehow related to him, otherwise he would not give a shit about the matter!" she hissed and then added in a much sweeter voice: "Come on Harry, I will help you to get out of this mess, you don't have to suffer in a relationship you don't want."  
Slowly, Harry honestly started to wonder where Ginny got these ideas from, even he with his muggle upbringing had known that mates and especially soul mates were inseparable and would never even wish to have another lover other than the one destiny had given them. But before he could react in some way, Lucius ordered harshly:  
"Come, Harry, we will take our conversation to your father's lab, I am sure he wants to know what the document says and I will use the opportunity to talk to him about Ms. Weasley." Harry's submissive purred in pleasure at the order.  
He nodded and turned around with a happy smile to follow his dominant, but Ginny grabbed his hand to hold him back:  
"Don't follow him like a puppy. You are the head of the Order, not him," she said and glared at Lucius' back.  
Lucius was next to him in less than the blink of an eye, wrenching his hand free. "Do not touch Harry or I will go and have a serious talk with your parents, Ms. Weasley and believe me, you would not like the outcome of it," he growled threateningly.  
His mate was so sexy when he was protecting him; Harry's inner submissive purred and he felt his cock hardening in his trousers as his dominant stepped protectively in front of him. Harry saw Lucius' pinkie twitch and he knew that his mate had smelled his arousal, they needed to get out of this situation soon, or he would not put it past Lucius to just push him to the ground and ravish him in front of Ginny and everybody else who might come into the garden. This thought aroused him even more and a heavy blush crept up his cheeks.  
Lucius gave Ginny one last threatening glare before turning again and this time Harry hurried to follow him. He caught up with him at the door and they went down, side by side, into the dingy and dark cellar. Harry's heart was still hammering in arousal, but he restrained himself from doing anything stupid. Unfortunately, the alluring scent of his mate didn't help him in the least. Lucius was aroused himself and he could clearly smell it.  
The aristocrat led him into a part of the basement he had never been in before and the appearance grew more dungeon-like with every step. They rounded a corner and as soon as they were out of sight, Lucius shoved him with all his strength against the nearest wall and was at his neck within the blink of an eye, sucking, kissing, licking, nibbling and biting teasingly.  
Harry groaned at the impact with the unyielding wall and the sudden rush of pleasure.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

"You are mine, and mine alone," Lucius growled into his ear, lifting him up and grinding his hips against Harry's. Harry moaned and wrapped his legs around Lucius' hips.  
"Yours," he hissed back, tilting his head backwards to expose his neck; he would never want to belong to someone else, his whole being, his body and soul only belonged to the strong man in front of him and he would not wish it any other way.  
"That audacious bitch, how dare she to flirt with you? You are mine, my submissive, you belong to me."  
Harry had never heard his dominant talk like this and it aroused him even more. He groaned as Lucius' hard cock rubbed perfectly against his own. His hips jerked forwards and he answered his mate's demanding thrust with his own more careful ones. Lucius bit down on his neck, drawing a bit of blood.  
Heat started to cloud Harry's mind and his own thrust grew more demanding, as heat gathered in his lower stomach and balls. Lucius' cock felt so good against his own, so hot, so big and so hard. Soon they were mindlessly rutting against each other, their tongues intertwined in a heated kiss as they rapidly approached their high, Harry's collar with the little silver bell deliciously rubbing between them, making silent sounds like beautiful music in the rhythm of their fucking.  
"Lucius, please," Harry begged, not even knowing what he was begging for. But Lucius knew; the blond bit down on Harry's neck once again, this time sinking his fangs into his flesh.  
"Ah!" Harry exclaimed, as he exploded in his pants. Lucius thrust one last time against his sensitive member, before the aristocrat followed him over the edge, groaning into his neck, whilst his long fangs were still buried deep in his skin.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

They stood like that for a moment, before Lucius slowly pulled his fangs out. Harry whimpered at the motion and wrapped his arms tightly around his mate's neck, not wanting to be set down so soon.  
He leaned his head against the strong man's shoulder and the warm, fluttering feeling rose in his stomach again. Slowly he understood what that feeling meant, but he was not yet ready to say it out loud. But one thing he could say:  
"Lucius I...I...there is no one else for me," he whispered and pressed a kiss against the artery on Lucius' throat. Lucius lifted his head a bit and gave him a long and soft kiss, putting every emotion that Harry was still not ready for into that one kiss.  
"Do you think someone heard us?" Harry asked as they parted again.  
"I cast a quick privacy spell when we entered the basement," Lucius answered with a smug smirk.  
"So you had it all planned?" Harry asked, lifting an eyebrow. Lucius hadn't appeared as if he had any control left over his instincts as he had pushed him up against the wall, but then again: that was his mate, Lucius Malfoy, the most controlled person on the planet.  
"Not particularly, but I knew that I would not be able to control myself much longer," Lucius confessed, and the confession in itself was a huge proof of trust on his mate's part. Harry smiled up at him, happy that Lucius felt comfortable enough with him to be honest about his few weaknesses. He stretched and pulled his mate down for another, shorter kiss, before he wriggled uncomfortably in his sticky and now very cold shorts.  
Fidgeting in his sticky trousers, he asked: "Lucius...could you cast a cleaning spell or something?" His mate chuckled, but pulled his wand out. A shiver ran down his spine when Lucius cast first a cleaning spell and then a freshening charm on him.  
"Thanks," he said. "Uhm, where is dad's Potions Lab?"  
Lucius pointed at a door just three steps across from them. Harry blushed darkly and glared at his mate: "You didn't just press me up against a wall in front of my father's lab?" he asked a bit sourly.  
"Everywhere else someone could have easily walked in on us and I did not have the patience to take you up to my room," Lucius drawled leisurely.  
"I hope for your sake that your privacy spell was a good one," he threatened and went over to knock on Severus' lab door.  
"Of course it was. All my spells are flawless," Lucius huffed and followed him.  
Severus opened the door at that moment, sniffed and lifted an eyebrow in question.  
"The young Miss Weasley saw it fitting to flirt with Harry openly in the garden," Lucius explained dryly.  
"Ah," Severus said and stepped to the side.  
Harry stepped into the lab, which looked nothing at all like their classroom at Hogwarts. A huge working counter made from stone lined the whole left wall and shelves with ingredients and old looking potion's books lined the walls. One huge cauldron bubbled in the middle of the room and a couple of smaller ones on the counter. How could his father brew so many potions at the same time? Well...the man was a genius in his area of expertise.  
In another corner stood an old green leather sofa, with a small wooden table in front of it.  
"What are you brewing?" he asked and walked over to one of the smaller cauldrons. He sniffed and quickly stepped backwards again, feeling a bit dizzy.  
"That would be a sort of wine, that suits our new...taste and metabolism. It is mixed with blood and ethanol, making it much stronger in comparison to normal alcohol. I would not advise you to offer it to one of your friends, it might very likely kill them if they drink too much, but for Lucius and myself it will not be any different to the red wines we drank before," his father explained.  
Going over to the next cauldron, he smelled pumpkin juice mixed with blood. Harry supposed that this was meant for him. The liquid had a dark orange colour, like blood oranges and would not look very suspicious at a breakfast table.  
Lucius in the meantime had taken Harry's place in front of the cauldron with the wine and peered inside with interest: "That sounds and smells like one of your better inventions. I truly miss the feeling ant taste of some relaxing intoxication."  
"What do you mean by 'one of my better inventions', Lucius?" Severus narrowed his eyes and glared at the blonde aristocrat.  
"Well, your enhanced Polyjuice Potion was even more disgusting than the common version," Lucius replied.  
Severus only huffed: "Don't forget that you would not have been able to accompany your mate to Diagon Alley without my potion."  
Harry had gone to the sofa and was now watching the argument with interest. His father and mate were so similar in many of their ways, that it was always interesting to see the two proud men interact so openly with each other; sadly, it was far too rare, because both of them were highly restrained as soon as a third party was present.  
"Without your potion I would not have been forced to pose a whole afternoon as the old coot of a headmaster either. I still have to kill you for that one. Do not try and tell me that you didn't know who the hair was from."  
"I didn't, but I did notice that it was a gray hair which left Albus, McGonagall, Sprout and Flitwick," his father smirked.  
Taking his eyes off the two bickering men, Harry saw a piece of parchment laying on the small table in front of him with his name on it. Picking it up, he read: New schedule for Harry, but there was not anything else written on the paper yet.  
"Dad," he interrupted the men. "Are you disappointed that I am not good at potions?"  
His father turned to him, and frowned: "Do not say that yet, Harry. I told you that you had no chance to do better in my class than you did due to your undeveloped magical fields. You will start again from the beginning this year and only then will we be in a position to tell whether you are really not talented at potions."  
"But if I am still crap at them..." Harry asked shyly; his father's opinion was important to him, especially after they had been on bad terms for so long and he would hate to lose what they had due to his inability to brew a potion.  
"Then I will still love you," Severus was next to him in two long strides and ruffled his hair.  
"Was my mum good at potions?" he asked curiously, looking up at his father.  
"She was...better than average and far better than the morons you mostly find in Potion's Classes. I would say she was a solid brewer, who could follow a recipe without much trouble...at least most of the times. But when she botched something up, she did so spectacularly, often succeeding in destroying the whole classroom. Luckily that only occurred once, or twice in an entire year. We quickly learned to run whenever her cauldron started to smoke," his father chuckled; his eyes soft and glazed over in memory.  
"I can remember some of those... incidents myself. As a Slytherin prefect and head boy I had to watch over the cleaning and rebuilding of our classroom a couple of times," Lucius sniffed. "I believe even Slughorn was sometimes...'overwhelmed' by her. Let's hope that you have more of your father's talents than your mother's..."  
"I'll do my best," Harry promised and waved his mate over to his side.  
"Then let's see what the document says," Severus said and conjured a wooden chair so that Harry could snuggle with his mate on the sofa, which he did. As soon as Lucius had sat down, he climbed onto the man's lap and made himself comfortable. His father snorted, but said nothing, only watching him with an amused expression.  
"Who would have guessed that the two of us would one day sit in one of your labs with none other than Harry Potter like this?" Lucius mused and stroked over Harry's sensitive neck.  
"Who would have guessed that the brat would turn out to be your mate and my son," Severus replied and smiled fondly at him.  
Harry purred happily but then forced himself to concentrate; he was the leader of the Order and thus the Light Side now and he could not just slack off.  
"You said you brought a copy of the ritual?"  
"I did," his mate answered and retrieved a folded parchment from his pocket, giving it to Harry.  
"The first page is written down in English, why Salazar changed to Parselscript I cannot tell," Lucius explained.  
"Hmm..." Harry hummed and started to read over the first page. It told him essentially, what Severus had already explained to him on that day of the King's Cross attack: The ritual was meant to ensure blood wards, after the anchors of the wards had died. The anchors were living relatives of the caster and the person, who should needed to be protected. Then the ritual itself was described.  
The second page was of much more interest to them; Harry couldn't fully understand what exactly Salazar described.  
"Salazar says," he said, after he was finished reading "that the ritual uses the magical energy of the dead relatives, which lingers for some time after their death always. It binds this energy to the house where the person, who needs to be protected, lives in. But in the case that those relatives are muggles, the ritual has no 'magical energy' it can use, so it replaces this 'magical energy' with 'life force'...whatever that means...and that is the reason why dead muggles turn into ghosts. This process apparently needs some time, two to four weeks."  
Lucius sighed: "We shouldn't have been surprised."  
"No, we shouldn't, but in our defence, Salazar is talking about a very obscure topic," Severus affirmed.  
"What exactly does he mean?" Harry asked, still none the wiser.  
"He talks about the difference between wizards and muggles," Lucius explained. "We wizards know that the magic within us is the main force that keeps us alive, that is why it is dangerous to be drained of magic, it quickly leads to certain death. Muggles have no magic, or at least, none they can use, so the question arose whether they actually have magic, but sealed away, or if they have another power that keeps them alive, this so called 'life force'. It was assumed, that no one could prove either theory, but apparently Slytherin did it a long time ago."  
"Slytherin also wrote that the ghost will disappear as soon as we end the ritual, so at least I don't have to deal with them for all eternity," Harry told them and snuggled deeper into Lucius' embrace.  
"What are we going to do now? I don't feel like going up so soon," he asked after a moment of content silence.  
"I have to work on the Connecting Potion soon, but you and Lucius can stay if you want and as long as you do not disturb me with 'inappropriate behaviour'," his father suggested.  
"That will not be a problem," Lucius promised. "I brought a test for Harry and he needs a quiet place to solve the questions."  
"A test? What kind of test?" Harry asked unhappily. He hated tests.  
"I want to know how much knowledge the Manor has already transferred to you," Lucius answered and pulled a stack of papers from his pockets.  
"Oh no! That is far too much! I am on holiday!" Harry protested as he saw the pile.  
"Harry, you have taken on the duty of the Order Leader and you are the main figure in this war; I think it would be good to know what you are able to do and what not," His father said from across the room, where he had returned to his potions.  
"It is not only a written exam," Lucius soothed him and searched for a particular page of the test. When he had found it, he held it up and showed it to Harry. Written at the top of the paper was the name of a spell or curse, Harry wasn't sure.  
"These are spell testing paper. You perform the spell on it and it will turn green if you did the spell correctly. If you make a mistake it will turn red and yellow when you did nothing at all, then we will know that you have not gained any knowledge about it."  
Harry grumbled, but took the oversized test. "That doesn't make it any better."  
"Thank you, Harry," Lucius said and pressed a kiss to his cheek.  
"I really am not in the mood, but I will work through this test for you."  
Lucius came even closer to him and whispered: "Maybe I can make it up to you later," the aristocrat trailed his tongue over the skin behind Harry's ear and he shivered. With a sigh, he turned to the stack of papers and looked at the first one.  
Harry quickly noticed that the test was ordered by topic. It started with Defence, followed by Charms, Transfigurations and most of his other classes, except Divination; apparently even his strict mate didn't see the need for him to learn reading the future from a tea cup. The pages with questioned were always followed by at least one paper for a practical test and more of them came out green than he ever would have guessed.  
Next were classes he had never attended, like Ancient Runes. He was astonished that he could actually answer some questions, although not as many as before. After he had gone through every class at Hogwarts, the test topic changed entirely and he was faced with many pages in languages, he didn't even recognize. Curiously enough, he could often understand at least some of it.  
The last part of the exam was clearly about the dark arts and he found himself performing spells, he would never dare to use if he would be given a choice. Harry didn't know whether it should worry him that this last part was one of his best, nearly as good as the one about Defence, but then again, Lucius had warned him that he might develop a talent for the Dark Arts. When he thought about it, it was even possible that he had possessed these talents all along, with Severus being his real father and his unfortunate connection to Voldemort.  
It took him until late afternoon, but finally he had finished the all the tests. By now his brain felt as if it had simmered on a stove for too long, like it tended to do whenever he learned for too long.  
"I am finished," he said and strolled over to Lucius, only to sit down again and snuggle into his side as he gave his mate the papers. The older vampire conjured a quill with red ink and started to correct every single parchment at a pace that should not be possible, even for Lucius Malfoy. His dominant's eyes flew over his answers and corrected them without even thinking twice. Harry wondered, if the Manor magic had helped his mate to learn all this as well, or if he had just read all those books in his library.  
Harry continued to watch him; content to sit close to his mate, without having to worry about someone searching for him down in his father's Potions Lab. Severus was still working on the Connecting Potion; a concentrated look on his face.  
After only 40 minutes his mate was finished with the corrections and sat up straighter, pulling Harry from his content state.  
"And?" he asked, eying Lucius curiously. Unfortunately his mate's face didn't tell him whether he had done well or not, the famous Malfoy mask was such a huge part of the man, that he even wore it most of the time around Harry. But Harry had learned to read the small signs, like the darkening of his eyes when he was concerned.  
"You did quite well; it seems as if the magic is currently adding mostly information to you about topics you already know about, like your classes. The way you learn languages is...interesting, to say the least. From some of them you know only the grammar, from others only the vocals and you obviously have a talent for the dark arts, or even the Manor would not have been able to provide you with so much knowledge in such a short amount of time.  
Your biggest problem is still Potions. You have gained some knowledge, but it seems, as if you lack the necessary basics to exercise the gained information. Did you never read a Potions Book for Beginners?"  
Harry frowned: "I have started with the first year's text book, like all the others..."  
"Well, that certainly explains a lot," said Lucius and his father shook his head in disbelief.  
"What is it, dad?" Harry asked and fidgeted nervously, had he done something wrong?  
"Normally it is common for students to read a Pre-Potions Book before they enter Hogwarts. These books explain all the basics, like the difference between chopping and slicing. Or how the size of the pieces you cut from an ingredient can change its potency or effect," his father explained.  
"The manor has not concentrated on Potions very much, because it is one of the few topics that cannot easily learned by a spell," Lucius added.  
"At least I finally have an idea where your major problem lies, besides your age," Severus said and stirred his potion. "We will fix it," he added.  
"Do you want to play a game of chess before you join your friends again?" Lucius asked and nibbled on his neck.  
"That sounds great, I haven't done something fun the whole day" Harry exclaimed, and turned to his father: "Do you have a chess board?"  
"Not down here, but up in my room. I can summon it for you," Severus strode over to the door and opened it before saying: "Accio Severus' Chess Board!" A moment later the chess set flew into the room and Severus directed it to the small coffee table in front of Harry and Lucius.  
"And Harry," his father said, his lips slightly lifting in a smirk: "Let Lucius win, his ego needs it."  
"I did not lose the last game, my dearest friend," Lucius drawled sounding a bit offended.  
"Yes, I know," Severus smirk widened. "But you didn't win either."


	16. Chapter 16: The Present Of Knowledge

**Chapter 16: The Present of Knowledge**

 **HP**

The next morning the mood was still tense. Sirius and Remus sat across from him, looking very uncomfortable. Harry assumed that they had realized, what cruel things they had said to him, because the two Marauders seemed positively devastated, but this time he would not make it any easier for them.  
"Hey, do you want to eat this?" Ron pointed at his plate, which was still untouched. Harry smiled at his friend and shoved the plate over. Bill had come by that morning and the breakfast was not enough with one Weasley added.  
"Um Harry, can I ask you something?" Hermione looked slightly nervous, but determined nonetheless to ask her question. She always got a bit irritated when a question nagged her for too long and she couldn't find an answer to it herself.  
"Sure, Mione," He answered, taking a blood drop from his pocket before popping it into his mouth.  
"Since your inheritance...you seem to avoid meals...are you on a special diet?"  
Harry nearly choked on his bonbon and Ron pat his back in an attempt to help him. When the offending candy was back in his mouth he reminded himself that there were lots of magical creatures, who were on a special diet. Like fairies, who only ate sweet fruits or Dementors who needed souls to live. But his diet was probably the most gruesome one after souls.  
"Yeah, kind of," he admitted.  
Hermione nodded: "I thought so. But are you sure you eat enough of whatever it is? You really are worrisomely skinny."  
"I do, you really don't need to worry." Harry lowered his voice until only Hermione could hear him and then whispered: "Do you remember what you told Ron and I about the beauty ideal of some creatures?"  
Hermione nodded slowly.  
"Let's just say that my mate considers me very beautiful." He wasn't exactly sure how beautiful other vampires would find him; it could possibly be that he was only average, but that Lucius appreciated his body so much had to mean something; at least, he thought so.  
Hermione beamed at him: "I am so happy for you, really. You deserve this," she said honestly.  
At that moment Dumbledore swept in wearing a horrible yellow and orange robe, a bright smile on his face and his eyes twinkling as merrily as ever.  
"Good morning everybody," the headmaster greeted and sat down between Sirius and Arthur.  
"Here again Albus?" Molly asked, sounding a bit astonished.  
"Yes, I find myself with a lot of free time, since I am no longer the Head of the Order." Harry watched Dumbledore lean back in his chair and was happy to see that the headmaster looked as cheerful as he remembered him from his first three school years. Only now did he realize how much a toll the excessive work had taken on the man. Sure Albus was still very powerful, still an excellent duellist and as feared as ever, but the long days had probably been straining. How old was the man anyway? 150 or even older?  
"What brings you here?" Arthur said and piled some of his own breakfast on Dumbledore's plate, which the wizard took gratefully.  
"I am here to speak to Harry."  
"About what?" Harry asked curiously.  
"About the Order, I know you are the head now, but I thought maybe you would appreciate some help in the beginning and I have a proposal for you. Only if you would like it, of course," Dumbledore said and put some bacon into his mouth.  
"Thanks," Harry said and took a sip of his pumpkin juice so as not to just sit stupidly at the breakfast table. He would have liked to talk to his mate a bit, but Lucius was currently sitting too far away.  
"What do you think does he will want to talk about?" Ron asked between two bites of food.  
"You mean the proposal? I have no idea," Harry said and shrugged. "I only hope he will not take as long as Lucius when I leave the kitchen, your sister was a bit...persistent."  
Ron flushed: "Still?"  
"Yeah, I think if she doesn't stop soon, dad will be really angry," Harry sighed and his best friend made a face: "It sounds so odd, hearing you call Snape dad. But it would sound odd regardless of who calls him dad."  
Harry snickered: "I guess so. Eventually you will see why I can call him my dad so easily."  
"Yeah, sure."  
Harry noticed his godfather and Remus follow their conversation closely, but he didn't let anything show; maybe it would help them come around to hear some of his stories.  
"He wants to help me with my Potions class, I don't know how yet, but hopefully I will get better," Harry told Ron and Hermione.  
"That is nice of him, there is a lot you do not understand after all," Hermione said.  
"Then I wish you good luck, man. I really could use some help from you if he succeeds to get some stuff about potions into your head," Ron snickered.  
"I will try my best. While we are talking about Severus, I wanted to ask you something Hermione," he said and turned to face the girl who was sitting on his right. Sometimes it was a inconvenience to always be the one who sat in the middle.  
"Sure, if I can help you, I will," she said and smiled at him.  
Harry's eyes shifted to his father and thought better of it: "Maybe it is better if I ask you later, we have fairly keen hearing and I didn't want him to overhear."  
"Ok, just ask me later in our room," she said.  
Dumbledore rose then and searched for his eyes.  
"Is the garden ok?" he asked and stood up himself.  
"The garden sounds perfect," Dumbledore replied with a smile and they left the kitchen together. He saw Ginny following him with her eyes, but the warning looks of his father, his two best friends and her own mother simultaneously, luckily kept the youngest Weasley in place.  
Outside in the garden he went over to the old tree once again that stood there. The sun was still very strong and even though it could not kill him anymore, his skin still started to itch rather quickly; maybe he should try to get some sunscreen.  
Dumbledore sat down in the soft grass, a content look on his face. "I have to thank you my boy. I didn't notice how stressful my life had become until you forced me to give some of my duties up; or maybe my life has not become more stressful, but I merely older."  
Somehow, Harry felt very thankful about this conversation.  
"To be honest, I need to do this, but I kind of feel bad about it sometimes. You were always a brilliant leader, like you are a brilliant headmaster, and I really appreciate your help," he confessed.  
"You were right that evening in my office and we can still work together. I always was of the opinion that the added talents and intelligence of a group brings the best results and I would like to offer you my help as a mentor even though I am aware that you have at least two very powerful mentors already," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled even brighter and for a moment Harry was tempted to ask the man how much he knew about him and Lucius, but then decided against it.  
"My mentor?" he asked instead, wanting to know if Dumbledore actually meant an official apprenticeship for him.  
"Yes. I realized that your role in this war is even greater than I imagined, but due to your age, you still lack many years of experience. I have not only fought Tom countless times, but have seen him growing into the Dark Lord he now is; besides those reason, I can offer you knowledge which you will find in no library."  
Harry thought about it for a moment. Dumbledore sounded reasonable and his arguments were all very good but he feared that the old wizard might try to use this opportunity to start meddling in his life again. As an apprentice he would have to listen to Dumbledore more closely. As if reading his thoughts, Albus said:  
"You would still be the leader of the Order and the Heir to Hogwarts. You might not realize it yet, but with the social standing you have gained, you will be able to refuse any of my requests if they sound unreasonable to you."  
Harry's eyes wandered through the garden, still not sure if this was a good idea. His gaze landed on the highest window of Grimmauld Place and he saw a tall. blonde figure leaning out of it. Apparently Lucius had gone up to listen to his and Dumbledore's conversation and probably to keep an eye on him. As their eyes met, his mate gave a short nod and Harry focused back on Dumbledore.  
"Would we need a contract?" he asked and Dumbledore's eyes brightened.  
"No, a binding spell will do."  
Harry's gaze flashed up to Lucius once more and seeing the aristocrat nod again he said: "If you won't start meddling too much in my life again, then I would like to become your apprentice."  
"I will promise you to try my best. If I overstep the line, just come and tell me, my boy," Dumbledore replied easily and pulled out his wand. He held his left hand open in front of Harry and Harry placed his right one in Dumbledore's.  
"I will use a common binding for apprenticeships. The relationship of a mentor and a apprentice is like the relationship to a Private Tutor. Basically, it is not very different to a normal student-teacher relationship, but more personal. It allows us both more liberty," Dumbledore explained.  
Harry nodded in agreement and Dumbledore tipped their joined hands with his wand, mumbling a long incantation. He felt a quick tingle and then the spell was done.  
"Now I have another proposal offer to make, or advice as your mentor," Dumbledore leaned back against the tree trunk before continuing: "Harry, you still need to learn a lot and of course I could teach you everything the common way. But the time it would take you to finish with your education, you would probably be nearly as old as I am and I fear that you will have not that much time."  
Harry nodded; he had feared something like this for years and factually felt relieved that Dumbledore finally breached the topic: "I don't think so either. Voldemort knows that I am the only one who stands in his way; he won't give me a hundred years or so," Harry flushed as he realized what he had just said and started to stutter: "I mean, not that you are old or anything like that... well you are... but... how old are you actually?"  
Dumbledore chuckled and saved him from further embarrassment: "I will celebrate my 180th birthday this year."  
"Oh," Harry coughed, thinking that the headmaster was even more ancient than he had thought. A soft snicker reached his ears and as he looked up, he saw Lucius looking at him in amusement, whilst his father, who had joined the man at the window, lifted one of his eyebrows. Clearing his throat he asked: "What advice do you have for me?"  
Dumbledore sighed: "I would like you to take part in a Knowledge Ritual."  
"A what?" Harry asked, having never heard about something like that.  
"A Knowledge Ritual. You select a group of wizards and witches to transfer their knowledge about a certain topic to the recipient. It is only possible with one topic, because otherwise your brain would not be able to handle it, but it would speed your education up a lot. After the magic has settled, I would only have to teach you the perfect timing and when to use a spell correctly, but not the spell itself."  
"And we would do that with DADA?" Harry inquired, picking at some grass by his feet.  
"Yes. You would get the knowledge about everything that is remotely related to the Defence Against the Dark Arts."  
Harry looked up again, this ritual sounded like the dream of every student, but he knew far too little to make a decision. But when he looked up and saw not only his mate, but also his father nod encouragingly, he asked: "Who would...give me their knowledge? Only you?"  
Dumbledore shook his head: "As I told you, teamwork is always the best option. I already talked with a few people and besides myself Severus, Sirius, Remus and Kingsley have offered their support. They all have very good basic knowledge and their own, individual area of expertise. Kingsley is the Head Auror as you know; he is not only good with Defensive and Offensive Magic, but also with Battle Strategy. Remus knows a lot about Dark Creatures and such, Sirius had been an Auror himself and Severus and I know a lot about the more obscure sides of defence."  
Harry's eyes widened, his father had known about this? Why hadn't he told him anything? Was this his understanding of a nice surprise? A present? Well, it was like a valuable gift that had just been offered to him. But even more surprising was that Sirius and Remus would take part in the ritual as well. He wanted to ask Dumbledore about it, but was scared to hear that they were only willing to help because the old wizard had pressured them into it, so instead he inquired:  
"When will we do the ritual?"  
"This afternoon. Kingsley will fly over when he has finished his work at the ministry. Everybody else is already present," Dumbledore stood up again and then gave Harry a hand to help him. Harry took the old hand, even though it really was not necessary, especially since his transformation. He was in better shape than ever.  
"I will go back to Ron and Hermione then," he said and they walked inside together. As soon as he had set a foot on the stairs, which lead up to their shared room, Ron's head peeked around the corner.  
"How was the talk? What did he want?"  
Harry rolled his eyes: "Let me get into our room first," he said and quickened his space.  
"Really Ron, can't you even wait a minute?" Hermione asked from inside their room. When he entered he saw his brainy friend sitting on her cot, reading ahead in their newest Charms textbook. "It really worries me that I cannot do some preparations for DADA," she commented, closing her book.  
"Don't worry, you will probably keep up with the ministry teacher easily, if he or she will teach us anything at all," Harry sat and flopped down on his own bed. Justitius was hanging on his golden perch, but opened one eye when he heard Harry's voice and fluttered over to him. Nagini, who lay on his bed behind him hissed a bit irritably at the hyper active bat and buried her head under her long body.  
"If he or she doesn't teach us anything, then this office journal will be really bad for us. With a proper school book we could at least learn on our own," she huffed.  
"Calm down, Hermione," Ron said. "I want to hear what Dumbledore wanted."  
"I am his apprentice now," Harry grinned, shocking his two best friends.  
"You are kidding, mate!" Ron exclaimed, not thinking about what he said. Only when Harry started to growl lowly did he look up. Harry really hated his natural reactions sometimes; Ron really was no threat to his relationship, but he still reacted extremely.  
"Oh sorry, forget what I just said," Ron stuttered hastily, looking at Harry with concern. Meanwhile Harry had his eyes closed and tried to calm his annoyed submissive down. "It is okay Ron," he said, even though he still had his eyes shut tightly. "It's just that for me it feels as if you want to threaten my relationship."  
His friend made a face, which he didn't see and tried to reassure him: "I would never want to take the place of your mate, that would just be...gross and awkward and I am sure that your mate would kill me."  
Harry actually snickered at his comment: "You would not live very long, my mate can be scary."  
"All women can, let me tell you this as someone who has grown up with a sister and her female friends," Ron laughed and Harry joined him, wondering what Lucius would say if he could hear them talk. But then again, somehow Ron's description fit the arrogant aristocrat.  
"So, you are Dumbledore's apprentice now?" Hermione brought their conversation back on track.  
"Yeah, he wants to teach me so that I will be able to defeat Voldemort. I already have some ideas about what I have to do, but none on how to achieve it, so I agreed."  
Hermione sighed dreamily: "What I wouldn't give to get such a mentor someday."  
"Please Hermione, you sound as if you are in love with the man!" Ron put his hands to his ears in an attempt to cover them. Hermione only huffed and replied: "I am only in love with his level of knowledge. He must have seen and read so many things."  
"I will just pretend that I didn't just hear that!" Ron said loudly and started to hum in order to block out their conversation.  
Harry rolled his eyes at the antics at his redheaded friend and pulled one hand from a ear: "Do you want to hear the rest as well, or are you too traumatized to listen?"  
Ron instantly stopped humming and dropped his other hand as well.  
"I will take part in a Knowledge Ritual to speed up my education in DADA."  
For a short moment Harry thought that Hermione would faint on the spot. "A Knowledge Ritual? That is a dream come true! Why do you get such an opportunity and I don't?"  
Harry smirked: "Maybe because I have to kill an evil, crazy Dark Lord and you don't?"  
"I know, but it's still unfair. Promise me that you will tell me everything you learn through the ritual;" she commanded.  
"Mione, if Dumbledore only even picks remotely competent wizards, he will not be able to tell you everything," Ron sounded exasperated. "Who will take part in it anyway?"  
"Albus, my father, Sirius, Remus and Kingsley," Harry counted.  
"You will defeat the evil snake in no time!"  
"Kingsley will fly over this afternoon, I guess Albus wants to do it before we have to go to Hogwarts," Harry mused and picked Merlin's book from his nightstand before continuing reading. The book was very interesting and he didn't notice the time fly by until a soft knock came from the door.  
"What is it mum?" Ron asked loudly, since it was usually Molly who knocked to fetch them for some cleaning, but the person who stepped in was not Mrs. Weasley. Ron nearly fell from his bed as he saw Severus enter. "Snape!" he squeaked in shock at seeing the nightmare of their last four years enter the room.  
Harry chuckled at the amused smirk that threaten to curve his father's lips, but the man loved his reputation as evil Potions Professor too much to let it actually happen. "Kingsley is here," he said and held the door open for Harry. "Do you want to watch?" Harry asked and Hermione instantly jumped up. Rom merely shrugged, but followed nonetheless.  
"Why didn't you tell me about Albus' plan?" Harry asked on his way down.  
"I saw no need. This ritual will be beneficial and I thought it would be a nice surprise. You probably could go to the ministry tomorrow and take your DADA NEWTs when we are finished.  
"How long will it take?" Harry asked curiously.  
"At least 45 minutes per person, longer if someone recites the spell slowly," his father answered. Harry's eyes nearly fell out of their sockets: "But that's almost 5 hours!"  
"Indeed," Severus drawled.  
"Sorry, Harry, but please don't be mad if I don't stay with you the whole time," Ron said from behind him.  
When Harry entered the living room, he first noticed his mate sitting casually on the couch, seemingly reading. Then he saw the pentagram drawn on the floor, encircled by a Rune Circle. Harry was able to recognize some of the runes, but not all of them. A small group of people stood gathered around the circle and was waiting for him. Sirius and Remus still didn't meet his eyes, but they were there, ready to offer him their knowledge and that was enough for the moment. The whole Weasley family was there as well and Harry started to feel like an especially interesting animal in a zoo.  
"Ah, Harry," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Please take off your upper clothing and kneel down in the middle of the pentagram," the headmaster instructed him. Harry took off his red jacket he was wearing today and placed it over the armchair across from Lucius and hurried to get out of his waistcoat and white button down as well.  
Kingsley watched him with interest peeling all the layers from his body, but Harry had not expected the gasp that came from everybody with the exception of his friends, his mate and his father; even Dumbledore looked at him in shock.  
Oh by Merlin! This really was getting annoying! Sighing inwardly, he cursed his new figure. Looking down at himself he tried to figure out what bothered them so much, but after so many days as a vampire, it became more and more difficult to think like a human. The only thing he saw was that his ribs stuck out nicely and his skin was beautifully pale, as he tenderly traced his right index finger over his ribcage.  
"Beautiful, aren't I?" he asked dreamily, not sounding like himself and not seeing the confused looks the others gave him. He wished he could take off his glamours so that they all could see his beauty completely.  
He started at the thought. That the others could see his complete beauty, he echoed his own thoughts in his head. Did he really want that? Wasn't his body only meant for Lucius? Suddenly the quiet voice of his instincts told him that yes, his body was only for Lucius to touch and to caress, but that he could very well show himself off, that he could show the others how beautiful he was and what they never would get.  
Unconsciously his eyes snapped up to Lucius and he saw hunger and lust flicker in his mate's eyes for a second, before it was carefully hidden again. As he turned his head back to the group of gaping people, he saw that his father wore a peculiar expression himself. It was not hunger or lust, but pride at the sight of his beautiful son, because beauty was power in the vampire world, especially for submissive's who lack physical strength.  
Hoping that the gaping would stop if he moved, he entered the Rune Circle, kneeled down and asked: "What now?"  
Dumbledore was the first who snapped out of it. He pulled a long, silver dagger, decorated with emeralds from one of his many pockets and said: "I fear we will have to shave your hair off for the ritual, but one of us will be able to re-grow it for you after we are done," the man turned to Severus and said: "The person closest to the recipient has to do the preparations."  
"But I am his closest person!" Protested Sirius suddenly and made a step forward, as if he wanted to snatch the dagger out of Dumbledore's hand. Sad, blue eyes fixed on the animagus and said: "Sirius, Severus is Harry's father and after your hurtful words I am sure that he does not consider you his closest person right now."  
Sirius fixed pleading eyes on him, but Harry avoided his gaze. Even a few days ago, Sirius would not have been his closest person anymore. Currently his mate and father shared this position equally, but Sirius had hurt him too much and the wounds were not yet healed. He glanced at his mate from the corner of his eyes, watching the strong body casually sitting on the sofa and wished that Lucius could take part in the ritual as well; but they could not tell anybody how close they actually were. And even if they could have, there still would be no need. Malfoy Manor already provided him with everything Lucius knew as well.  
A sobbing sound pulled him from his musing and as he turned his eyes back to Sirius, he saw tears glittering in his godfather's eyes. His heart hurt at the sight and he suddenly had to fight his own tears. They had always been so close, why had their relationship changed so much? Would they someday be close again? He desperately hoped so.  
Luckily his father stepped in front of him then, blocking his view and silver dagger in hand. Warm finger lifted his face up and he was forced to look into the face of his father, who looked at him reassuringly. A thumb caressed his cheek briefly and then the dagger was carefully placed at his left temple.  
As he saw black locks fall to the floor, Harry wondered when his father had learned to shave so well with a dagger, but maybe every Potions Master was talented with knives; they had to chop and slice all the time after all. His head was bare within minutes, somehow, Harry felt very naked and exposed. Even though Ron and Hermione liked to make fun about his unruly mop, he liked his hair very much. It fit his personality and gave him a slightly naughty look.  
Within a minute his hair was gone and his father gave the dagger back to Dumbledore, who handed him a bowl instead. Severus locked eyes with him, giving him a warning look, before he stepped in front of him again. For a moment Harry wondered about what he should be cautious about, but then the strong smell of blood hit him and invaded his nostrils.  
His nostrils flared and he dug his nails into his leg to keep himself from moving. This was not as good smelling as Lucius blood by far, but his body would appreciate some tasty snack regardless. It smelled like a mixture of Sirius, Remus, his father, Kingsley and Albus. When he spotted the brush in the bowl, Harry knew that this ritual would turn out to be a test of his willpower. A small, distressed mewl escaped his lips, too silent for the human ears of his friends to hear. Lucius answered with a soothing purr and Harry closed his eyes for a moment to calm down again. When he trusted himself that he would not jump up at any moment, he opened his eyes again. His father had obviously waited for him, because he hadn't moved yet.  
"Your father will now draw several runes on your skin," Dumbledore explained from the background and Harry nodded. He watched Severus swirl the brush through the blood for a second, before it was placed against his forehead. "Defence," his father said, whilst drawing a symbol with a fluid motion. Then he placed the brush on his right temple and said: "Severus Tobias Snape." He shifted a bit to reach Harry's left temple and the next name added was " Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." The runes on his skin made a circle around his head by now and Severus stepped behind him, before the cool sensation of the blood appeared on his neck. "Sirius Orion Black." Remus' name was written down between his shoulder blades, with Kingsley's just below and his own name stretched down from the small of his back to his hips.  
The now empty bowl was placed on the coffee table and the five wizards each stepped on a point of the pentagram-star. They lifted their wands and with an unspoken command all of them started the incantation, but magic seemed to flow only from Severus' wand.  
Harry sat there patiently and listened intensely to find any pattern. The spell was obviously in Latin and he could understand most of it. From the corner of his eyes he watched Ron and Hermione from time to time. His redheaded friend quickly looked bored, but Hermione made the impression that she was watching a very interesting movie. Lucius was still 'reading', or pretending to at least. Harry could feel his intense gaze on his skin and he could only imagine how much his dominant had to restrain himself to allow the others to perform magic on him. Harry hadn't thought about it before, but knew it seemed logical. As he inhaled, he could smell a worrisome mixture of jealousy and worry for him in the air.  
After about half an hour the incantation started from the beginning and his father stopped his flow of magic, only to be replaced by Albus'. When the old wizard was half way through, Harry's legs started to tingle because of his position on the floor and he started to get bored. Sighing, he told himself that this was a gift for him and that he only had to get through three and a half more hours, before they would be finished.  
The magic around him thickened with every passing minute and by the time Remus added his magic, Harry could actually feel the pressure on his body. He wondered how a wizard would feel who didn't have the fortune of a creature's enhanced body. The most pressure came from Dumbledore of course. The Headmaster's magical signature was so heavy in the air that it nearly seemed to overpower all the other signatures and Harry was sure that he could actually taste it on his tongue; it tasted like sweet lemons and Harry had to think about Albus' favourite candy, the lemon drops. His vampire instincts perked up with interest, and for a short moment, he wondered whether the man's blood would taste like lemon drops as well. Shaking the scary thought from his head, he concentrated back on his mate, who was still watching him.  
After Kingsley had finished, the group around him joined their magic together for a last round on reciting. Harry wanted to groan, his legs hurt and he wasn't sure if he would be able to stand up. Ron had by now fallen asleep in one of the armchairs and even his mate looked slightly bored, even though he was still watching him closely.  
Suddenly the mumbling stopped and his father, Albus, Sirius, Remus and Kingsley stepped out of the Rune Circle. Harry jumped a bit in surprise. "Are we finished?"  
Dumbledore chuckled: "We are, my dear boy."  
Harry wanted to stand up, but Severus motioned for him to keep sitting and in the next moment, he was lifted into his arms. Harry was glad for the help, because a moment later his legs started to tingle again, as the blood rushed back into them and he was sure that he would have fallen if he had been standing right now. Looking around, he saw that the participants all looked a bit exhausted, with the exception of Dumbledore of course, who had so much magic, that two hours of constant spell work was likely nothing for him. His father looked fairly fine as well, probably due to his vampire genes which made him more resilient.  
"Severus, you should give Harry some Sleeping Potion," Dumbledore advised, but when Severus turned to leave Harry and him were stopped by Sirius: "Where are you taking him?"  
"Into my room. He has slept there before and someone should watch over him," his father replied coldly.  
Harry could feel the tension rising in the room when Sirius narrowed his eyes.  
"Dad, couldn't I just sleep down here on the sofa? That way, everybody can watch over me?" he asked quickly. The last thing he needed was an argument right now. He could already feel the ritual getting to work and his head felt heavier with every passing second.  
"Please?" he whined and Severus' eyes snapped down to his. With a nod he was carried over to the sofa and laid down, his legs draped over his mate's lap. Harry smiled thankfully at his father, who smiled back softly, before making his way down to his Potions Lab.  
"Hey Malfoy, get the hell off of the couch," Sirius stepped in front of Harry and glared down at the nobleman. Lucius didn't even look up from his book: "I do not think so. Being the leader of a bunch of Halfbloods and Muggleborns does not make someone special in any way," his mate drawled.  
Sirius started to growl: "Finally showing your true colours, Malfoy?"  
"Because I have seen the error of the Dark Lord's ways, doesn't mean that my beliefs have changed. I only realized that this man would be an even worse alternative to the stupid morons we currently have. At least Fudge and his minions are easily...'influenced'."  
Harry would have intervened in the argument, but by now his head was swirling with bits and pieces of information and flashes of pictures that took his vision for few seconds. He felt as if he was watching a long movie at a crazy high speed. He groaned and that seemed enough to snap the two older men out of their bickering.  
"I really can't understand why Harry lets you stay here," Sirius muttered, before sitting down in the armchair next to the still sleeping Ron. Hermione was watching him worriedly; she had probably read about the effects the ritual would have on Harry somewhere and was biting her bottom lip nervously.  
Suddenly his father was sitting down next to him and lifted his head into his lap. Harry watched him staring at a small basket full of Potion Vials, thinking intensely.  
"What are you waiting for, Snape?" Sirius asked.  
"Be quiet, mutt, I need to calculate how much Potion Harry needs," Severus said and started to put a whole row of Potions on the coffee table.  
"I hope you do not intent to give him all of these; that would kill him" Sirius said with a threatening undertone in his voice, making the Potions Master sigh in annoyance.  
"Harry is not human anymore. I have not yet had enough time to brew the basic Potions for him with the potency he needs now. I assure you Black, it will not kill him."  
Harry turned his head to see how many vials the men were talking about. To his horror he saw 19 vials standing in front of him. Severus uncorked all of them before lifting the first one to his lips. Normally he hated taking any kind of Potions, but he was too exhausted to argue right now and he would only get into trouble with his mate if he even tried. He cringed at the bitter taste, but didn't complain. It seemed to take forever until his father lifted the last vial to his lips.  
"Only half of it," he instructed.  
As soon as Harry had swallowed the last gulp, he felt his eyes getting heavy. Snuggling deeper into his father's robes, he drifted off.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius watched Severus conjure a heavy comforter. Neither of them needed a blanket anymore, but it would not do for his friend to leave the impression of not caring for his son well enough and it would not bode well for Black to notice Harry's motionless chest either, which was a high possibility with the way the man was staring at his godson; as if he feared that one of them would stab Harry in his sleep, the aristocrat scoffed inwardly.  
He pondered about the last couple of days as he watched his sleeping submissive from the corner of his eyes. Living at the headquarters was different to anything he had imagined. The Order Members almost felt like a big family, a family fighting currently, but a family nonetheless.  
Regardless of his personal distaste for the redheaded horde, the mutt, the wolf and the crazy old fool, he had to admit that they were all very loyal to Harry, especially Harry's friends.  
Lucius believed that it had not sunk in with most of the Order Members that Harry was indeed now their leader and he was curious as to how they will react when Harry starts to make changes. Harry would have to think about reorganization soon; Lucius believed that his little mate knew this as well, but he could not blame the child, considering how eventful the last few days had been.  
The mutt really was a nuisance. Severus had told him about his conversation with the wolf and mutt, where he and Harry had told them about their relationship. Both had said hurtful things, but the wolf at least had been silent the last days, whilst the mutt continued to aggravate Harry at every given opportunity. He had wanted to rip the dog's head from his shoulders when he had started the stupid bickering after the ritual. Harry had been exhausted and instead of just falling asleep, his little mate had to listen to his godfather's stupidity once again.  
Taking another look at Harry, he had to admit that, despite the unpleasant company and the inhuman living arrangements, his stay at Grimmauld Place was nice enough. Harry had gained a seductive streak. He assumed that the small vampire had not even realized it most of the time, but his slim hips moved alluringly with every step and he often did little things that showed off his most seductive attributes, like bending down, exposing more of the delicious skin on his backside. He never mentioned it to his young mate, but whenever the boy bent down particular low, he exposed enough of his thighs to see them forming into those soft buttocks.  
Just before the ritual had started, Lucius had noticed that Harry had become aware of another kink of their kind: their love of 'exposure'.  
For vampires, sex was not only a method of socialization, but also a way to hunt their prey. Apparently, just because he and Harry had no need to hunt, did not mean that those instincts were not there. Vampires do not only hunt on their own, they also enjoy to seduce their prey in groups as well, that put plainly means that they enjoy sexual activities in fairly public settings, like an open living room. Besides, even though blood from others did not sustain them, didn't mean that it tastes bad either; it was like humans: they ate chocolate because they liked it and not because they needed the sugar to survive.  
Maybe someday in the future, he and Harry would be able to act freely on their instincts. Lucius smirked at the thought of fucking his Harry in front of all his skittish friends. He would like to find out how the mutt would look if he saw him driving his thick flesh into Harry's tight arse. A tingle in his lower stomach warned him that he had better chang the topic of his wandering thoughts soon.  
"What are you thinking about, Lucius?" Severus' silent voice interrupted him suddenly.  
"I am thinking about shocking the hell out of this stupid mutt and his little pet wolf," Lucius drawled.  
"And that thought has you aroused?" Severus lifted one of his black eyebrows.  
Lucius smirked: "It has."  
His friend huffed: "I saw the looks you and my son exchanged earlier; it seems that your instincts developed nicely. It surely would be an interesting sight to see."  
"You are surprisingly at ease with the thought of me taking your son here on the coffee table in front of everybody," he commented.  
Now his friends lips quirked in a smirk as well: "I am a vampire myself and even though I didn't seem to have developed any sexual needs, my instincts are well functioning."  
Lucius frowned. Did Severus really have no sexual desires? Maybe it was logical; he himself only had the desire to sleep with his little submissive, be it in private or in a more public setting, but he lacked the desire to take other vampires or humans to his bed, like unmated vampires did. And Severus had lost his mate after all.  
Watching his sleeping mate's face, Lucius thought that it was worth waiting for Harry. Harry already deeply trusted him and he could see that the child would join him in every game he would suggest.  
"That really was amazing!" The Granger girl was just coming back inside the living room. After the ritual she had helped Molly Weasley carry the empty bowl with the mixed blood and the 18 empty Potions Vials to the kitchen. The girl was practically radiating with enthusiasm; how sickening.  
"I could even feel the magic from where I was sitting," she said to the old fool, who stepped in behind her. Dumbledore chuckled and replied: "The magic was quite heavy indeed. Harry will have a wide variety of spells to choose from in his fight against Voldemort. Especially, if he gains some more knowledge that none of the Order Members can provide," The bushy haired girl frowned in irritation, but Lucius could feel the twinkling gaze of the headmaster settling on him.  
Apparently the rumours about Dumbledore knowing everything held more truth than he had ever thought, but as long as the old fool remained silent he would not worry about it. If Dumbledore was as intelligent as rumoured, the wizard would know that he was no longer a threat to Harry.  
"I am really curious about what Harry will know all about after he wakes up," the girl rambled on and Lucius suppressed an annoyed sigh. Regardless of her loyalty, how could his mate stand this witch day in and day out? He would have killed her with a convenient spell long ago already.  
Carefully, he slipped one of his hands beneath the heavy comforter and laid it down on Harry's thigh. Severus had summoned a book, but it was obvious that the man was annoyed by the constant chattering of the Mudblood as well.  
"I honestly do not envy you, my friend," he drawled.  
Huffing, the dark wizard replied: "Both of us will see more of Harry's little friends than we ever wished for. You will not be spared of them either. Let me tell you, the golden trio is nearly inseparable."  
"I fear you may be right."  
"I wish you a good evening, Professor." The floo flared and Dumbledore disappeared into the flames, finally shutting the annoying witch up. She went over to the armchair Harry's redheaded friend slept in, quite soundly by now, and started to shake his shoulder. Lucius watched in slight amusement as the girl tried to wake the snoring boy, until she gave up after about five minutes. With a huff she disappeared into the library, only to come back a moment later with a book.  
Within the next half an hour the mutt, the wolf and nearly the entire Weasley clan returned as well. They had eaten after the long ritual, but now seemed determined to protect their sleeping hero from the evil Death Eater. Not Severus, of course.  
The Weaslette had chosen a place from where she could watch Harry's peaceful face and was now smiling dreamily.  
"If she does even one inappropriate thing again, I will have to have a serious conversation with Molly and Arthur," Severus growled next to him.  
"Protective, are we?" asked Lucius amusedly.  
"No one threatens the mating bond of my son," Severus merely replied.  
They fell silent again and Lucius concentrated back on the conversations around him:  
"He really looks exhausted," Mrs. Weasley sighed, a worried look at her face.  
"This ritual is already very straining without a wizard like Dumbledore taking part in it," the werewolf replied.  
"I am sure he would look much better, if he wasn't forced to sleep in the laps of those...'Slytherins'," the mutt commented.  
"You should accept Harry's choice of friends and the fact that he is happy with Professor Snape as his father or you will lose him." The Mudblood was more intelligent than Lucius had given her credit for.  
"I know, I know, but it is difficult. He is heading right into danger and he doesn't even see it," the dog replied.  
"Maybe, maybe not; all we can do is be there for him and protect him if you turn out to be right," the girl said, not once looking up from her book, still reading while conversing. That was something he himself could not do, but then again, he was a man and men were not prone to multitasking.  
The afternoon went by in the same fashion. Harry didn't even stir once. When it became later, the others slowly went to bed, only Severus, himself and the annoying mutt remained in the living room. They watched over Harry the whole night and the whole next day, not leaving his side once. Lucius had to give his mate's godfather at least some credit, he clearly was concerned about his godson and only left the room quickly to fetch something to eat or visit the loo. Severus and he would sometimes go to the bathroom as well to keep up appearances, but not as often. Granger and Weasley had left for the night, but settled down in their armchairs the next morning.  
Severus had checked on Harry numerous times, but it was difficult to find any symptoms in a vampire and they just assume, that the boy had drifted off into a natural sleep. Only in the morning two days later, Harry started to stir slowly. The first sign that his beloved submissive was coming around was the increasing movements behind his closed eyelids.  
"He is awakening," He said and instantly everybody around them was on their feet.  
"Oh, finally, I had started to get worried!" Hermione exclaimed and the mutt growled, "And I was so close to accusing Snivellus of murderer!"  
Severus got up: "Not so close, I need some space to check him over!" his friend snapped and kneeled down next to his son's head. In the next moment they noticed that they were lucky that the view to Harry was blocked by Severus' figure, when Harry's eyes flew open and starving, as unglamoured and bright red eyes settled on Lucius. Lucius reacted quickly: When Harry wanted to sit up and lunge at his throat, he pressed his submissive down with a hand on his small chest, trying to not look too strained; but Harry, drained as he was, was more powerful than he had thought possible.  
"Do something," Lucius hissed to Severus, who quickly conjured a vial made from non-transparent black glass and tipped the back of his hand. Lucius could feel the blood leave his body, as it filled the vial. As soon as the vial was filled, he prepared a second one and then pressed one of them to Harry's lips.  
Harry opened his mouth eagerly. He groaned in hunger when the first drop of blood entered his mouth as he started to gulp the liquid down. The groan developed to a moan, as Lucius' blood started to have the typical effect on his little submissive.  
"Snivellus, what are you giving him?" Sirius bellowed, but they paid the animagus no attention. Lucius literally had his hands full as he pressed Harry down, trying to make him seem motionless, whilst his other hand sneaked under the blanket to give his desperate submissive some relief.  
"Stop it!" the dog bellowed again, and one hand landed on Severus shoulders, but the man didn't even budge an inch as Black tried to pull him away from his 'hurting' godson.  
"You stupid dog! Harry needs this! Severus snapped and dropped the first vial to the floor, replacing it with the second.  
Lucius saw Harry's friends worrying their lips, but apparently they trusted Severus more with the life of their best friends than everybody else in the room.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

Meanwhile, he had opened Harry's shorts and his fingers grabbed the base of Harry's small cock to give him some relief, safely hidden under the blanket.  
The wolf was growling in the background, as worried about the godson of his mate as Black himself was, but Arthur Weasley held him back: "Lupin, calm down, Severus is a loyal member of the Order, we can trust him," the Weasley patriarch said sternly, but Lupin did not even seem to hear him as he bared his teeth.  
Slowly, Lucius started to stroke Harry's hot penis up and down, careful to not move the comforter above his hand too much. The boy wanted to buckle into his hand, and he pressed him down more firmly. He would have to time Harry's orgasm with the last gulp of his blood. If Harry came too early, he would only get aroused again and if he waited for too long, the others would wonder why Harry did not stop moaning after he was finished with the 'Potion'.  
The second viol was about half empty and he quickened his pace around Harry's cock a little. When he saw the last gulp of blood entering his mate's mouth, he scratched with the claw of his thumb across the head of Harry's cock, drawing blood, whilst stroking up the shaft one last time. Harry groaned as his hot seed erupted from his penis and his red eyes crossed for a moment, before the glow receded until it was nothing more than the usual ring around the green orbs. Lucius smirked in satisfaction; he knew the basics of his cute submissive very well already.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

Severus whispered a silent glamour and then a cleaning spell and some other spell. Lucius assumed that it was a spell to irritate the wolf's nose so that he would not catch on to the heavy scent of release as soon as his mind was back.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry blinked rapidly to get his vision to focus. His head pounded from all the knowledge he had attained in what was probably just a few hours and his body was still tingling from the aftermath of his orgasm. He had smelled Lucius instantly as he came back to consciousness and the consuming hunger had overwhelmed him. He smiled at his dominant, the warm, fluttering feeling returning to his stomach, before he turned his head to look at a black clad figure next to him. His sight was still blurry, so he sniffed the air.  
"Dad," he sighed and stretched a shaky hand out. His father instantly took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.  
"How are you feeling Harry?" Severus asked; his voice very soft.  
"As if a Hippogriff has stomped on my head a few times," he groaned.  
"I will fetch you a Potion." His father leaned forwards and pressed a soft kiss against his forehead before standing up.  
"No more Potions for Harry!" Harry tried to look at Remus, but his vision was too blurry and his strength only came back slowly.  
"It's okay Moony, I am fine," Harry said, but his weak voice didn't help to convince the aggravated werewolf.  
"No you are not pup. And these two only make it worse!" He pointed at Lucius and then at his father, who had just come back up the stairs.  
"I am just tired, but the first two Potions helped a lot already," luckily, he was not too tired anymore to not realize that his father and mate had slipped him Lucius' blood under the pretence of giving him a Potion.  
"You were writhing in agony!"  
Harry flushed; he had not been writhing in agony.  
His father lifted his upper body gently up and sat back down. Harry sighed at the reassuring contact of his father and mate.  
"Here, take this," Severus murmured and opened yet another vial. Harry immediately recognized the Potion by its foul smell.  
"You are not planning on giving him that, are you?" Sirius sounded threateningly again.  
"I don't think that he is up to drinking 27 normal Pain Potions," his father sneered.  
"But this is the Potion against the effects of a Cruciatus! And how much are you planning on giving him? This certainly does not look like a normal sized vial!"  
"It was worth a try," Severus sighed; he had hoped to make it look as if he would give Harry one instead of two.  
"Do you want to damage his liver and kidneys?" Sirius asked.  
Harry assumed that his father merely rolled his eyes, before placing the vial against his lips, when no spoken reply came. He had just taken the first sip, when Sirius suddenly stood next to them, holding Severus' wrist and preventing him from giving Harry any more Potions.  
Harry heard Molly gasp and Hermione groan in annoyance, mirroring his own feelings, but in contrast to the others, he felt too weak to express them.  
"Sirius please, Severus is a good Potions Master; you know that and he already explained that Harry needs stronger doses," Molly pleaded from the background.  
"No, Molly, I know enough about this Potion to know that not even a Veela should drink as much. He is harming Harry right under our noses!" Sirius growled and tried to pull the vial from Severus' grasp, but he did not let go. Harry was sure that his father could have easily overpowered his godfather, but that would only lead to more suspicions. Nobody besides Ron and Hermione knew that Severus had transformed for him.  
"Let go, you stupid mutt!" his father hissed, but Sirius only growled louder.  
"The only thing you are achieving is making Harry suffer longer!" Harry could tell that his father was getting very angry. Vampires were very protective creatures after all.  
"Only over my dead body!" Sirius barked back.  
Both men glared at each other, neither ready to let go of the vial any time soon.  
"Oh enough!" Molly exclaimed suddenly and shot a series of red sparks at the men, who were so distracted, that they jumped apart in surprise, letting go of the Potion.  
Harry thought the vial would fall to the ground, but Molly shouted: "Accio Potions Vial!" and the vial flew into her hands.  
"You two are like little children! It is unbelievable how you behave!" She glared at the men and Harry noticed in wonder, that even his father looked slightly scared of the Weasley Matron.  
"Sirius, we need to trust each other, or we can hand the victory off to You-Know-Who right away," she said and came over to give Severus the vial back. Severus looked smug, but only until the woman turned to him: "And you Severus; I hope this Potion will not hurt him like the last two! I still consider Harry one of mine, even though he has a father now and I protect my children!"  
Severus gave her a curt nod, before finally giving Harry the rest of the Pain Potion. The pounding in Harry's head finally subsided and his vision returned to normal.  
"I will take you up to your room so that you can have some peace," his father said and stood up, before lifting him into his arms. His friends instantly rose to their feet as well and followed him.  
Up in their room, Severus inquired: "Which bed is yours?"  
"The one on the left, near the window," Harry answered, and his father went over and laid him down carefully. "Try to get some more rest," his father said and then hesitated.  
"Um...professor..." Hermione cleared his throat nervously. "If you would like, you can stay."  
Harry smiled thankfully at the witch and his father asked:  
"Are you sure that it would be fine with you and Mr. Weasley?"  
"Listen, Snape," Ron said suddenly, a fierce look on his face and for a moment Harry thought that the next argument would erupt, but his hot headed friend surprised him as he declared:  
"Neither Hermione nor I like you very much nor will we probably ever, but we saw you with Harry after your visit in Diagon Alley...we saw how you comforted him."  
When his father narrowed his eyes, Ron explained: "We accidentally heard what Sirius and Remus said about you and Harry and we were sure you would not comfort him when he started to sob, so we went down. You care for him, even though the others cannot see it yet and Harry is so happy that he finally has a real family, so we will support you! Just so you know!" Ron glared at his professor and Severus muttered: "Next time you forget my title, I will dock points from you," before one corner of his lips lifted in an appreciative smirk.  
"Yeah well..." Ron huffed but grinned back.  
Severus turned back to Harry then, but when he pulled out his wand to conjure a chair, Harry quickly stopped him: "Don't. Please sit down with me?" He watched in nervousness as his father's eyes darted over to his friends and he thought that he had asked for too much, when he sighed and pocketed his wand again.  
"Scoot over little brat," the man said, pulling off his cloak and hanging it over Hermione's chair before climbing into the bed next to him.  
Harry snickered at the incredulous looks of his friends. Sure, they had seen Severus comforting him and had even seen them sleeping next to each other, but to witness how easily the stern man was persuaded by him was still something else.  
"Can you give me the book on my nightstand?" Harry asked and snuggled against his father. Severus laid an arm over his shoulder before handing him the first book of: Rights and Duties of a House Lady and pulling out his own, shrunken one from one of his robe pockets. Harry had already read the first three chapters and it was surprisingly interesting.  
"Are you sure you can read again already?" Hermione asked, making herself comfortable on her own bed.  
"Yeah, I am fine again. Only my head still feels a bit heavy, or maybe my brain, like I have learned a whole week without a break."  
Ron huffed and set up his old chessboard to play against himself: "Don't tell me that you all want to read? Is this the room of the nerds?"  
"I could always give you an extra lecture about Potions if you would prefer it over us reading," Severus sneered, shutting Ron up quite effectively.  
The silence that followed in the next few hours was surprisingly comfortable. Hermione was researching the coins Harry had brought back from Gringotts, Ron was occupied with his chess game, and Severus was reading a new Potions Book, whilst Harry had fallen asleep after about an hour of reading. It took a lot of energy from the body to get accustomed to all the new knowledge. He didn't even notice Molly, Arthur, Fred, George, Ginny, Sirius and Remus checking on him.  
At 8 PM Hermione fetched them a tray with sandwiches and Severus even took one so as to not offend one of his son's friends. He did not like them particularly, but they mattered to Harry and he had to admit that they were good friends. They did not even try to throw him out when it got later and later; instead they just went to the bathroom on the first floor to change and put out all the lights with the exception of a small lamp on their desk.  
Severus tried to stay awake as long as possible, but with the tiring ritual, the three days he had been awake and the warm body of his peacefully sleeping son, all conspired into lulling him to sleep eventually.


	17. Chapter 17: Extracting a Soul

**Chapter 17: Extracting a Soul**

 **HP**

The second day after he had woken up from the ritual, Harry had spent mostly in his father's lab, or up in his room with Ron and Hermione, avoiding Ginny and his former guardians.  
Down in the lab he had watched his father brew the Potion they would use to extract Voldemort's soul from his body, played chess against him and Lucius, or had just sat there cuddling with one of the two men. They also tried to speculate what kind of side effects the removal of the soul piece would possibly have and came to the conclusion that no one else besides them should probably be there when they finally started the procedure; magical backlashes were one of the possible outcomes, after all the Horcrux had been connected to him for eleven years and would probably not like leaving its hiding place; they at least would survive such an explosion.  
When he was with Ron and Hermione, they had started to train Justitius, which was an even harder task than they had imagined. The first step was to show his little familiar all kinds of things and name them, because according to Merlin, Phoenixes and their foundlings were able to learn to understand the human language quite quickly. But Justitius had the attention span of a infant and preferred to flutter around excitedly instead of listening to them. Hermione had pointed out that the bat was still very young and clearly not of the calmest temperament, which made it all the more difficult.  
Harry honestly wasn't sure how much the bat had listened and just hoped that he was a natural genius, like his mate or father.  
He had also tried to avoid Ginny as much as possibly, which had been really successful due to the fact that not only his mate and father, but also his friends and even Molly had an eye on the girl. His father had been rather annoyed after the garden incident (as they had started to refer to it) and when Ginny tried her advances on him the day before; he had gone to the Weasley matron and had told her about the brazen behaviour of her daughter. Molly had nearly flipped and the scolding she had given her daughter had been clearly heard throughout the whole of Grimmauld Place.  
Sadly, Sirius, Lupin and he had not yet talked to each other again. Harry knew that Sirius was miserable, but after his father had apparently fed him some harmful Potions after his awakening with the help of Lucius, the two Marauders had started to watch him, Severus, and the aristocrat whenever they were together in a room, driving Harry even more into hiding and annoying him to no end. Hermione and Ron had been up and about to go find the men and give them another piece of their minds, but he had luckily been able to prevent it.  
He had yet to find out what he had learned during his three-day sleep, but Dumbledore had told him that he should enjoy the last few days of his holidays and give his brain some more time to settle down. His brain still honestly felt a bit overloaded, but it was getting better with every day. It had been a shock to find out that he had slept for so long and that everybody had watched him during the time. He had cooked for everybody as a thank you gift and was happy to find out that he was still able to cook quite well, despite everything tasting like paper or something equally tasteless due to his keen nose.  
Right now it was the day before they had to return to Hogwarts and he was with Justitius out in the garden, telling him all kinds of things about flowers and plants in general and trying not to think that he was only a few days away from being separated from his mate for a very long time. How he would be able to endure weeks or even month without his mate was a mystery to him. He could still remember very well how he had felt as he had returned to Grimmauld Place, whilst Lucius had gone back to his own Manor. Of course he could still remember it, it had been just a bit over a week ago and he had nearly gone insane at the end.  
If he had a choice, he would just not return, but both his mate and his father would surely kill him slowly and torturously if he even dared to try and they were right in some ways, because even an immortal vampire would be jobless without a complete school education, but right now that was not a real reason for him to return. It became even less of a reason when he looked at the lists Gringotts had sent him a few days ago and saw that there was not even a financial reason to go and get a job after Hogwarts anyway.  
Harry had a whole list of points that supported his wish to stay with his mate, but he didn't even dare to bring them up in front of either men. It was, basically, the reason why he was currently very miserable, bad tempered and alone with only his bat in the garden for company.  
"Look, Justitius," he called to the bat, who glanced over at him and Harry could swear that the little fellow had just rolled his huge, golden eyes, but at least he came fluttering over.  
"Isn't that flower beautiful? It is a rose and the red thing over there on the tree is an apple. You know; the things you love to eat."  
Apples were one of the candied treats he had brought for Justitius and the bat really got annoying if he didn't get at least one piece of sweet daily. As soon as he could start taking care of his letter delivery, Harry would make sure that he only got them as a reward. Justitius perked up at the mention of one of his candies and quickly fluttered to the apple. His little tongue came out and licked over the fruit. Justitius turned and threw him a filthy and very disappointed glare.  
Harry chuckled: "That apple is not candied, so it is not as sweet, you need sugar for that."  
Huffing, Justitius flew up to the window leading to his and his friends' room. Harry sighed; the little bat liked to sulk whenever he didn't get whatever he wanted and most of the time he blamed Harry for it.  
Two arms suddenly wrapped around his body and a soft kiss was pressed against his neck.  
"Lucius, I didn't hear you coming," he whispered, leaning back into the embrace.  
"Is Justitius sulking again?" His mate asked and started to nip lightly at his neck. A long finger came up; a claw slid down Harry's neck, making him sigh in pleasure while Lucius' cane was pressed slightly between his legs.  
Blushing, Harry, stepped away from Lucius; they were in the garden after all and it wouldn't be good if someone found him wrapped in the aristocrat's arms with his snake cane between his legs, on his last day at Grimmauld Place:  
"Let me guess, he noticed that it was not as sweet as he had hoped?" Lucius asked with an amused smirk on his face.  
"Yep," Harry answered, still feeling hot, something very heavy had stirred at the touch of Lucius' famous item, a desire he could not describe, but it had felt so very intimate and naughty at the same time.  
"Poor guy," Lucius purred.  
Harry's lower region announced its interest even more at the deep, velvet like voice that dripped like honey over his ears and he quickly searched for something that would change the topic to get his mind from the fantasy, which included not only his mate, but also the man's cane.  
"So...why did you come outside?" he asked quickly, a bit too quickly.  
Lucius grinned wickedly and said in the same voice: "Can I not come out to see my cute submissive?"  
Harry groaned, why did Lucius do this to him? The man knew what effect he had on Harry and that was probably the reason why he liked to tease him. His eyes started to roam his dominant's perfect body without his permission and his fingers itched to slide under Lucius' white button down and glide over the warm and soft skin in front of him, and then his eyes actually landed on said cane, which had him so distracted right now. He felt a flush creeping up his neck and Lucius' playful smirk changed into one of triumph.  
"Did you just come out to rile me up and make me flush?" Harry glared back at him, but as always, his glare didn't impress his mate at all; who after all could share the first place with his father in any glaring contest.  
"No. Of course not." Lucius said, much softer, glancing around quickly, before pressing a kiss to Harry's head. "I came out to tell you that the Potion for you and Nagini is ready and to give you this," his mate extracted a shrunken cardboard box from his pocket and gave it Harry. He had some trouble focusing his mind again, but finally he eyed the box suspiciously and decided that it looked awfully familiar.  
"I have enough clothes," he said and tried to give the box back to his mate, who only crossed his arm in refusal and replied: "But you still need new school robes."  
"I have enough school robes as well; they are all upstairs in my trunk. I have not grown last year, so I don't need new ones and probably never will, since I will never start growing again."  
Lucius wrinkled his nose as if he wanted to tell Harry that everyone needed new school robes at least once a year regardless of their growing rate, but what he actually said was even worse:  
"You don't think that you can wear normal school robes as the legal heir to Hogwarts? There are special robes for you now. I certainly know that, because I am one of Hogwarts governors."  
Harry blinked in surprise: "That's a joke, isn't it? I wanted to keep the whole heir to Hogwarts thing a secret."  
Lucius snorted: "That is ridiculous. The students will not be ignorant enough to not notice that you have your own room suddenly with the Hogwarts crest on the door."  
Harry huffed; he should have guessed that something like this would happen.  
"You will wear new robes and the signet ring and if you are lucky it will be enough to distract everybody from noticing that you are wearing a bandage around your right hand every day," his mate ordered with slight insistence.  
"Fine," Harry mumbled and opened the package. As soon as he had extracted off the ribbon that held the box closed, it enlarged until it was nearly as long as he was high and Harry had to lay it down on the grass.  
Taking off the lid, he saw that the box was divided in several differently sized sections. In each section lay a different part of his new robes. He saw his red and golden ties, white button downs, and black cloaks and wondered what the difference was, until he noticed the black shorts, Gryffindor red stockings and the waistcoat in the same colour.  
Blinking down at the garments, he was trying to decide whether he should be annoyed or not. To be honest, he liked his new look very much, especially because Lucius liked to see him in his new attire and it really suited his character but this...  
"Really Lucius? You want me to wear these kinds of clothes after Skeeter's article? I thought you don't like everybody looking at my ass," he commented, already knowing that it wasn't true.  
"I have no problem when others looking at your cute backside, knowing that they can never have it, I just do not appreciate it when they do not realize that you are already taken and try to get their dirty hands on you," Lucius drawled in reply.  
"Just so that I know that I understand you right: You like to dress me up prettily and sexily to show me off? I am not a woman who likes to be treated like a dress-up doll and I am not a diamond to wear around your neck either," Harry glared, he had no problem with the whole being intimate in public thing because it would only show others how much they cared for each other, but this was a whole different notion.  
"Oh I know that you are not a woman," Lucius said suggestively, stepping a bit closer to Harry, rubbing his thigh against his crotch this time.  
Harry quickly stepped back and continued to glare. Lucius leaned forwards and whispered: "I thought you liked my attention. Or why have you started to swing your hips so suggestively whenever I am around?"  
Huffing, he replied: "I am not purposefully swinging my hips as soon as you are around, or whatever it is you are thinking."  
"You are right, it was only like that in the beginning, now you do it without even thinking about it, just in case I am somewhere watching you," Lucius purred and Harry flushed again. His mate was right, why was the aristocrat so damn intelligent?  
At any other time he would have admitted that he relished in Lucius' attention, that he liked his eyes on his body and the knowledge that Lucius was only thinking about him in those moments, about kissing him, touching him, pleasuring him or just holding him in his strong arms, but not right now.  
He would also not admit that he quite often provoked the blonde's lustful stares by bending down suggestively, picking something up, or looking up secretively at his mate from under his lashes, which made him look even cuter and sexier. He had even reached the point where he could admit that he certainly was not bad on the eye, even though it was not the strong, sexy beauty Lucius possessed and he had always secretly wanted in the past.  
So, if he did enjoy his dominant's attention, why was he so annoyed right now? Because in contrast to his very self-confident mate he had no clue how to deal with unwanted attention from strangers and he would be the one who would need to live with it. He didn't want to feel the looks of other males or even females on his ass; at least, not as long as Lucius couldn't openly stand at his side and protect him as his mate. If he went to Hogwarts dressed like he was right now, he would be like a piece of meat in front of a hungry group of lions.  
But if he refused to wear his new school robes, he would hurt his mate. This really was a huge dilemma.  
After another moment of silence he huffed and asked: "Will you tell dad to punish everybody who gets too overly bold?"  
"I will," Lucius promised and closed the box, before shrinking it and pocketing it again, before adding "Let's go to Severus and get that filthy piece of soul out of your and Nagini's bodies," and striding back into the house.  
They went inside together and down to his father's lab. Harry entered first after he had knocked softly and froze at the sight in front of him. His father and his two guardians were sitting on the green sofa (Sirius and Remus occupied the couch whilst his father had conjured a chair), silently glaring at each other but not a single insulting word crossed their lips. Harry hadn't expected them to be there for...whatever they were about to do to get the Horcrux out of him, not after the last few days and he really was pissed right now, so he snapped without caring if it was the right thing to do:  
"I thought you wouldn't care now that you know who my real dad is?" he asked rather coldly.  
Sirius and Remus turned around to face him and looked guiltily at the floor as soon as they saw him. "Harry," Remus started his voice full of guilt. "You were right, and Ron and Hermione and Molly, too. It shouldn't matter who your father is and we should wait and give Snape a chance before we criticize him as a father; it is not so unusual that Potions cause a bad reaction in the beginning and we should not have been so quick to condemn him."  
"I can't understand why it is so hard for you to be happy for me. I know it was a shock: it was for me as well and I know that you two don't have the advantage of your instincts helping you to accept...this new development, but you didn't have to get so insulting either," Harry said, crossing his arms, he would not be so easily forgiving this time. Their words and behaviour had hurt too much.  
"We realize that, Harry," Sirius sighed. "But you must understand it is Sni...Sna...what should I call the father of my godson, whom I hate?" Sirius asked irritably.  
"You can continue to call me Snape, because anything else would need my permission, which you will not get," his father sneered.  
Sirius glared at the man, but continued: "Look, it is not only the fact that we found out that you are not the son of our late best friend, but we also found out that you are Snape's instead and that was...is...really difficult to accept."  
Getting even more annoyed, he asked: "You still have not accepted it?" He had hoped that this conversation would at least help everybody to understand the other party better.  
"We have. It's still hard to believe and I will still not be able to call him a good parent yet," Sirius huffed.  
Harry sighed and combed his fingers through his hair; he really was not a person who could stay angry for very long, not if the other party looked so regretful. He just hated arguments and he could also understand his godfather. The thought of losing both his best friends and then receiving news like Sirius just had made him sick to his stomach. Sighing, he said: "That is okay, I don't expect you to greet him with open arms." He glared at his father when he made a choking noise. "Maybe it will help you to accept everything if you try to remember that I might not be James' son, but I am the son of his beloved cousin, his nephew a few times removed, and the boy he sacrificed his life for. It was still him who named you my godfather and entrusted part of my wellbeing to you. It wasn't as if Lily tricked him into helping her, he knew what he was doing. He knew all along who my real father was and he still died to save me. "  
Sirius gulped audibly and he and Remus looked even guiltier, but Lucius' warm hand squeezing his shoulder told him that he had said the right thing despite the crestfallen looks on the men's faces.  
"Good," Lucius commented after a moment of heavy silence. "Now that this issue is cleared, may we proceed?"  
Harry heard Sirius mumble something sounding like "Snobby bastard," but ignored it and instead turned back to his mate and father: "Can someone fetch Ron and Hermione? They were always by my side in some way when I faced Voldemort and I would like them to be here this time as well; at least in the beginning until they have to go."  
"I'll go and get them," Remus offered.  
"And try to bring Nagini. Just look into her the eyes and say Harry, she knows my name in our language and should follow you, I think it is thanks to Voldemort's constant ranting about me, she also knows the name Dumbledore and that it is synonymous to old fool." Harry added, snickering.  
Remus nodded and disappeared out of the lab.  
"Lucius and I will wait until your friends have arrived before we explain the procedure," Severus said and went over to look at the Connecting Potion one last time.  
Harry nodded and sat down in the empty space next to Sirius. He felt faintly ill, the memory of his last encounter with a piece of Voldemort's soul came back to his mind and he wondered if it would be as bad.  
"How will we destroy the pieces in the end?" He asked, when Ron and Hermione came in, both wearing similar worried expressions on their faces.  
"I have prepared a strong Acid Potion that should take care of the problem" Lucius said. Harry threw him an accusing look; he would have liked to see his mate brew. Lucius had told him that he was a Potions Master as well, but he had never actually seen his mate work with a cauldron. He saw his mate make a motion as if he wanted to ruffle through his hair, but Lucius caught himself and was standing still and proudly again before anyone could notice anything.  
Hermione, who had just joined them along with Ron, Nagini and Remus, cleared her throat and then asked: "What will you do exactly? It sounds difficult to extract a piece of someone's soul out of another's body."  
"It certainly will be Miss Granger," Lucius drawled in his typical Malfoy voice.  
His father continued, looking at him. "We will restrain you, before we place this golden stamp on your scar and extract the piece out with a combined Extracting Spell from Lucius and myself."  
"Why on your scar?" Ron asked, eying him doubtfully, even though it was Lucius and Severus who explained everything.  
"Because this is the place, where the soul has entered Harry's body," Lucius explained.  
"And why are you and Malfoy doing the spell and not Remus and me?" Sirius asked brusquely.  
Harry exchanged a look with his mate and father; they all knew why it would be better if the Slytherins did the spell. It could come to a backlash of Voldemort's lingering dark magic and it would be better if the vampires were hit by it than his still very mortal guardians. But they couldn't explain it like that.  
Whilst he and Severus were still looking questioningly at each other, Lucius had already turned, his best arrogant expression on his face: "Because I don't have the patience to explain the procedure to the two of you. I would like to actually get it done today."  
Sirius growled, but Remus laid a hand on his forearm to calm him back down and said clearly audibly: "At least, he is not Harry's father."  
Seeing the smirk tugging at his mate's lips, Harry quickly said: "Lucius is right, we should get it over with."  
"Then go over to that wall and stay in front of it," Severus ordered him and Harry obliged with a queasy feeling in his stomach. Lucius and Severus followed him, whilst everybody else was watching attentively. With a flick of the man's wand, iron chains sprung out of the walls, binding him tightly to the cold stone behind him. A chain had wrapped around each of his ankles and wrists, whilst two others were wrapped across his torso like an X.  
Harry tried to move, but the chains didn't even budge an inch. He wasn't sure whether he should feel better or worse now and decided to not think about it at all.  
"Is that really necessary?" Sirius asked, his eyes fixed on the thick restraints.  
"You will see that it is indeed very necessary. It is a piece of Voldemort's soul we try to remove." his father said and motioned for Lucius to stand next to him.  
"A moment," Lucius said and waved Hermione over to him, who looked as surprised as Harry felt at that moment, but quickly stood up. His mate lowered his voice, so that the others would not hear his words, but Harry could understand him anyway:  
"Miss Granger, Harry told me that you are one of his two best friends and a smart witch."  
The witch looked astonished but nodded hesitantly.  
"He also told me that you would do anything for him, is that true?" the aristocrat whispered.  
"He is right," Hermione answered, her eyes quickly darting over to him. Harry could see the question in her brown orbs, but he didn't know what his mate was going on about either.  
"Will you help him keep his inheritance a secret?" Lucius asked; his voice a bit suggestive as if daring Hermione to refuse.  
The girl chewed on her bottom lip, curiosity clearly fighting against the wish to be a good friend.  
"So you know what he is?" she asked, not yet answering and Harry slowly grew nervous. Hermione's greed of knowledge was her biggest weakness.  
"I had the 'fortune' of being there when he received his heritage," Lucius answered, making it sound as if it had been an unpleasant event for him, something he would like to forget. Harry snorted inwardly; his mate could have become an actor.  
Hermione's eyes fixed on his again and Harry could see the moment when she her eyes grew hard and she had decided: "I will."  
"Then stand next to him and keep his glamour up as soon as you see them waver around the edges," Lucius didn't ask again, he had already asked before.  
"Thank you, Mione," he whispered and she gave him a reassuring smile.  
"You should know that I would never let you down, not even if I were to find out that your mate is actually Lucius Malfoy," she giggled and Harry was about to get a heart attack; which would be interesting, being an immortal vampire, when she stopped giggling and added: "But luckily he isn't. That would be too unlikely to happen even for you."  
"Yeah, thanks, Mione," He smiled in relief and hoped that she would remember what she just promised when he told her that she had been right with her joke.  
His father stepped in front of him then, a golden lightning bolt-stamp in his dragon hide gloved hands, which was dripping with an oily and reddish Potion. The Potion's scent invaded Harry's sensitive nose and he wrinkled the offended appended. It smelled like a mixture of a strong acid and an even stronger alcohol.  
"This might hurt," His father warned him just a second before pressing the little piece of pure gold to his forehead and searing pain erupted in his head.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **SS**

Severus' heart clenched in anguish as he heard his son starting to scream in agony. Everything in him screamed to take away the potion-soaked stamp from Harry, who was chained to the wall like a virgin sacrifice.  
Next to him Lucius had cast the spell as soon as Harry started screaming. The stamp now held on to Harry without him pressing it to his son's forehead and he cast the extracting spell as well, before slowly stepping backwards. After so many years, the Dark Lord's soul had attached itself very strongly to Harry, nearly becoming a part of him, but luckily only nearly. He increased the power of his spell and felt a growl rising in his chest, but he quickly suppressed it and concentrated back on his spell, Lucius and in Harry in front of him.  
Harry was writhing in his binds, his muscles were tense and the veins on his thin throat were pulsing violently. Severus wanted to close his eyes, no torture the Dark Lord had ever inflicted on him was as great as seeing the pain of his son and knowing that he was the cause of it.  
He saw Lucius shifting next to him, strengthening his spell as well. Harry's scream grew even louder when the stamp finally moved an inch away from his forehead, a black shadow attached to it. That was the Horcrux.  
Blood was running down Harry's scar like a small river. He heard Lucius growl in distress, the blood probably had an even worse effect on him, due to its normally arousing quality for his friend. The stamp moved another inch, but Severus could feel his magic weakening quickly, even a seventh part of the Dark Lord's soul was apparently immensely powerful. His eyes widened in horror, when the stamp made a jerk and was again closer to Harry.  
"Quickly!" He barked to everybody. "We need more power!"  
The redhead and Harry's former guardians were on their feet and next to him and Lucius in a moment, shouting the extracting spell nearly simultaneously.  
"When I give the command, you will all end your spell and jump to the side!" He told them, determined to keep the people Harry considered family out of harm's way. No one nodded; they did not have the energy to do so.  
The stamp jerked again, this time in their direction. The panting of Black, Lupin and Weasley sounded loud in his ears, as he concentrated harder on their goal. He would free his son, he would make the horrible visions and the agonizing dreams stop.  
He saw Granger lift her wand from the corner of his eyes. The girl reacted quickly as Harry's glamour flickered around the edges.  
The stamp moved another inch but Severus felt their joined magic weakening again.  
"Granger! 'Sonorus' and then call for help!" Lucius shouted next to him and Granger did as told: "Everybody, come downstairs!" she shouted and a moment later quick footsteps could be heard on the staircase.  
Molly, Arthur, Fred, George and to his surprise even Minerva and Filius entered.  
"What are you doing?" Minerva and Molly screamed in unison.  
"No time for explanations, aim the extracting spell at the golden lightning bolt stamp, quick!" Severus commanded and the small group instantly moved. Slowly his lab was getting cramped; they could only hope that eleven people would be enough to get the evil soul from Harry's body.  
When the stamp moved the next time, it became clear that the black shadow was not shapeless: Two snake-like eyes which shone like glowing coals became visible and Filius squeaked in surprise.  
"Is it a curse from Voldemort?" Minerva panted, sweat dripping from her temple.  
"No, even worse, it is a Horcrux," Severus answered quickly. For a second he thought that she and the other stragglers would drop their wands, but the shock on their expressions was quickly replaced by a fierce determination.  
Half of the Horcrux' upper body was by now out of his son's body. The small Gryffindor was still screaming. Blood started to pour from his closed eyes and ears as well and a sob erupted from Granger's mouth. There was no way Harry could have survived this as a human.  
Luckily he had already prepared some vials with Lucius' blood after the experience with the ritual. Lucius would need to drink again soon, but he would be able to wait until Harry's body had recovered.  
As if following an unspoken command, the whole group took a step back, extracting the Horcrux out to its navel. Harry's screams reached new heights, apparently the pain increased, as if the lower body of the soul was more firmly connected with his son than its upper half.  
His son started to spasm on the wall. Severus wanted to avert his eyes, but he felt as if this would mean that he had left Harry's side and he would never do that.  
"Severus, it is too much!" Minerva shouted over his son's screams. "He will die if we keep this up!"  
"No, he will survive!" He shouted back.  
"Snape, I will trust you this once, but if you are wrong then not even Merlin himself would be able to save your pitiful arse!" Black shouted.  
"He will live!" he reassured the man, thankful, that the mutt did not freak for once.  
A few more inches of soul left Harry's body; his head sagged forwards and in the next moment everything he had eaten at Molly's command this morning came up again and spilled down his expensive attire.  
The smell of vomit hung heavily in the air and a retching sound came from one of the younger Weasley's.  
"Keep on, just a bit more!" Arthur encouraged his family.  
Harry's voice had finally broken, probably damaged for the moment and the boy had lost consciousness as he kept twitching in his restrains. Severus could only look on in bafflement that he had been able to keep conscious for so long. What kind of pain was his son used to? How often had he suffered visions? Lucius had told him that Harry's muggle relatives had most likely been abusive, had they also injured the boy?  
Pushing the thoughts away, he concentrated back on the soul and noticed that it was only attached by its feet to Harry.  
"Now everybody, get out!" He shouted. To his relief no one questioned his command for once. Everybody, with the exception of Lucius, broke their spell and ran out.  
As soon as the last Weasley had closed the door behind themselves, he turned his face slightly in Lucius' direction: "On one! Three, two, one!" The both pushed the remains of their magic into the spell and with a sickening sound; as if someone had drawn their claws over a blackboard the Horcrux detached from his son and went into the golden stamp.  
The backlash of magic was enormous. Tendrils of Dark Magic exploded from Harry's body, so thick, that it was even visible like a shockwave of black and green lightning. He was ripped from his feet and hurled through the air, until his back collided with his work counter. His spine gave a sickening crack as it broke at the impact and for a moment his whole body went numb. The pain was not really that bad, but the feeling of when his spine connected again after a few seconds was nothing he would ever get used to. Groaning, he sagged to the floor, feeling weak and shaky.  
He looked up over to his friend just in time, to see Lucius' previously dangling head snap back into its original place. The aristocrat let out a moan as well and tried to sit up straighter.  
Severus crawled more than walked over to where the Horcrux now lay sealed away in a piece of gold and quickly pocketed it. A hesitant knock sounded at the door and Lucius groaned something that could be an invitation or a rude insult.  
Minerva's worried face appeared in the doorway and she gasped as her eyes fell on him and Lucius.  
"Oh Merlin!" she exclaimed and came running over, drawing him to his feet with surprising strength, draping one of his arms around her shoulders before helping him to the sofa.  
Molly, who accepted everybody who helped Harry or one of her family, had run over to Lucius and was nearly carrying the aristocrat over as well. The Malfoy lord for once looked utterly dishevelled and imperfect and didn't even sneer at the help.  
"Severus, can I help you somehow?" Minerva asked as she gently lowered him on the sofa.  
"No, I am fine, but someone should get Harry down from the wall," he answered, too weak to do it himself.  
Black rushed over to the wall and with a flick of his wand the chains round his son disappeared. The animagus caught Harry before he could fall: "Oh Harry," he said and started to wipe the vomit from Harry's face, before carrying him over as well. Suddenly the man froze in shock: "He is not breathing!" he exclaimed, panic in his voice.  
"Lay him next to me on the couch," Severus commanded, whilst Lucius was dropped in an armchair across from him.  
Black practically ran over: "Do something, Snape! He's dying!"  
"He is not dying," Severus said, even as he heard Harry's heart beat getting more sluggish. His son looked awful: Blood was covering nearly all of his face and the rest was crusted over by dried vomit. His muscles still twitched in the aftermath of the pain he had to endure and his eyes, although open, were rolled completely backwards, showing only the white.  
"His heart is stopping, I can hear it!" the wolf exclaimed.  
"Someone go and get Albus and Poppy!" Minerva commanded and one of the twins ran out.  
"Bring me the four black vials from my counter," he said and Flitwick summoned them quickly, but before the little wizard could hand them over, Black had grabbed him by his robes and shook him violently: "You bastard!" The mutt shouted. "I trusted you; you said he would not die!"  
"He will survive," Severus replied calmly, even as his ears picked up on Harry's heart stopping.  
"His heart has stopped!" Lupin announced and he wanted to curse the stupid wolf. For a moment Severus was wondering, why he was still so calm. He could clearly smell Harry's body starting to decay as the first cells in his son's body started to dissolve.  
"How could you! Are you happy now, after killing your own son?" Black shouted, tears streaming freely from his face.  
"Let go of me, Black, I said he will survive!" his patience snapped and he wrenched himself free from the grasp, quickly taking the vials from the Charms Professor. This would all be so much easier, if he could just tell the mutt and the blasted wolf why Harry wouldn't or couldn't die. Quickly he noticed Granger and Ronald Weasley embracing each other, both sobbing openly. Molly looked like she was in a trance and Arthur was pale like a ghost. The twins had slumped down against a wall, their faces expressionless; he had not even noticed when one of them had returned.  
Silently he wondered why he was not as panicked or desperate himself, he could smell his son's body rotting, but his instincts kept him calm. Harry would come around after he had given him some blood. Sure, the child would feel like shit, at least for a few hours, but he would survive without lingering damage. And it would all go faster if he could finally get Lucius' blood inside his son.  
Tapping first one of the black vials and then Harry stomach with his wand, he spelled the blood directly into his lifeless son. As soon as the second portion of blood entered his system, he could smell that the decaying process had stopped and after the third, the damaged cells started to repair themselves. When the fourth vial of blood was in Harry's body, his son's heart gave a loud thump and started to beat again, slowly at first, but steadily.  
"He is coming back!" Lupin shouted; his amber coloured eyes wide as saucers.  
"What?" Black exclaimed and placed a hand on Harry's chest. "Are you sure? I can't feel anything!"  
"It is weak, but Harry is alive!"  
"Thank Merlin!" Minerva and Molly exclaimed and Harry's two best friends finally stopped their sobbing.  
Severus nodded when Granger gave him a questioning look and the two teens came over.  
"How is he?" Weasley asked, his voice sounding hoarse.  
"Nothing I can not heal with a few Potions. His vocal cords are most likely damaged right now and his nerves and cells have suffered severe damage as well, but he will be back on his feet in no time.  
"It is because of his inheritance that he will survive, am I right?" Granger whispered quietly.  
"Yes," Severus admitted and cast a cleaning spell on his son.  
"Did you know how bad it would get?" the girl asked carefully.  
"No, luckily I didn't," he answered, his eyes never leaving his son.  
Suddenly his lab door flew open and Albus, followed by Poppy Pomfrey came in.  
"How is he?" Dumbledore asked, his blue eyes laced with worry.  
"He will be fine," Severus answered.  
"Let me check him over," Poppy demanded and cast some diagnostic spells on Harry, but as usual with a vampire, they did not give any useful results. Frowning, Poppy cast the spells once more.  
"It will be of no use, due to his new nature," Lucius suddenly said from his place in the armchair, where he had been watching everything silently.  
"I do not like that," Poppy said to Dumbledore. "What kind of creature is he?" Poppy asked, but Albus only shrugged, either not knowing, or not telling, because Harry wanted to keep it a secret. Both options, were in Severus' opinion, equally likely. Luckily, vampires were so secretive about their nature, that Poppy would not be able to draw any conclusions from Harry's lack of test results.  
"What did you do, Severus?" Albus inquired, still looking very shocked.  
"We extracted the Horcrux."  
Albus eyes widened comically, before a soft and happy smile settled on his lips. "I am very glad, Severus," the old wizard said and squeezed his shoulder.  
"Thank you Albus," he answered equally softly.  
"Then Poppy and I will leave you to it, we will see you tomorrow," the headmaster said and with a last smile he and the Mediwitch left again.  
His eyes met Lucius' as he gazed tiredly through the room and the look in his friend's silver orbs clearly told him that he should rather get Harry to somewhere more quiet, where he could rest in peace. He nodded in agreement and then announced: "I will take Harry upstairs with me now; he needs rest and peace if he wants to return to Hogwarts tomorrow."  
No one argued when he lifted his son into his arms, not even Black or Lupin.  
"I will bring you something to eat later," Molly promised and he thanked her, before turning back to Lucius: "Would you fetch another Pain Potion from my storage?"  
His friend stood up on shaky legs and made his way to the large cupboard. Severus was impressed with how quickly Lucius had pulled himself together, but he was a Malfoy after all. Even though the aristocrat would feel as exhausted as he himself and despite his torn clothes and dishevelled hair, he walked upright and nearly as confidently and elegantly as always.  
He went ahead and found out that three flights of stairs could get exhausting even for a vampire. When he was in front of his room, he pressed the door handle down with his elbow and stepped inside, before placing his still unconscious son on his bed. With a flick of his wand he transfigured the elegant clothing into a set of pyjamas.  
Lucius stepped into his room and sat down next to Harry. "I have brought another dose of the Potion you gave him after the ritual," his friend said and placed the vials on his nightstand next to Harry.  
"Thank you," Severus said and spelled the content into Harry's stomach, like he had done with the blood.  
"I would have never imagined that I could ever feel this exhausted as a vampire. Maybe it is good that Harry doesn't actually plan on fighting the Dark Lord," the aristocrat said.  
"Maybe, but whatever he plans, it will not be easy," he answered and transfigured his robes as well.  
"Keep an eye on him for me as I am sure you will not let me sleep in your bed with you," Lucius sighed and stood up again.  
"Certainly not," Severus replied and took Lucius' place.  
"I would never let Harry stay with anybody else if I could not be around," his friend admitted.  
"It is good that we have our keen senses, and it is even better that Harry will have his own room in Hogwarts," he agreed.  
Lucius nodded exhaustedly. "Curiously enough, I cannot see Weasley or Granger as a threat. Harry told me how close they were and somehow, they really leave the impression that they are siblings."  
Severus thought about it for a moment and then said: "Sometimes, friends can become more of a family than you actual relatives, but I still hope that I will be able to give him a real family after all."  
"You already do, Severus. We both give him a real family and he loves you already," Lucius gave him one of his rare smiles, even though it looked rather pathetic at the moment.  
"I am sure he loves you as well," he replied, lying down next to Harry.  
The trademark smirk was back on Lucius' lips. "He does, or is well on the way of falling for me."  
Severus snorted and rolled his eyes. If he didn't know that his friend would do anything for his little mate, he would be worried about his son right now.  
"He is not yet ready to admit his feelings, or he can still not name them. Harry is young, he has never experienced love before and his young mind needs longer to decipher his feelings; instincts cannot help with everything. I myself could not have understood love at his age," Lucius mused and then added: "Call me when he wakes up," before closing the door behind him.  
Severus sighed in exhaustion and pulled the blanket over their bodies, before turning on his side and wrapping an arm around Harry. Harry was so exhausted that he did not even possess the strength to cuddle closer, but as he gave a pitiful whimper in his sleep, he drew the small child against his chest.  
Smiling down at his son, he whispered: "Sleep well, Harry, you were very brave today," before pressing a soft kiss to his cheek and closing his eyes.


	18. Chapter 18: Back To Hogwarts

**Chapter 18: Back to Hogwarts**

 **HP**

When Harry woke up the early the next morning he felt surprisingly well rested considering the injuries he had gained the evening before. His body was still a bit sore, but not as much as he would have expected. Somehow he felt lighter, as if he had been purified. That probably described the procedure as well, he thought, and closed his eyes again, just relaxing.  
He laid there like that, snuggled against his father's side and very contently, but after a few minutes he remembered that he had to return to Hogwarts today and that meant saying goodbye to his mate for what might turn out to be a very long time. His mood instantly fell, but he shook his head to get rid of the feeling. His mood could fall later; for now it was still very early and he had the chance to spend at least an hour with his mate before everyone else would wake up.  
Sitting up, he was just about to climb from the bed, when a surprisingly awake voice asked him: "Where are you planning on going?"  
He opened his mouth to tell his father that he was going up to Lucius, but no sound came out.  
"Harry?" Severus asked, his voice getting concerned. "What is it?" his father asked again and sat up as well.  
Harry only opened his mouth in answer and then shrugged. He felt a little helpless like this, but luckily Severus caught on quickly: "You screamed to the point of damaging your vocal cords yesterday. You body probably healed all vital organs first, but I think you will be fine tomorrow at the latest." His father leaned forwards and kissed him on his forehead. Smiling, Harry returned the kiss on his father's cheek. The stern Potions Master looked shocked for the moment, but then a happy grin that he had never seen on his father's face before, spread over his features.  
"I love you, Harry, you know that right?"  
He nodded. Even though his father was not the man who expressed his feelings in many words, he did so in many small and bigger gestures.  
"You want to go to Lucius, am I right?" His father asked and he nodded again.  
"Then go and enjoy your time, but be down in the kitchen in two hours; I don't think that I can keep any of your adopted family from looking for you any longer than that."  
Harry gave his father a thankful smile and then strode over to the door. Peeking around the corner, he noticed that everything was still quiet, except for some shuffling sounds down in the kitchen where Molly prepared the breakfast.  
Using his vampire speed, he quickly ran up to Lucius' door, where he paused for a moment, deciding that he would enter carefully, just in case his mate was still asleep. It must have been tiring for the others to extract Voldemort's soul out as well. Shuddering, he tried not to think about it. It had hurt like nothing he had known before, not even the vision he had suffered at Privet Drive had been as horrible. The feeling of something entirely evil and dark leaving through his scar had driven him to the brink of insanity, but somehow he had managed to hold on to his mind. He had thought about his friends, who would be devastated if he lost his mind because of the purification and about his mate and father he had just gotten to know recently.  
Every time his vision wasn't black from the pain, he had looked at the group of people in front of him, fighting for them:  
Sirius had looked desperate, but determined; as if he was thinking about his late best friend whom he was unable to save and who had resembled him so much.  
Moony had been close to the surface in Remus; the protective werewolf had long adopted him as a pup into his pack and had been fighting for his own reasons.  
Molly had given the impression of a fierce lioness, protecting her cubs, whilst Arthur had looked very calm and focussed; the twins surprisingly as well.  
His Head of House, Professor McGonagall could have been Molly's sister, her Gryffindor personality had burned bright like a blazing fire in the hard eyes, whilst her fellow professor, Professor Flitwick, had released an enormous amount of magic for his small stature.  
He had not seen Hermione, who had been standing next to him, but after seeing Ron yesterday, Harry was sure that he would make an excellent Auror one day. It had helped that the redhead at least had enough experience with Voldemort to know how bad it could get and he had not wavered once.  
Only the faces of his mate and father had closed off completely whilst they struggled with Voldemort's piece of soul and fought for him. The two powerful wizards' were so adapt at closing off their emotions that they rarely showed anything, even in a private setting. The battle against the evil spirit had probably not helped in the least.  
Smiling happily at the memory, not at the memory of the evil soul getting pulled out of him, but at the help he had gotten, he silently pushed Lucius' bedroom door open and crept inside. Heavy hangings blocked most of the early morning sun light and he could see his mate still sleeping peacefully in his bed. Tiptoeing over, he wondered what he should do now.  
Lucius had not even stirred, which was a rare sight; in fact it had never happened before and a small smile stretched over his lips. He carefully climbed onto the mattress and sat down next to Lucius. His mate lay on his bed as composed as he was during the day. His hands seemed to lie on his stomach, but Harry could only guess, due to the heavy comforter covering most of his body and his face was emotionless, but relaxed.  
Carefully, he stroked over the long, blonde hair, which lay spread out around the aristocrat's head. It was so soft and smooth, like silk; no wonder that every Malfoy was so snobbish about their hair, when it felt like this.  
Leaning forwards, he pressed a soft kiss to the motionless lips, but Lucius was apparently fast asleep. Harry sat up again, thinking that he could very well use this opportunity to watch his mate for a bit longer. When his eyes wandered lower, he noticed that Lucius was not wearing a shirt and his curiosity was suddenly awakened. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, but then his natural curiosity won and he carefully grabbed the edge of Lucius' blankets, before pulling them down, exposing more and more of those strong muscles and pale skin.  
Harry purred happily as his eyes roamed his dominants body, not hungrily, but appreciatively. He didn't want sex right now, this was his first tentative step he did in exploring his mate's body beside a few careful kisses. He had never before eyed his dominants body so openly; sure his eyes had roamed his clad frame often enough, but he had always been very shy during their sexual encounters and had never wandered further down than to the aristocrat's collar bones. But right now he felt brave, maybe because Lucius was still sleeping and could not tease him with his sudden eagerness and curiosity, or see how inexperienced he was. Sometimes he felt bad that Lucius had to wait so long for every little step in their physical relationship.  
Scooting a bit closer his eyes landed on Lucius' nipples, which were nearly as pale as the rest of his skin, whilst his own were a warm, rosy colour. Harry flushed heavily as he compared their bodies, knowing that they were not similar at all:  
He was small, frail postured, with slim shoulders and even though he was probably not weak as a vampire, there was not a single muscle visible on his body; whilst Lucius was tall with broad shoulders and every inch of his body was well defined. His own body was defined as well, but in another way, everything about his physique was meant to please his dominant and stir his protective instincts, whilst Lucius' body was meant to give him the feeling of being safe and protected.  
He wondered whether Lucius liked to be kissed on his nipples as much as he liked it? Or did he have different sensitive spots? Would he be allowed to find them all someday? Harry knew that as the submissive, he had no say in their sex life if Lucius didn't want it, but until now Lucius had let him take an active part in their sexual activities, as much as he had wanted. That didn't mean that being taken and used by his dominant didn't sound just good , he loved to feel his mates strength overpowering him it after all.  
His eyes wandered down to Lucius' perfect abs. He knew that Ron had always dreamed of having muscled abs himself, but it was a lot of work and very hard to achieve. With Lucius, Harry mused, they probably came naturally due to his Veela ancestor and now his vampire genes. But Lucius was not the bulgy type of muscled man, but rather looked like a gymnast, or athlete.  
He suddenly gasped and his cheeks coloured heavily, when his eyes wandered lower again and landed on Lucius' tight fitting black boxers. He wanted to avert his eyes, somehow thinking that it was rude to stare, but they were glued to his mate's most private area. Even without being erect, there was a huge bulge hidden beneath the thin fabric. The black material stretched so tightly over Lucius' impressive manhood, that it left nothing to the imagination and suddenly Harry didn't wonder anymore as to why his mate always walked through the world so smugly and confident; he would as well if he had such a massive cock. Lucius was not only long, but also very thick.  
Making a fist, he held it close to the outline of his lover's shaft for comparison, only to flush even more. How had his mate fit into him? He pulled his hand away, but stopped in midair. Could he dare to touch Lucius? He wanted to, but that was a huge step and his instincts clearly told him that a submissive normally was not allowed as much free reign. His instinct battled against his brave Gryffindor nature, but only for a short while; his Gryffindor bravery and recklessness was just too strong for even his natural instinct to overpower right now.  
Biting down on his bottom lip one last time, he softly lowered his hand on top of Lucius' member. The covered flesh beneath him was hot and currently felt very soft. He scooted a bit closer, his eyes still fixed on the immense organ in front of him and trailed one single finger down the length of Lucius' penis. Trailing his finger upwards again, he brushed over the thick head. Slowly, the flesh beneath him hardened and Harry wondered if he should rather stop his exploration, but he wanted to know what reaction he could provoke from his sleeping mate.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius moaned in his sleep, he had the most wonderful dream right now. Naturally, he had many wonderful dreams about his little Harry, many of which included Harry at least being naked, and he even dreamed of fucking the daylights out of his sweet submissive regularly, but this dream was different. Hesitant, but curious fingers explored his heated flesh, tenderly stroking one or more fingers down his pulsing length or tracing the line where his shaft changed into the head of his thick cock and even carefully touching his dripping slit.  
Harry had never done this, not even in his dreams and it had him hard and pulsing with pleasure within seconds. The small finger massaged his prick softly and he waited for the moment when the Harry in his dream would finally close his whole hand around his huge sex and start stroking.  
He could already imagine how it would feel: His cute submissive would stroke slowly and softly, still very nervously and unconfidently and his hand would not even be able to reach around his huge girth completely, but his Harry would finally touch him and that would be more than enough. He loved every little gesture Harry dared to grace him with, every single peck on his cheek, every kiss on his mouth and every roaming look.  
But why did Harry not close his fingers around him already? Normally Lucius always knew how his dreams would proceed and he could even influence them to a certain extent, so why did his Harry not do what he wanted? Frowning, he noticed that the tentative touches felt all too real and he became aware of the uncomfortable mattress beneath him. His eyes flew wide open as he realized that this was not a dream. He could smell his little submissive sitting next to him and Harry would surely have snickered if he had seen his shocked and definitively very none-composed expression right now.  
Shifting his eyes downwards, he glanced carefully at his young mate; he did not want to interrupt him, not when Harry was finally brave enough to explore his body and also not when it felt so good.  
Lucius knew that Harry would be startled if he noticed that he was awake. The boy had probably fought an internal battle against his instincts, before he had dared to touch him. Lucius had to suppress a moan, when Harry's thumb started to rub his head and he bit down on his lip to prevent the sound from escaping. It felt so good. Harry's small hands and inexperienced movements turned him on like nothing before, because they showed him that he was the first for his submissive in every way.  
Quickly he wondered whether he could dare to rub slightly against the boy's hands later, but then he saw the bright look of curiosity and trust on the child's face and he understood that this was not about sex. This was about getting to know his body and a different kind of intimacy; an intimacy that was even more valuable than pure sex.  
He had to bite on his lip again, when Harry placed his index finger and his thumb on both sides of his cock and started to feel how thick he really was.  
How could those small hands feel so good on him? Was it because of Harry or was it because Harry was a child touching him? It was probably a mixture of both. Oh, how dirty he would feel if it weren't for their mating bond!  
Harry's fingers wandered lower then and his thumb disappeared again. The small finger wandered even beyond the base of his shaft, trying to feel his heavy balls through the material of his boxers. Harry's eyes widened as he noticed how heavy and full they were. He had refused to pleasure himself since his mating and his balls ached for release. But as it was his right to pleasure Harry and give him release; as was it his little submissive's right to give him satisfaction when he was finally ready for it. It was always like a small gift to see his mate's release, knowing that he had made Harry feel good and he would not take this away from his Harry. Besides, vampires could smell the scent of arousal and semen like nothing else and it would send the wrong signals to Harry if he started to masturbate. Harry would most likely think that he was getting impatient and that Lucius wanted him to do something he was still not ready for. Oh it was a torturous pleasure to have an only twelve year old submissive.  
Harry laid his palm flat on his cock one last time, before dropping his hand. Lucius expected the boy to lie down next to him, or even try and wake him, but Harry kept sitting there, his big, green eyes still fixed on his private area.  
When his little mate had not moved after about three minutes, Lucius carefully lifted one of his hands, so as not to startle his submissive and laid it tenderly down on Harry's neck. Harry startled regardless, his head snapped around and his already large eyes widened even further, when he realized that his dominant had caught him, but before his instincts could overwhelm him, Lucius pulled him down next to him and pressed a kiss to his temple:  
"Everything is fine, Harry. I liked it very much, thank you."  
His sweet mate flushed beautifully and opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out.  
Frowning, Lucius asked: "are your vocal cords still not healed?"  
Harry shook his head and snuggled closer to him. An arm came up to lie down across Lucius' chest, but Harry stopped himself.  
Sometimes he didn't know if he found this submissive's shyness endearing or annoying, but not wanting to discourage his mate he smiled softly. "You can lay your arm down; I told you I like everything you do. You do not need to ask. We are equal in our relationship, despite being dominant and submissive," he said softly and pulled Harry's arm down. Until now, the boy had always laid his arms down between them when they lay like this and never dared to touch him. He was glad that Harry finally showed him that he wanted to get closer to him as well, because he was scared sometimes that he was still going too fast for his young mate. One of those times had been after their little encounter in front of Severus' Potions Lab.  
He started to trace patterns on Harry's back and they laid next to each other silently for a long while, just enjoying the other's company. Lucius felt utterly relaxed; he always felt more at ease and less guarded when he was alone with his little submissive. Harry's body had moulded itself perfectly to his side and the Gryffindors' head rested on his shoulder.  
When Lucius noticed that the sun was already very high in the sky, he cast a tempus spell and sighed when he saw it was already 8,30 AM.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

"We have to get up; you and your friends will have to leave in an hour and a half if you want to get to the Hogwarts Express on time," Lucius said suddenly.  
A cold feeling spread through Harry's stomach and he looked up and shook his head fiercely.  
"I do not want to let you leave either, but you have to go back," Lucius said in a soothing voice, but it didn't help.  
He shook his head again, knowing that it was in vain and that his mate was right. Tears started to gather in his eyes. He would have to leave his mate, his defender and he would not see him for days, or weeks or maybe even month. What if his father was not able to smuggle Lucius into the castle? What if it would be too risky for the blonde spy? That would mean that he would only see the aristocrat again in December, during his Christmas Holiday and that was four months away.  
"Hush, Harry, we will see each other soon again, I promise," Lucius said and pulled him into his strong chest, pressing him to the larger body; but he didn't calm down, Lucius could not promise anything like that, there were too many things that could come in their way.  
"Shh...Harry, I already have a plan, you will not have to wait until the next holidays to see me again."  
Harry could scream in frustration; why did his voice have to be gone today of all days? He shook his head again, the only thing he could do right now. There was no guaranty that they would see each other again soon.  
Suddenly a knock came from the door and Harry jumped from the bed with vampire speed and wiped his tears away.  
Lucius quickly rose as well, transfigured his boxers in something 'more' and Harry's PJ's in a set of jeans shorts and a green t-shirt, before saying as smoothly as ever: "Come in."  
Ron and Hermione stepped inside hesitatingly:  
"We were looking for you, Molly wants you to bring your trunk down as soon as possible," Hermione told him, her eyes darting questioningly between him and Lucius.  
"Harry came up with a note from his father; we still have to destroy the Horcrux, right now it is only sealed away somewhere other than Harry's body," Lucius lied fluidly and put his cloak on as signal for them all to leave.  
"Why did you and Professor Snape not destroy it already?" Ron asked and turned back to the stairs.  
"First of all it is Harry's right to have this honour and secondly, Severus and I reckon that we will not be able to destroy the thing. There has to be a reason why the prophecy says, that Harry is the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord," Lucius drawled and lead the way down to the basement.  
To Harry's surprise, his father was indeed there, waiting for him and just setting up a small cauldron with a steamy liquid. Harry could also see the golden lightning bolt stamp lying on the work counter nearby.  
"Finally, this thing is depressing me," his father said and motioned to the Horcrux.  
"I honestly cannot understand, how you could live with this thing for eleven years and still be so generally happy and Gryffindorish," Severus said sounding very irritated.  
Ron tried to lean closer unsuspiciously and whispered in his ear: "I guess a piece of You-Know-Who can do that to people."  
Unfortunately, his father had heard that Ron had whispered something, even though he had not listened to what was said, being distracted by the foul magic of the evil soul and the delicate potion in his hands.  
"Do you want to share what you just whispered into Potter's ear, Weasley?" his father sounded like the snarky bastard of a Potions Master all over again. Harry threw a questioning look at Lucius who drawled in way of explanation: "We already noticed yesterday that the Horcrux has a most unpleasant effect on you if you stay near it for too long, but your father had to set up the potion."  
Harry sighed; it really wasn't nice to hear his father call him Potter all over again and with all the malice the name had had in the past when it left Severus' lips.  
Next to him Ron had gone rigid and stammered: "I just said...that it sounds logical...that You-Know-Who's soul makes someone feel ill..."  
Harry watched his father narrow his eyes and decided to step in. He went determinately over to the counter and was just about to grab the golden stamp, when Lucius' hand stopped him:  
"Do not touch it without a pair of gloves," he said; his face impassive as ever, but Harry could see concern in those silver eyes. Next thing he knew a pair of large, dragon-hide gloves was pushed into his hands and Lucius stepped back again.  
He really still had so much to learn; magically gained knowledge or not. He smiled at his mate and pulled the large gloves on, but he was stopped once more when he wanted to pick up the stamp:  
"Why so quiet today, man?" Ron asked curiously.  
"Potter's fragile voice was apparently not able to handle some stress," Severus sneered and placed the small cauldron in front of him.  
When Ron only frowned in confusion Lucius added. "He means that your friend's vocal cords are still injured and need some more hours to heal."  
His friends looked at him worriedly and he shrugged, giving them a reassuring smile, whilst Lucius scoffed: "Harry will certainly not die from injured vocal cords. His injuries yesterday were far more severe."  
"Does that mean that he really nearly died yesterday?" Hermione asked carefully. She was a bit braver around Lucius, but not much; the former Death Eater was an impressive figure, even more so than Severus, due to his height and the fact that he did not hide his muscles beneath several layers of clothing.  
"No," his mate answered simply and turned back to watch him.  
Thinking that all good things came in three, Harry finally grabbed the small lightning bolt stamp, but once again he was stopped, again by his bushy haired friend.  
"Harry, I am not sure that you should do this," she said, holding his wrist back.  
He could only give her a questioning look, the thing with his voice really was a hassle.  
His friend bit her bottom lip once, before explaining: "You said you want to force You-Know-Who into a peace contract, right?"  
He nodded once, frowning deeply. What was his brainy friend getting at? Looking at the expressions in his father and mate's eyes, he could see that they had no clue either and were slowly getting annoyed.  
"Look, if you really destroy all the soul pieces expect one, then you have to deal with a soulless bastard, and I mean that literally. Don't you think it would be wiser to search for a way to reconnect these pieces to him again and keep one?"  
Placing the golden lightning bolt stamp back down, he sat and thought about Hermione's suggestion for a moment. Maybe she was right. He had chosen this way because he believed that peace in their world could only arise if all parties would be treated equally: the Light wizards, the Dark wizards and the Neutral ones (where he placed himself firmly by now). But this would mean that he would work closely with Voldemort at one point; he was the leader of the Dark side after all. But how should he come to any compromises with the man if his soul was destroyed up to a point where he probably could not feel any sympathy? It would probably be an impossible task.  
Looking up to his mate and father, he saw the men thinking about the matter as well.  
But one thing bothered him about Hermione's plan. Gathering all the Horcruxes would mean that he would have to hide them in one place: like his room, trunk or Gringotts, but his first year had shown that not even Gringotts was totally safe. Furrowing his brows even more, he started to drum his fingers on his father's worktable in agitation. If he followed Hermione's plan (and it was a good one) he would have to find a way to carry the Horcruxes on his body, or he would not feel safe. But where? What would be inconspicuous enough? His eyes landed on his golden signet ring. Suddenly he had an idea. Looking up at his mate (because his father still looked very grouchy), he pulled at the expensive sleeve of his cloak and started to gesture wildly. Lucius held one of his elegant, long-fingered hands up and pulled his wand out, before conjuring a quill and a piece of parchment with a flick of his wand.  
He quickly took the utensils, scribbling down: "Do we have the rest of the connecting potion?"  
His mate and father bent over while reading his writing.  
"I do have the rest," his father drawled and disappeared to the other end of the room where a small flask stood on a shelf.  
"Hey Harry, do you really consider keeping You-Know-Who's soul?" Ron asked incredulous.  
He simply shrugged, Hermione was right after all; it would be wise to at least try to heal the bastard's soul, even though the thought of healing the snake-faced man made him feel sick. Hermione beamed at him, but couldn't say anything because at that moment his father returned with the potion and placed it down in front of him.  
He pulled his ring off, before carefully pouring a bit of the potion over it.  
"Harry, are you sure you want to do that? You have seen the Horcrux's effects," Lucius said, his voice strained with worry and a deep frown was imbedding itself on his mate's usually perfect forehead as if he himself was fighting against the influence of the evil spirit.  
Stopping for a moment, Harry eyed the golden lightning bolt stamp in front of him. His mate was right, he could see the effects on his father, but he had lived with a piece of Voldemort for nearly his entire life and he could not feel the dark presence, even now where it lay in front of him. Maybe he had gotten immune in some way? And these Horcruxes would not be connected to him directly at least, only to his ring.  
Grabbing the peace of parchment again, he wrote down: "Do you think we have a chance of finding a spell to reconnect all of Voldemort's soul pieces?"  
His mate looked down once more and he could see that the wish to keep him safe was fighting with the wish to be honest with him in the aristocrat. Finally Lucius gave a curt nod.  
"Then I want to try it," he wrote down, before picking up his ring once more and proceeding with his task. When he was finished he placed his ring on top of the lightning bolt stamp and pulled out his own wand, pointing it at the Horcrux. Only then did he remember that he had never done wordless magic. Determined that this little inconvenience would not stop him, he concentrated on the spell and muttered it inside his head, but nothing happened.  
"Harry, shall I assist you?" His mate's silent voice asked, as if afraid to disturb his concentration.  
He shook his head. A voice in his head told him that he needed to use his own magic if he wanted to seal the Horcruxes away, so he shook his head and concentrated again.  
Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to get a feeling for his magic, but it was difficult, so instead he tried to concentrate not only on the spell, but also on what exactly he wanted to achieve, before pointing his wand to the gold once more. This time he could feel the prickle of his magic, but it wasn't enough. His friends, mate and father seemed to hold their breath as he concentrated for the third time, this time even harder. Magic suddenly rose inside him and a bright light shot from his wand. It only took a split second for the Extraction Spell to transfer the piece of soul into his signet ring; it was done before he even realized it.  
"Did it work?" Hermione whispered silently, but he ignored her and lifted his free hand to let it hover above the ring. His magic pulsed around the object, enveloping it with a strong shield and the piece of soul was safely locked inside. Finally he nodded for the other's sake.  
"Let us quickly continue with the second one then," his mate announced, clearly in a bad mood by now as well and pointed at a second, bigger lightning bolt stamp at the end of the work counter.  
Harry's eyes widened. He had not thought that the older vampires had had the strength to extract the second Horcrux out of Nagini after their tiring battle against the first one.  
"Your Head of House contacted Professor Flitwick and Professor Sprout, who took care of this one. Apparently the Horcrux had not been in Nagini's body as long, or it just had difficulties in attaching itself to a snake. They succeeded rather quickly," Lucius suddenly drawled very arrogantly, his old character coming back rapidly now as well.  
It was definitively good that his magic was able to seal the Horcruxes away so thoroughly, or everybody around him would get grumpy otherwise. With a sigh he went to retrieve the other lightning bolt stamp. It was much bigger and heavier, about the size of his hand. Without preamble he picked his ring up again, poured some more Potion over it and placed it on top of the second piece of gold, before repeating the spell. This time he succeeded on his first try. His magic wavered around his ring; let the Horcrux slip inside, before forming into a barrier once more, as if it possessed a will of its own.  
As soon as the second Horcrux was sealed away a collective sigh went through the room, even Lucius and his father sighed in relief.  
Looking over to check if the effects of the evil soul pieces were really gone, he saw guilt shining in his father's black eyes.  
"Harry, I am..." his father started, but he cut him off. With two steps he stood in front of his father and hugged him tightly, the man was not at fault for his miserable mood and he would not let him believe otherwise. His father pressed a kiss to his unruly mop of hair and pulled a small vial from his pockets after he had let go of him again.  
He watched him going to the cauldron with the acid potion they had not used and dropping a few drops of a bluish liquid into the aggressive potion, before lowering one hand into the liquid. Harry gasped as he saw his father's hand disappear in the dangerous potion, but the Potions Master only smirked: "What kind of Potion Master would I be if I did not have a neutralizer to such a simple Acid Potion on hand."  
Lucius huffed in indignation and glared at his friend. "I could have easily brewed that potion as well."  
"But you didn't," his father said aloofly, before pulling his hand out again and carrying the cauldron over to the basin to pour the potion down the drain.  
"Wow, I really can't feel the effects of those things anymore," Ron said suddenly and slapped him on his back.  
"Indeed, it is very impressive," Lucius hummed and his father added: "And now you three had better go and finish packing your trunks, I am not willing to deal with Molly's wrath."  
Harry only smiled at the glare and followed his friends to their room. Upstairs, he quickly exchanged his transfigured PJ's with his blue ensemble, before pulling out his wand and making quick work of his trunk.  
"I nearly forgot that you can do magic outside of Hogwarts now. When you started the first Extraction Spell I nearly got a heart attack!" Hermione giggled and watched the items which flew from all directions of their room settle neatly into his open trunk.  
"Could you do that for me as well?" Ron asked and Harry shrugged before waving his wand again. They had to take refuge on their beds when even more objects started to fly through the air, but it was worth it when they took down their fully packed trunks into the living room ten minutes later.  
"Good, you are finished, I already had the suspicion that you hadn't even started to pack." Molly said and proceeded to levitate their trunks to his car.  
"It really is much easier with a car of own for such occasions. Much less stress with the ministry," she explained thankfully. "And now go to the kitchen to eat, we will leave in half an hour."  
Harry's hearts sunk at her words. Ron, who had seen his expression said: "Don't worry, Snape will give you the password to his private quarters, you will still be able to visit him often enough and we have another year of Potions ahead with the snarky bastard."  
Harry chuckled, he knew that Ron didn't really mean to insult his father and if he was honest, he had to admit that the grouchy Potions Master had always been a snarky bastard in their classes and probably would not change the next year. But he was not really in a bad mood because of his father, there would be plenty of enough opportunities to visit him secretly, but with Lucius it would be entirely different.  
Maybe it would help if he tried to pretend he was not mated?  
"Ron, I don't believe Harry is sad because of Snape, but because he will not be able to visit his mate for a long time. They are living in different countries and they both still need to attend school. They probably will not have a chance to see each other until the next holidays," Hermione said softly.  
"Oh," said Ron and looked slightly crestfallen.  
Harry tried to smile reassuringly at them, but he could not fool his friends. Hermione pat his shoulder with a sad smile and they proceeded towards the kitchen.  
As soon as Harry had entered the stony room, Sirius came running over to him and lifted him off the ground:  
"Oh Harry, I thought you would die!" The animagus hugged him tightly and it would have hurt, if Harry still had been human.  
Harry wanted to say something, but he still couldn't, so he pet Sirius awkwardly, trying to reassure his trembling godfather, but he never had been good in comforting people.  
" I said all those awful things to you and when Remi said your...your heart was stopping,... I thought I would lose you without having properly apologized! I am so sorry, Harry!"  
To Harry's horror he felt tears soak his coat where Sirius' head rested on his shoulder.  
"Will you forgive me, Harry? I promise I will try my best to get along with Snape," Sirius sobbed and Harry didn't honestly have the strength to keep up their argument any longer.  
He simply nodded and hugged his godfather as an answer, hoping that the animagus would understand.  
"Thank you Harry, I really will try my best. If you can see something good in the git, then I will surely be able to find it as well, won't I?" Sirius dried his face with the back of his hand and let him back down.  
"And now go eat something, you have a long day ahead and you are probably still exhausted."  
He was placed down again and went over to where his friends had held him a free seat.  
Lucius sniffed indignantly as Harry sat down across from him, unaware of the big splotch of snot and tears on his expensive coat.  
"Honestly, Harry, first getting sick over your new clothes yesterday and now you have snot on it. You are lucky that your mate does not see you like that, or she would be upset."  
He merely grinned back; it was annoying to not be able to give his own snide remark.  
"Yeah, not everybody is a snob like you," Sirius commented and sat down next to Remus.  
"I am not a snob," Lucius huffed and the whole table tried to suppress their snickers, only Sirius laughed openly.  
"No you are not, you are a fairy." Harry rolled his eyes at his godfather's antics.  
"Am I?" Lucius drawled in a particularly evil voice and the smirk tugging at his lips did not bode well either. "Well, then you better have an eye on you cute little godson; I might find him 'irresistible'."  
Sirius spluttered and Remus looked at Lucius with horror, who made a show of eyeing him thoroughly. He flushed and squirmed in his seat and did his hardest to glare convincingly, while his body fought against different reactions. When Lucius smirk revealed one of his flashing fangs, his legs turned into jelly and heat spread across his whole body; he had clearly lost the battle. His father snorted silently, but luckily no one noticed his condition as he glanced from under heavy lashes at his mate. To his delight Lucius smirk faltered a little at his cute look, but his victory was short lived when Sirius suddenly growled:  
"I knew you were a sick pervert!" Luckily Lucius did not plan on agitating him any further:  
"No need to worry, Black. Something very 'extraordinaire' would have to happen before I would touch your godson or someone so young for that matter."  
Harry wanted to flinch, knowing that the 'extraordinaire' thing had already happened.  
"I hope for your sake that you mean it, or you might wake one morning without your 'crown jewels'," Sirius threatened.  
"Sirius!" Molly exclaimed. "No mentioning of private parts in my kitchen!"  
"What's going on?" Ginny asked, entering the kitchen as well and flopped down at Harry's right.  
"Just Malfoy being a really sick bastard," Ron told her, earning himself another glare from his mum.  
"Hey dad," Fred interrupted his sister, who had opened her mouth to comment on something. "Have you enlarged Harry's car?"  
"I did it last night. We will all fit in," Mr Weasley told them and gave the pan with scrambled eggs to his daughter.  
"That's great!" George grinned with a mouth full of food.  
"Ginny, don't take too much, Harry has not yet eaten either," Molly scolded her daughter, who blushed, then batted her lashes at Harry and was just about to pile a huge portion of eggs onto his plate when a drawling voice luckily stopped her:  
"Harry should not eat this morning. I had to give him something for his stomach after yesterday," his father strode in with a look on his face as if he was already back at Hogwarts between all the annoying students, but to his relief Harry could see that no lingering effects were left from the prolonged exposure of the Horcrux.  
"Oh, dear. Well I guess, I'll just have to prepare a few more sandwiches for you," Molly said and went back to the counter.  
"We need to go now," Arthur said and stood up.  
Glancing carefully over at his mate, he hoped he would have a chance to say his goodbye in private. Sadly, luck was not with him that morning. There were just too many people keeping an eye on him, to escape unseen for a moment. Ginny clung to his arm wanting to make sure that they would next to each other in the car, but at least whenever he had the chance he gave his mate one of his shy, but very seductive smiles the man liked so much.  
Going outside, he was once more assaulted by Ginny.  
"Come, Harry, we can share a seat at the back of your car, it will be much quieter there," she said and threw her snickering twin brothers a look.  
"As I will be the one driving," his father suddenly said, taking the key from Arthur whilst passing "...and not willing to sit next to one of your loud siblings, Harry will sit in the front along with his two best friends, at least I am used to their constant chattering."  
Harry grinned thankfully at Severus, who opened the door on the driver's side. Sometimes it was good to have such a snarky bastard as a father.  
"We will get to see Snape drive?" Ron grinned and pulled him from his sister's grip, shoving him into the vehicle first. To Harry's surprise the next 'person' who followed him was Nagini, with Justitius hanging on to the tip of her tail like a black flag. The little bat chirped excitedly, having realized that something 'big' was going on and fluttered over to him, where he attached himself to his sleeve.  
Nagini curled up in front of him and Harry regretted that he had not asked her how she was feeling after the removal of her own Horcrux, but the female snake at least looked fine.  
When everybody was seated, Sirius and Remus poked their heads inside to say their final goodbyes:  
"Have fun and do some pranks for me," Sirius grinned.  
"And write us," Remus added with a wink.  
He nodded in agreement and his two former guardians slammed the door shut, but an elegant, long fingered hand prevented it, before the face of his mate came into view:  
"Try not to be a bother for your father for once," he drawled. Harry smiled widely, knowing that it meant: "Be careful and don't get into trouble." He wished he could at least blow his mate a kiss, but a second later the door finally slammed shut for good and he sighed.  
"Maybe this will lift your spirits a bit," his father whispered next to him and pulled a little scroll from one of his many pockets. Harry looked at him questioningly, but his father only said: "Open it."  
He unrolled the parchment and when his eyes read on the words, he gasped:

 **"The Ministry of Magic hereby confirms that the Custody of Mr. Harry Severus James Potter is transferred to Mr. Severus Tobias Snape."**

The paper was signed by his mate. Harry hugged his father a bit awkwardly around his waist and, to the shock of everybody else, pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.  
"Don't thank me, thank Lucius; he floo'ed over to the Ministry last night and wrote the document," his father said and pushed him back into his seat gently to start the car.  
"What did Professor Snape give you?" Hermione asked from her seat at the window. He gave Ron the document so that his two friends could read it.  
"Oh Harry, I am so happy for you!" she exclaimed. "And congratulations to you, Professor Snape."  
Ron nodded."Yeah, congratulations," the redhead agreed and they both hugged Harry. It really meant a lot to him that they were so accepting of his new relationship to their once hated professor.  
"What is it?" Fred asked from his seat further back in the car.  
"The adoption papers. Professor Snape now officially has custody of Harry," Hermione explained, loud enough for every Weasley to hear. A second round of congratulations followed just as they were driving onto the next highway.  
"I really can't believe it, but Snape really can drive," Ron commented when everybody had calmed down.  
"I would be careful Mr. Weasley, or Gryffindor might lose some more points," his father glared at the road, but he only slapped his arm lightly.  
"And you too, Mr. Potter." Harry saw the glint of amusement in his father's eyes, but knew that all too soon his father would have to act as if they still didn't like each other and take points from him for real.  
During the drive, he watched the other Weasley's through the back mirror. It was funny to see how all their eyes were fixed on his father, as if they still couldn't believe that the man was driving, even though that was exactly what he had been doing for the last hour.  
At the arrival they had to be careful, or it would be suspicious if six Weasley's, Hermione, his father and he himself stepped out of a normal sized Mercedes. They needed more than ten minutes until everyone was out and even then many muggles looked at the horde of redheads and the scowling man in black.  
"I will not escort you to platform 9 ¾. Even though most of the Slytherin families know that I have to do certain things for Dumbledore as a professor, it would still not do well if I do more than the absolute necessity," Severus whispered next to him without even looking down.  
He gave a curt nod in understanding.  
"I will give you the password to my quarters in some unsuspicious manner, but even then be careful when you want to visit. If my door is locked, don't try to open it, even if you could with your new knowledge."  
"I'll promise, dad," he whispered back, his voice hoarse, but a wide smile spread over his face at the sound. His voice was coming back, even though it still hurt to speak.  
"Have a good ride, I love you my little vampire brat," his father said.  
"Love you too, you great big dungeon bat," He teased back. His father snorted and climbed back into the car, obviously having to wait until Molly and Arthur would return.  
Nagini slithered next to him and asked: _"Are you feeling well again young master? It looked painful."_ She didn't need to tell him what she meant.  
 _"Yes. Are you feeling okay? My mate told me that the piece of soul left you easier than mine,"_ he inquired. Nagini frowned at him as she tried to decipher his raspy words, but finally she answered.  
 _"It hurt, but your sire gave me a potion and I feel much better without the evil spirit inside my body,"_ she hissed and some muggles started to turn around to see where the sounds came from, so he said " _You better slither up onto a trolley and try to look like a stuffed animal or something,"_ and made a quick motion to capture his excited bat. "Stay there," he ordered Justitius, placing him on his shoulder. The little bat hopped over to his cheek and hugged his face, like he had done once before. "I love you, too," he cooed, whilst watching Nagini carefully slithering onto Hermione's trunk.  
"Are you coming Harry?" Molly asked and he turned just in time to see Ron heave his heavy trunk onto a trolley. The trunk was even heavier than normal due to his excessive new wardrobe; he even had to shrink some of it to get everything inside.  
"If you had said something, I would have done it myself," he told him, feeling a bit embarrassed and took the trolley.  
"No, I still have a bad conscience because I never noticed your true age and I helped Ginny with her trunk when she was your age."  
"But you couldn't have noticed," he argued.  
"That doesn't matter." Ron replied. "You are probably even stronger than me, being a creature and all, but you look so fragile that I can't help myself."  
"Keep it down, Ronald, would you?" Hermione hissed, when they saw a group of people, who looked an awful lot like wizards trying to dress muggle, nearby.  
He laughed at the night shirt the mother was wearing instead of a summer dress and the flower blouse of the father.  
"They really should teach the students how to dress like muggles," Hermione snickered, suddenly fishing something from her pocket.  
"A mobile?" Harry asked incredulously.  
"Yes. Professor Flitwick helped me with a charm so that it would work at Hogwarts. In my second year I started to take pictures of wizards and witches trying to be muggles and sent them to my mum and grandmother. They say it is better than any comedy program on the TV," the bushy haired girl snickered.  
"You have to show them to me," he said and suddenly his friend blinked in surprise.  
"Your voice is back!" she exclaimed, a bright smile spreading over her face.  
"Yeah," he croaked out and smiled as well.  
Ron's eyes widened comically: "You are right!" he grinned and pat him on the back powerfully, while Hermione flung herself around his neck with an excited squeal. It was a bit awkward, considering that she was half a head taller than he himself.  
"Thank Merlin, I almost feared you would be mute forever!" Ron muttered. "Sometimes it would help if we knew what creature you are, then at least we could tell if Snape is telling us the truth when you are ill or injured."  
"Someday," He just answered, asking himself if it really would be so bad if he told them. They would probably know that he would never try to kill them, seeing that he had slept in one room with them for two weeks, and until now they had always been understanding. But he wouldn't tell them at Hogwarts; the danger of someone finding out his secrets was too high if his confession ended in a row. Maybe he would use the next holidays to talk to them about it.  
They had reached the platforms nine and ten and Molly suddenly pushed him in front of the stonewall separating them. "So Harry, you will go first with me," she said in a commanding voice. "And hurry a bit; we don't have much time left."  
"See you guys on the other side," he quickly said, before going straight through the wall. Ron and Hermione quickly followed him. Nagini slithered from Hermione's trolley as soon as she spotted him, hissing: _"I hate to ride this **thing**." _  
Unfortunately, the big body of his familiar had drawn some attention and students started to shriek around them, pointing at the big snake and hurriedly hiding in the train.  
"Well, that was about to be expected," commented George, who appeared behind him with his little sister.  
"I told you that you should not have bonded to her. A cute familiar is much better and easier," Ginny berated him.  
Rolling his eyes, he looked down to his snake: _"Would you slither up my body? Maybe it will help if they see that you are staying by my side."_  
Nagini obliged without argument and curled herself around his body. He could hear that some of the students recognized her from the attack at the beginning of summer. But when the students saw her calmly laying her heavy head on the small boy, they calmed down a bit. Only then did the crowd recognize the 'aristocrat child' from the 'Daily Prophet' article. This seemed to settle them down even more; a new student, who had been escorted by Dumbledore, could not be evil. The headmaster would surely explain everything in his new term speech.  
The whispering grew even louder and soon the students who had run into the train came out again to stare at him. Nobody seemed to recognize him, but after his shopping trip, Harry was not surprised.  
"Let's search for a compartment," Hermione sighed.  
"Yeah, one at the end of the train," he added and started to push his trolley again. Luckily Nagini held the gaping crowd at bay or they would surely have been surrounded by students and curious parents right now. He saw mothers smooth out the robes and skirts of their daughters and snorted.  
"If they only knew," Hermione said with an evil glint in her eyes, inconspicuously hinting at his 'preference' of the male gender.  
They boarded the train and quickly found an empty compartment at the back of the Hogwarts Express; it was even the very last one. He quickly spelled it shut before any brave student could ask them whether he or she could join and then went to the window to say goodbye to Molly and Arthur.  
Molly was wiping her eyes; it was always hard for her to send her children away. She was a woman who loved all her sons and her only daughter and loved to be a mother in general.  
"Try to keep out of trouble," she sniffed and snuggled into the embrace of her husband, who had laid an arm around her.  
"Especially you, Harry," she added with a weak smile.  
"I will try my best," He promised her.  
"I will keep an eye on him...or better yet, on both of them," Hermione added.  
"That would be wonderful, my dear," Molly smiled. Just then the Express made a loud whistling sound and the train started to move.  
"Don't forget to write again, Ronald," Molly shouted, whilst Arthur just waved with a contented smile.  
"I will, mum," Ron shouted back, before the train gained too much speed and they had to close the window. Ron sighed and flopped down next to Hermione. "You know I love her, but I am always happy to return to Hogwarts," the redhead said, while Harry took the seat opposite them where Nagini already lay curled up on the bench. "I can understand that," he agreed. "Your family is great and all, but they can be..."  
"Annoying?" Ron asked.  
"I would have said a bit overbearing," He replied.  
"You can be honest. I know we are a crazy bunch and Ginny really was a hassle this summer."  
Harry cringed.  
"You are certainly right with that. How can a girl be so...I don't even know the right word to describe her," Hermione huffed.  
"Thick-headed?" Ron suggested, whilst he asked: "Inappropriate?"  
Ron snorted: "You certainly spent way too much time with Malfoy if you start using words like 'inappropriate'."  
"Probably," He agreed, before turning his head to look down at his hyperactive bat, who scuttled up and down on his shoulder, obviously wanting to explore their compartment, but not daring to ignore a clear order from him.  
"You can fly around now," He released Justitius from his torture and snickered when the bat instantly fluttered off. "Would you like to show me the pictures now?" He asked his bushy haired friend suddenly.  
"Sure, if you can make some space for me," Hermione answered and stood up.  
"Yeah," he said, before turning to Nagini: _"Would you make some space for Mione?"_  
Nagini hissed and slithered closer to the wall, but didn't leave the bench.  
Hermione looked down at the snake, before shrugging and sitting down. "I already have a whole collection. This summer dad bought me a new mobile, but I transferred all the old pictures to this one." She started the device and opened a folder titled "pictures", before starting the option "picture show".  
In the next 45 minutes they looked at more photo's than Harry could have counted; one more hilarious then the next. Harry saw men in women's clothes, women in men's clothes, wizard and witches in carnival outfits and even parts of muggle uniforms combined with hilarious trousers or skirts.  
"I think my favourite was the man in the pink princess dress, with the police officer jacket against the cold," He laughed. Tears were running down his cheeks and he hadn't stopped laughing for a whole ten minutes.  
"He is mums favourite as well," his friend said with a snicker. "Really, you would think that even a Pureblooded wizard would realize with a bit of common sense that it is not normal to wear a princess dress, even for muggles and especially not as a male."  
Shrugging, he told her: "Well, I lived for two weeks with only Lucius Malfoy, of which he was unbearable for one week. I think some wizards really believe that muggles are uncultured enough. For them, everything muggles wear is horrible. But at least Lucius has a favourite muggle by now."  
"A favourite muggle?" Hermione sounded very interested.  
"Yep. I...Um...had a vision of Voldemort one night and was in really bad shape the next day. We started watching Sherlock, but when I fell asleep after only half an hour he watched the whole first season in one sitting."  
Hermione's eyes had widened at the mention of his vision: "Oh Harry, was it that bad again?" she asked in concern.  
Making a face, he honestly said: "It was even worse. I don't think that I could have survived it before my inheritance, dad had to give me two of those potent Pain Potions and even then I only survived with my full mental capacity because Lucius entered my mind and build up some mental shields. Occlumency, or something like that."  
His friend gasped in shock: "He did that for you? No wonder you trust him so much! Why haven't you told us? I heard it is really hard to build those shields and even harder to do it for someone else. How did he even do that? You need eye contact..." she asked in one breath.  
Shrugging again, he explained: "He forced my eyes open. It was not the nicest experience, but it would have been even worse if he hadn't done it."  
Hermione nodded in understanding, seemed to ponder something and then said: "I can imagine him liking Sherlock Holmes. They certainly have some...'similarities'," she coughed.  
"Yeah, they both don't often think about the feelings of others and are stuck up bastards," He laughed, thinking that both was right, but that Lucius could be really thoughtful if he wanted to be as well; only he didn't want to be thoughtful most of the time.  
Hermione glanced over at Ron who had fallen asleep somewhere during their photo slideshow, before turning back to him, whispering: "Tell me a bit more about your mate. How is he?"  
Harry smiled, he had not had the chance to talk about his mate a lot with most of his friends and family thinking that it was a girl, so he grabbed the opportunity eagerly, knowing that Hermione would not betray a word he would tell her:  
"He is really gorgeous. Tall and very strong. His body is really perfect! Sometimes I feel bad that he is bound to me, but then I guess that I am quite attractive for a submissive of my species."  
"Ui!" Hermione squealed. "And his character?" She asked.  
"He is very caring and gives me all the time I need to get used to our bond... You know, he has these elegant, but strong hands and I feel so safe when he holds me. I wish I could sleep in his arms every night. I miss him so much if he isn't near me;" he told her with a long sigh.  
"Is he a bit older than you?" Hermione asked, sounding careful.  
Harry blinked, how had she caught on to that?  
"Because you said, that he gives you time to get used to your bond; that sounds as if he is a bit older than you and more experienced," she explained, knowing him too well.  
"Yeah, he is. But it really doesn't matter," he answered honestly. "We both are wizards, Wizards live longer than muggles and we are creatures on top of that and will live even longer."  
Hermione smiled brightly at him: "You're right, that really doesn't matter if he treats you well and if you love each other. Besides, in three years you would have hit puberty and it will matter even less."  
He blushed at the word love.  
"You love him, don't you?" his brainy friend prodded.  
Harry thought about it. He always got this tingling and fluttery feeling in his stomach when they were close, but were they already in love? He honestly couldn't say; he just had far too little experience with love. When he turned questioning eyes at his female friend Hermione sighed and smiled softly, before dreamy eyes settled on Ron and asking:  
"Do you think about him, when he is not near you? When you lay alone in your bed at night?"  
"Yes," He answered also softly.  
"Does it make your day perfect, if you two just sit together and talk?"  
"Yes,"  
"Would you do anything for him, even move the world?" she whispered.  
"Yes," he said again, his throat getting dry.  
"You can't imagine living without him, even if it were only for one day?"  
He could only nod his head this time, his throat felt like it was corded up.  
"Then it is love," she breathed.  
Harry gulped. Put like that it sounded clear as day, but he had never asked himself all those questions before. Somehow, he had always imagined that he would someday wake up and have some sort of epiphany. Well, he had it right now and the thought wasn't even scaring him like he had thought it would. Instead, the already familiar fluttering sensation tingled in his stomach and a wide smile spread across his lips. He had fallen in love, for the first time in his life. He couldn't wait to confess his feelings to Lucius.  
A sudden pang of sadness dampened his good mood a bit: He would not have the chance to tell the aristocrat very soon and he could not write something like this in a letter, even if it wouldn't be too dangerous. But even that thought couldn't make his smile falter. He was in love with his mate. This was certainly one of the best days of his life.  
Seeing that his friend was still looking at the snoring redhead dreamily, he asked: "Do you love Ron?"  
Hermione jumped a bit and then blushed bright red. "I...I...we are a trio, it would not be fair..." she stuttered.  
Snorting, Harry cut her off: "I will be mated in a few years and I would rather know and like the guy you are dating, than you bringing someone else into our trio that I can't stand, and besides, I got suspicious last year when you flipped because of Ron's crude comment before the Yule Ball."  
Hermione flushed even brighter: "So, you wouldn't mind?" she made sure.  
"Nope. But I fear you will have to wait for a while longer, until Ron realizes that you are perfect for each other as well," He snickered.  
"I'm afraid you are right. I think I have been in love with him for some time now, but I didn't realize it at first. The moment you described just now, was exactly the moment when I realized it," she admitted.  
"I guess we can support each other then. I am bad with feelings, but I know what makes a boy all hot and bothered," he teased.  
Hermione swatted his arm, but then said: "Thanks. I think I will take you up on the offer."  
Taking the chance to ask a question which had bothered him for some time now, he lowered his voice and asked: "Do you think Ron will freak when he finds out that I am a submissive?" He had his own suspicions about the matter, but Hermione had always been better with these kinds of things.  
"I believe so," she sighed. "You must understand that you were his hero, even before he got to know you. He practically grew up hearing tales about you and I think his adoration for you grew even more since our first year. He sees who you really are, but he also sees that you really are a hero."  
Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation.  
"Don't roll your eyes like that. You are willing to take over the Order and search for another approach at ending this war because you think that too many people have already died; that is proof that you are a true hero. You even fought against a huge beast with a golden sword once," she teased back, before sobering again: "But many men think that it is a sign of weakness to bottom for another male. How stupid," she snorted.  
Agreeing with her, he commented: "Yes. I bet, Remus will never be a submissive, except in the bedroom."  
"He won't," Hermione laughed. "Many men don't see that submissives are strong in their own way. They care for the family and hold them together, they are even often able to carry babies and develop immense powers during a pregnancy to protect their offspring from anybody who might want to harm them. Some can heal, others can feel the distress of those they consider family and in a fight against a creature, even a submissive one, most wizards and witches have a tough time. Besides, like every witch, a submissive knows how to wrap his dominant around his little pinkie; I bet you do as well."  
Blushing, he coughed and said: "I don't know about that yet. It's... I am currently testing the waters, so to speak, because if my dominant doesn't want me to, I have no say in anything."  
His friend only giggled: "Don't tell me you don't know how to make him want what you want. I have watched you since your return to Grimmauld Place; you are very good at the innocent seduction. It's only a wonder that Sirius and Remus have not yet caught up on it."  
Cringing, he said: "And I hope they won't any time soon. I fear Sirius will sharpen a few kitchen knives when he finds out that my mate is an older male."  
Hermione gave him a sympathetic look, so he quickly changed the topic to one of the safer points of her lecture: "I really hope I will develop some of those abilities you mentioned. I already know that I cannot get pregnant, but I would like to feel whether my mate is really angry or simply annoyed. It would help a lot," he said, thinking about Lucius' impassive face.  
"I would grand it to you," Hermione replied. "Are you sad that you will never have your own children?" she asked.  
This really was not an easy question, he had always wanted his own, big family, but in the end he didn't need to think about his answer for long. "It would have been nice to have a big family some day, you know I always dreamed about it, but I would not trade what I have now for anything else."  
"Who knows, maybe you will be the 'boy wonder' once again," Hermione smiled reassuringly.  
Harry only smiled back without saying anything. He knew that there was no chance; not even female vampires could get pregnant. Their species grew through transformations and not children, but if he were to tell his brainy friend that much, she would have figured it out in no time.  
Their conversation came to an end then and he and Hermione spent the next few hours reading. He had first read the last few chapters of the book about phoenixes and then continued with the book about 'House Ladies'. Hermione, who had not noticed the book before, was impressed that he was already starting to learn about Pureblood customs, even though his bonding and marriage was still five years away. She was also happy that he had gotten a Pureblood mate who was not offended by his Halfblood status, like many Purebloods would have been.  
He refrained from telling her that his transformation had purified his blood, but she was probably right when she commented that his impressive family tree would make up for nearly anything. He supposed that she was right. He might have not been born as Pureblooded as Lucius, but with all four Founders of Hogwarts as ancestors, his background was impressive.  
When the witch with the food trolley came around, he bought his friends' favourite snacks, thinking that he could at least spend some of his great fortune he now owned due to his mating with the richest wizard alive, whilst only eating a Blood Drop himself. He really had to ask his father if he could create a Blood-Chocolate; he missed the taste of Chocolate Frogs, but nothing that had not been spiked with blood had any taste anymore.  
Neither Ron, nor Hermione commented on his skipping the candies and they spent the afternoon happily chattering. Hermione had to leave them for her Prefect meeting, surprising him, who had not known about it until then. A bit sheepishly, she admitted, that everything had been so exciting since his return to Grimmauld Place that she had simply forgotten to tell him.  
She returned two hours later, when it was getting dark outside and told them that they should change into their school uniforms.  
"What's this?" Ron asked when Harry pulled out his new, fancy school robe.  
Blushing a bit, he explained: "There is a special school uniform for the Hogwarts Heir...It has the School Crest as an Emblem."  
"Man, that looks like those clothes you got from your girl," Ron commented and eyed the garments. "I really can't understand how you can be so comfortable in those things. I would hate it."  
Shrugging, he replied: "It is not that bad at all," before stepping out of his pants. Luckily, his white shirt hid the green silk band with the little bell and saved Ron from a fatal heart attack.  
He laced his waistcoat absentmindedly and watched the windows of Hogwarts coming nearer. They shimmered like golden lights in the darkness and made the contours of the castle visible a bit, at least when he had still been human it had been like that, now he could see every detail, even from this distance.  
"I can't believe, that this is all mine," he whispered in awe.  
"It is beautiful," Hermione agreed.  
"I always considered Hogwarts home and to actually own it is... it's just great," he said, suddenly realizing how happy he was about this inheritance.  
"You will probably soon have more homes than you will ever need in your whole life," Ron laughed.  
"Don't be so insensitive Ron. Hogwarts is like your parental home for Harry. Wouldn't you like to inherit the Burrow one day?" Hermione scolded and Ron's cheeks instantly turned red.  
"You see, besides, Hogwarts really is amazing," their female friend said and stepped next to him.  
They watched from the window until the Hogwarts Express slowed down.  
He called Justitius over to him and told Nagini to wind herself around his body again, before grabbing his trunk. This time when they exited the train, no Death Eaters attacked them. They were probably too close to Dumbledore for them to risk anything, especially after the headmaster had appeared so quickly the last time.  
Thinking about the start of the summer, he was amazed at how far he had come. When he had sat in the Express on his way back to Privet Drive Number 4, he had been depressed after Cedric's death and discontent with his life in general and even though it was still not perfect, (because there was still a mad man threatening his life and the whole wizarding world) he had a mate now and a father and was much happier.  
When they neared the last free carriage, Harry almost jumped at the sight of the very dead looking horse in front of it.  
"What's this?" he asked, pointing at the creature, but his friends only frowned.  
"What is what?" Ron asked irritably.  
"There is a black horse in front of our carriage. Can't you see it? It almost looks dead," he pointed out and was relieved when realization dawned on Hermione's face:  
"That has to be a Thestral," she said, explaining nothing.  
"It is," a dreamy voice said next to them. When they turned around, they saw a blond girl with strange radish earrings who looked as dreamy as her voice had sounded.  
"You saw Cedric die, that's why you can see them, Harry," she said as if they had been friends for years. "With me, it was my mum. She was a curious witch, you know?"  
"Um..." He said intelligently, noticing that the girl had tucked her wand behind her left ear for safekeeping.  
"Hi Luna," Hermione greeted the strange girl and then introduced her: "This is Luna Lovegood, from Ravenclaw.  
"I would tell you to not fear the Thestrals," she continued. "...but I can see that Death is a friend of yours,"  
Harry only blinked; somehow he had the feeling that he was meeting a female Dumbledore, with her ability to know things she shouldn't. Luckily, she had no further intention of saying anything more.  
"I will go back to my friends. See you later," she breathed and floated off.  
Ron coughed as soon as she was out of earshot.  
"I know what you mean," Harry said.  
"Don't be mean; she is really nice, a bit crazy and her father is the editor of that rubbish paper, but she is nice," Hermione scolded him, before climbing into the carriage.  
"I never said anything mean," argued Harry, following her.  
"At least we now know what is pulling the carriages, although the Thestrals sound scary," Ron mused and closed the door behind them.  
The Thestral turned and quickly followed his comrades up to the castle. Twenty minutes later, they disembarked and climbed up the front steps. When Harry entered, a cold wind billowed his school robes and a strange feeling suddenly tugged at his heart. Even though the Entrance Hall was already crowded with student, the castle felt cold and empty. A flash of something went through him and for a split second he expected to hear a drawling voice mocking him; but this year no one would mock him, at least not his schoolyard nemesis, because he was not alive anymore. Shaking his head, he pushed the depressing thoughts about Draco Malfoy from his mind. Why was he thinking about his mate's son right now? He should be glad that his school year would be much less stressful without the arrogant blonde, but somehow he wasn't. And now that he was thinking about Draco, Lucius' face appeared in front of his eyes as well and the feeling of loneliness grew even stronger. The two faces danced in front of his inner eye, mixing together and floating apart again and a foreboding feeling threatened to overwhelm him.  
Suddenly panicked, he wavered and had to quickly grab for the wall next to him to not collapse. What was wrong with him? Why was he thinking about the two blondes? That his mind wandered to Lucius that he could understand, but Draco? Fortunately Ron stepped up next to him at that moment and distracted him from his muddled mind and the dizziness disappeared as quickly as it had come.  
"Can't believe we are back again, the summer felt so long," his friend said, with a look at the ceiling.  
"I think the holidays felt very short this year," Harry mused and tried to ignore the curious glances from everybody.  
"I can imagine that it felt short for you, with all what had happened," Ron agreed.  
He didn't answer; he was too distracted by the whispered comments around him and the odd feeling that was still lingering in the back of his mind. Not wanting to think about the feeling, he concentrated instead on the gossip. The other students had still not figured out who he was and already the first few rumours started to fly around:  
"I bet he will be sorted into Slytherin, he must come from a long line of Purebloods," one girl whispered.  
"No, he looks too friendly, maybe Hufflepuff?" her friend suggested.  
"Never! No Council Member could come from a Hufflepuff family!" the first girl shook her head fiercely.  
A few step further down they crossed an older boy just outside the Great Hall, who told his friends: "I always knew that those two were only Potter's friends because of his fame. Wonder where he is now that they have dumped him."  
Snorting, Harry rolled his eyes.  
"What did he say?" Hermione asked, having noticed the boy whispering, but had not been able to understand the words.  
"He thinks, that you two have dumped me for someone more famous and wonders where I am now," He answered dryly.  
Ron glared at the boy: "Knew such shit could only come from a Slytherin's mouth," he huffed and threw the boy a filthy glare.  
"No need to be upset, I bet Dumbledore will say a few words about my Hogwarts Inheritance and after that, everybody will know that you two have not dumped me," Harry said and sat down at the far back of the Gryffindor table.  
Hermione's head instantly turned to the head table to look for the new professor. When she frowned, he asked: "Is the new professor looking so incompetent?"  
"No. He or she is not there yet," she replied, clearly disappointed.  
"You remember how it was with Moody? Maybe the teacher will turn up later," Ron tried to cheer her up.  
"Maybe," she replied, but didn't sound convinced.  
Their discussion came to a halt when McGonagall brought the first years in and the sorting begun. Many eyes looking for the 'noble new boy' between the new students and Harry had to suppress a snort at their irritated faces. The irritation of his fellow students from Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff grew by the minute, when the aristocrat did not come forward, whilst the Gryffindors eyed him curiously. Obviously, not even they recognized him.  
It was Neville who caught on first, his eyes grew as big as saucers; but he placed a finger on his lips to indicate that he should keep silence. He didn't fancy a commotion before Dumbledore had time to explain everything. Luckily Neville was an understanding guy and simply nodded, before turning his face back to the front.  
The sorting was over then and the Headmaster rose to his feet:  
"Welcome, new Students of Hogwarts and to the old ones, welcome back. This new school year promises to at least be as interesting as the last one and the one before that and the one before that and...well I am sure you all know what I mean.  
As usual, I will use this opportunity to make some announcements:  
The forest is still off limit to everyone, even if your name is Gred and Forge," Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled over to the Gryffindor table where his comment was met with silent snickers.  
"There are also new items on the list for forbidden things, but by now the list is longer than Hogwarts a History, so please look it up if you are uncertain about an item, or if it is something from one of your two favourite joke shops, you will be safe to assume that it is forbidden."  
"One of our two favourite joke shops? I thought there was only one," Ron asked with a frown. Harry coughed, he had forgotten to tell Ron about his prize money, which he had given to his twin brothers to start their own business: "He means your brothers..." he mumbled, getting more silent with each word. "I might have given them my prize money." When he had given Fred and George the galleons, it had felt right, only now did he realize that he had given the brothers of his best friends a little fortune while Ron had gotten nothing from him.  
"Oh Harry, you haven't!" Hermione scolded him and his guilty conscience grew even further, but Ron's face only light up: "Really? That is brilliant! Fred and George really have the talent, but they would never be able to save enough on their own."  
"No problem," he mouthed back and his heart skipped a beat in relief. Concentrating back on Dumbledore, he continued to listen to the headmaster's speech.  
"Unfortunately, our new Professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts has not yet arrived, so you all have to be patient for a little while longer."  
Suddenly an especially curious and brave Ravenclaw shouted to their right and interrupted Dumbledore's speech: "What is with the new student?"  
"New student?" Dumbledore asked, seeming a bit confused by the interruption.  
"Yes, the one from the Daily Prophet," another students shouted.  
Dumbledore's eyes lit up in understanding: "Ah, the new student! I fear I have to disappoint you, there is no new student."  
A mixture of disappointed sighs and irritated muttering from those who had seen him earlier filled the hall for a moment, but Dumbledore lifted a hand and they all fell silent again.  
"He will make the announcement now," Hermione whispered in his ear and he nodded, suddenly feeling very nervous; he had always hated attention and the fact that Lucius was not by his side to shield him didn't make his nervousness any better.  
"We have no new student, however, I have another big announcement to make," Dumbledore continued.  
Harry gulped visibly; maybe he should have declined this inheritance. The great hall was deadly silent by now, they all remembered Dumbledore's last 'big announcement', which had lead to the Tri-Wizarding Tournament.  
"Since the death of Hogwarts great founders, the school had only been guided by a Headmaster, since the will of Rovena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor clearly states that only a descendant of all four blood lines will have the honour to inherit their castle. We have the great honour, my children, of finally witnessing the school returning to its rightful owner."  
Suddenly, Harry felt his pocket empty where his wand and the Hogwarts crest had been safely hidden and his family ring had disappeared from his right thumb as well. But he did not have to wonder for long what had happened to the items, when Dumbledore said:  
"Please come forward, Harry James Potter."  
He was thankful, that Dumbledore had refrained from using his full name, but considering all the Death Eater children, it was really no big surprise.  
A loud gasp went through the hall when he stood up and the students finally recognized the boy from the article. He tried to walk standing up straight and not making the impression that he wanted to hide under the Gryffindor table. When he arrived in front of Dumbledore, he saw his Hogwarts Insignias lying in front of him.  
"Harry, I am happy to hand you the Hogwarts Signet Ring," Dumbledore said and motioned for him to stretch his right hand out, before placing the ring back on his finger.  
"...the Hogwarts Crest," he gave him the golden badge. "...the Elder Wand," a second gasp went through the hall, when Dumbledore named the famous name and the wand shimmered golden when he grabbed it. "...and lastly, the Sorting Hat," Dumbledore placed the hat on his head and this time, it didn't fall beyond his eyes.  
"Turn around," Dumbledore whispered and Harry, feeling like a freshly crowned prince with a wand instead of a sceptre in one hand, a golden badge like an orb in the other and the sorting hat on his head like a huge crown, obediently turned around to face his fellow student. They all looked at him in awe, as if he really was their king.  
"Please, join me a round of applause for Mr. Potter," Dumbledore requested and started clapping. The students needed a moment to pull themselves out of their dazes but then joined in loudly. Harry could even hear cat whistles from his own house table, only the Slytherins seemed very subdued; they most likely would have liked a Slytherin Heir to Hogwarts more.  
Dumbledore lifted his hand again, but this time it took much longer until all the voices had quieted back down.  
"As some of you may have already noticed, Harry is in company of a new familiar," the headmaster continued. "Many will know Nagini as the snake of Lord Voldemort." The gasps that came this time were sounds of panic, but Dumbledore quickly continued to calm the students down: "Due to an unforeseeable incident, Nagini accidentally followed Harry back to his home after the attack at King's Cross. She had taken the chance since then to get away from her cruel captor and bond herself to him as his loyal familiar and no longer poses a threat to anybody."  
The students still seemed very nervous and looked over to his abandoned seat carefully, where the huge snake lay curled up, her head held high to keep an eye on him.  
"You may sit again," Dumbledore said and he happily obliged; he was starting to feel silly, decorated like a strange doll in front of everybody.  
"He really put on a show," Ron commented when Nagini had slithered from his chair and he had sat back down.  
"Yeah," he said, but was suddenly distracted by a voice in his head:  
  
 _"Harry Potter, you have become even more Slytherin in the last four years, but then again, you have become more Gryffindor as well and looking at your overloaded brain, you would even be a good Ravenclaw by now."_  
  
Harry didn't answer the sorting hat which always managed to confuse him, so he quickly took it off and put it next to his plate. Dumbledore had said something else, which he hadn't caught, but suddenly the table was groaning under the weight of all the food.  
"Finally! Food!" Ron exclaimed and grabbed the closest bowl of chicken legs.  
"Honestly Ron, you're like a pig!" Hermione commented with a roll of her eyes.  
Harry placed a little on his plate as well and moved it to make it look as if there had been more at some point, before grabbing a Blood Drop from his little leather bag to at least lookmake it look as if he was actually eating.  
"Wow Harry, that is amazing!" Dean suddenly said from a bit further up the table.  
"I nearly didn't recognize you!" Neville smiled shyly. "...but the thing with your inheritance explains a lot."  
"It does," Seamus agreed. "It was you who waved at me in Diagon Alley, am I right?"  
Nodding, he grinned sheepishly and answered: "It was me, but I guess I have changed a bit over the summer." He really was not comfortable with all this attention, at least the strange feeling from earlier was now gone.  
"A bit?" Dean exclaimed. "You look like a whole new person, well now that I know it is you, I see the similarity, but you have changed a lot; the whole of the wizarding world is lusting after you, women and men alike."  
Harry blushed. Hermione wanted to say something, but luckily she thought better of it and just shook her head.  
"You said it mate," Ron said to Dean. "When he first put one of those crazy outfits on, I thought I was hit with something. Have you seen his waist? It is crazy for a boy!"  
Dean shook his head and he and the other boys tried to get a look at his waist.  
"Harry, stand up for a moment," Seamus asked.  
"Oh no!" He was horrified at the idea of everybody staring at his waist. That was so embarrassing; he wasn't a girl, for fuck's sake!  
"Come on, just a second," Dean pleaded.  
"Just do like they asked then you are done with it," Hermione advised drily.  
Sighing in defeat, he stood up and pulled his new cloak a bit to the side, only to hear the boys whistle:  
"You're right Ron, that waist is crazy. My sister would kill for such a figure," Seamus commented.  
"They are already getting jealous," Neville sounded frightened as he motioned with his head to a group of girls further down the table. Following his friend's line of sight, he saw that he was correct. Parvati threw him a hateful glare, so did a few other girls. He quickly sat down again and continued to pretend to eat.  
"How did you find out that you are the heir of Hogwarts?" Dean asked curiously.  
"I found an old family tree in my vault," Harry lied smoothly.  
"And how is it to own an entire castle? Will you still live with us?" Dean inquired.  
"Actually, no," He admitted, hoping that they wouldn't be mad at him for abandoning them, but instead Seamus grinned. "That's great, we can have our private parties at your place, without all the little first and second years!" the Irish boy exclaimed.  
"We will certainly do anything like partying in Harry's room;" Hermione huffed. "He might lose his privileges and as a prefect I couldn't allow it anyway."  
"Calm down, Mione and be a bit more relaxed and nice. It isn't as if we plan on drinking in his private quarters every weekend, just once in a while." Ron's comment didn't make Hermione's mood any better and he himself wisely kept his distance from the argument.  
"Be careful, Ronald," she threatened, before turning back to her stew.  
"I think after a successful Quidditch match, a private party would be nice," he said and winked at his friends.  
"You mean, after we have kicked some Slytherin butts again!" Dean jeered.  
The main dish disappeared and the table filled with all kinds of pudding, ice cream and cakes.  
"And...you really bonded with Nagini?" Neville stuttered and Harry flinched at the bad phrasing. To bond 'with', sounded almost like mating, better would have been to bond 'to' Nagini.  
"Yeah, I have. She is a great snake and really loyal. Voldemort caught her and she never lived with him out of her own free will and was happy to escape him," he explained, with a stroke to his familiar's heavy head.  
"She surely is impressive," Dean commented.  
"And who is that little fellow?" A girl Harry didn't even know, but who had obviously listened in on their conversation asked suddenly, pointing at Justitius.  
"That is Justitius, he is an infant expositus phoenicis ," he explained, whilst his little bat once again puffed out his chest proudly.  
"That's amazing Harry, how did you get him?" Neville asked in awe.  
"It was a present," he answered truthfully.  
"Wow, I want to have your friends, too," Dean teased.  
"You have," Ron commented sarcastically.  
"Not you, the one who gave him this little fellow," Dean replied with a wink. "Don't you want some dessert?"  
"No, I ate too many candies at the train," he said and leaned back in his chair.  
"That's a shame," Seamus said, before shoving a spoonful of pudding into his mouth, managing to splash half of it onto his tie.  
"Boys," muttered Hermione and exchanged a disgusted look with Parvati.  
The dinner with all his friends was really funny and they actually succeeded in keeping thoughts about Lucius far away from him most of the time. He also didn't allow his mind to come up with more irritating pictures of his mate's son and instead tried his best to have fun. His friends deserved it and he would have enough time to miss his mate and figure out what his mind wanted to tell him with those other images when he was alone in his new room.  
When everybody was finally sated, Dumbledore wished them all a good night and Harry followed his two best friends out of the great hall, only to find a little house elf with his trunk waiting near the double doors.  
"Harry Potter sir, I is waiting for you. I does not know where sirs new room are," the little creature squeaked.  
"Oh shit, I forgot about that," he sighed, thinking quickly, but no possible room came to mind at the moment, so he asked "Would you wait for a moment?" and lead his friends to a nearby alcove, before pulling out the Marauder's Map. With a tap of his new wand he opened it and said: "I would like to have a room close to Gryffindor tower, and then I won't have to go so far if I want to visit you."  
His friends nodded in understanding.  
"You can put your badge on any door, am I right?" Ron asked and he nodded. They scanned the map but with all the dots making their way to their common rooms, it was difficult to find a good room.  
"What is this one?" Hermione suddenly asked and pointed at a door next to the portrait of the Fat Lady. "I think it is a broom closet, but it will transform in any case."  
"That looks perfect," He breathed, relieved that he would not have to search the whole night for a suitable room and ended the spell for the map.  
"Well, let's go then, I want to see what the Founders Quarters look like," Ron said and motioned for the elf to follow them. Hermione made a disapproving sound, but didn't argue, probably because they really had some steps ahead and no one would like to carry his trunk. They climbed up to the fifth floor and walked the long hallway down to the end of the corridor.  
Opening the door, which was indeed directly next to the Gryffindor portrait, he saw that Hermione had been right with her assumption about the broom closet.  
He fumbled for the badge, asking: "Dumbledore said to just put it onto a door, right?"  
Hermione nodded and he pressed the piece of gold to the wooden door. The door shimmered and the engraving of the same little falcon he had already noticed on the Signet Ring appeared on the door, holding the Hogwarts Crest in one talon.  
"What kind of bird is that?" Ron asked curiously.  
"I don't know, but it is on my ring as well," He shrugged.  
"Some kind of falcon, but I would have to look it up to say which one," Hermione commented.  
"Hurry up, man," Ron urged him and he carefully pushed the wooden door open.  
He quickly realized that he should not have imagined a little living area with one bed in a corner and a desk in another. The name 'Founders Quarters' should have been a giveaway in itself.  
Harry found himself entering a long, stony hallway, with torches in golden holders lining the walls. Many mirrors, also framed in gold, and seemingly empty portraits in equally golden frames lined the walls, reflecting the light beautifully.  
"Wow!" His redheaded friend said in awe, his eyes fixed on the many doors to both sides, whilst he watched the enchanted ceiling, which looked exactly like the ceiling in the great hall.  
"This is so beautiful!" Hermione breathed.  
"It is," he agreed.  
"I wonder, why there are so many empty portraits," Ron mused.  
"Maybe we will find out, let's look for a bedroom first," he suggested and opened the first door to his right, somehow reminded of his last two visits to Gringotts. Peeking inside, he found something that looked like a small, private dining room.  
"It's a dining room," he informed his friends and Hermione, who had opened the opposite door replied: "This seems to be a Floo room."  
"I think I found a living room," Ron announced and Harry and Hermione quickly went over.  
"Let me take a look," Harry said and immediately stopped, when he felt five piercing sets of eyes settle on him. Looking up, he saw five huge portraits hanging in one line above a luxurious white leather couch with golden patterns.  
Four of the five people residing in the pictures at least looked familiar; maybe he should have guessed that he would find them here, this had been their quarters after all.  
"The Founders!" Hermione squeaked, very much like a frightened house elf and Ron quickly grabbed her arm, when she swayed on her feet.  
"Indeed," A suspicious looking man, with grey beard, bushy eyebrows and cold green eyes said.  
"Slytherin?" Harry asked baffled, staring at the impressive figure in his dark green, and shimmery silver robes.  
"How perceptive of you, but you look as if you belong to him more," Slytherin jerked his head to the far right, where a more friendly looking wizard sat in an armchair. Harry thought that he looked like a typical muggle prince from fairy tales, only with auburn coloured hair instead of blonde. His eyes were green as well, but warmer in their colour and above his golden corslet, he wore a red wizarding cloak.  
"Are you in my house?" the man had a deep, vibrating voice.  
"I...I am a Gryffindor, if that is what you mean," he stuttered. The wizard's face lit up in a proud smile, saying: "Our first heir after...I don't really know, but it is not really of any relevance...is a Gryffindor!"  
"Gryffindor?" Harry asked baffled, even though it was logical that the man would be the other male founder.  
"You may call me Godric," Gryffindor said generously, making Slytherin snort.  
 _"The one on the left side is the speaker my old master admired so much,_ _"_ Nagini hissed and rose to her full height to take a better look.  
 _"That is Salazar Slytherin,"_ Harry answered her.  
"How interesting, he is not a typical Gryffindor," a witch with long, black hair like ebony commented. Her eyes as well were bright green.  
Gryffindor looked a bit miffed, whilst Slytherin smirked smugly. Harry thought that the smug look had to be a thing that comes with the Slytherin genes; his mate and father could smirk in exactly the same way.  
"I am Rowena, but you most likely thought that much already," the black haired witch introduced herself.  
"And I am Helga, my dear. It is nice to see such a young face again," Helga Hufflepuff somehow reminded him of Ron's mum; Ron seemed to think the same because he stared with a horrified expression at the blonde Lady.  
Clearing his throat, he eyed the last portrait that hung in the middle of the Four Founders. At the first sight, he had thought that a portrait of Dumbledore had made its way into the founders quarters, but standing in front of it now, he saw that the long hair and beard of the old man was not white, but a brownish gray and he also wore no glasses in front of his green eyes, which looked similar to the other's eyes.  
"And who are you, sir?" he asked, hoping that he sounded polite enough.  
"I am Merlin, of course," the wizard said in a friendly tone with no trace of arrogance in his voice.  
"Of course!" Hermione gasped suddenly. "The little falcon on your ring and the door is a Merlin!"  
"What, Merlin?" Ron asked in astonishment, whilst Harry tried to wrap his head around the fact that he would not only live with Four Founders in his quarters, but also with the greatest wizard in history. Merlin was considered the father of all wizard and witches, why was he hanging in Hogwarts?  
"What are you doing here?" he asked dumbly and flinched at his own sophistication.  
"I am the great grandfather of these fine witches and wizards," Merlin answered proudly.  
"Then I am related to you?" Harry squeaked.  
"Of course, you have my eyes, have you not?" Merlin replied with a warm smile.  
Looking at Merlin's eyes, he had to admit, that they looked liked a copy of his own and his mother's eyes and even though Rovena's and especially Salazar's eyes had a much colder edge to them, they were the same shade of green and the exact shape as well.  
"Oh no, I will look like Dumbledore in a few years!" Harry exclaimed desperately, forgetting that he would not age a single year anymore.  
Rovena snorted, a sound that seemed so unfitting for the intelligent witch, who could look as stern as Professor McGonagall: "You certainly will not Mr...what is your name?"  
Blushing he politely answered, "I am Harry, Harry Severus James Potter." He felt a bit embarrassed that he had not introduced himself earlier.  
"Harry," Rowena continued. "How can you think that you will one day look like...Dumbledore, who I guess bears a striking resemblance to our dear great grandfather, when you are..."  
His eyes widened in shock and he quickly shouted: "Don't say it! It's a secret!"  
Rowena looked surprised and Salazar asked sarcastically: "A Gryffindor hiding a secret from his friends?"  
"He asked us to give him time and we agreed," Hermione explained. "He has only recently come into his inheritance. I believe not even a month ago.  
"His inheritance?" Rowena asked.  
"You must know, Rowena's area of expertise lies in creatures of all kinds, even though she is more famous for her work in Ancient Runes," Helga enlightened them.  
"Oh," Harry said intelligently. That could mean trouble for him.  
"I will keep your secret for now, if you agree to take your glamour off for me when your friends have left."  
"O...Okay..." he agreed hesitantly, he did not have much of a choice regardless.  
"Clearing her throat, Hermione asked: "Can you tell us where the bedroom is? Ron and I just wanted to help Harry with his trunk. Curfew is soon and we have to be back in the common room by then."  
Four pairs of eye brows rose: "Where the bedroom is?" Godric asked, amusement heavy in his voice. "Do you think we all shared one bedroom?"  
Hermione flushed bright pink.  
"Take the second door on the right at the end of the hallway. It is Godric's room, you will likely feel most comfortable there," Salazar sneered.  
"Thank you," Harry said and then added for Rowena's sake: "I will be back in a few."  
The little house elf was still patiently waiting for them in the hallway, making Hermione feel guilty about letting him wait for so long. The corridor was longer than expected, and Harry wondered, what kind of rooms he would find, but decided that his explorations would have to wait until the next day after classes.  
Arriving in front of said door, he pushed the golden door handle down and stepped into a big bedroom, decorated in reds and gold's, like he had expected. This had after all been Gryffindor's room. The floor was made of a light wood, but many fluffy carpets covered it so that it nearly disappeared completely.  
The bed frame was made purely from gold, with red hangings and red and golden sheets and he snickered at the thought of Lucius visiting him here and having to sleep in this 'atrocious' bed.  
"Maybe you should take another room and offer this one to your father for sleepovers?" Ron snickered evilly.  
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed aghast, but started to snicker as well.  
"I think I will keep this one, but trick him into believing this will be his, I don't want to actually torture him," he grinned and flipped his wand, so that his trunk would unpack itself.  
The little elf popped out of the room with a little bow and Harry watched, until all his things were neatly packed away in numerous wardrobes and chests.  
"You really will live like a king here, I bet there is a pool somewhere," Ron commented. "Promise, you will give a pool party if you find one," he added.  
"I promise," Harry agreed, thinking that there hadn't been any pools a thousand years ago.  
"We will go then," Hermione said and pulled at Ron's arm, who pouted slightly. "Sleep well and we will see you tomorrow at breakfast."  
"You too." he smiled. "Wait, I will take you to the door, I have to go back to Rowena anyway."  
"She sounds really demanding," Ron agreed.  
"I think she is a kind woman, a bit like Professor McGonagall. I wonder if they are related," Hermione mused.  
He closed his new bedroom door behind him and followed them.  
"Would you look for me if there is a library somewhere?" Hermione asked, her eyes fixed on the doors they passed with a longing expression.  
"We can search for one after classes, but I will not get up an hour earlier to search for it tomorrow morning," he answered.  
Hermione beamed at him: "I think I will not get any sleep, I am too excited! This is fantastic; imagine the knowledge hidden in these chambers. Until know, it was assumed, that most of the Founders writings have been destroyed over the centuries, or that they were too occupied with the school once they had opened Hogwarts, but I bet we will find all of them somewhere here," she rambled on.  
"Yeah, yeah, I am sure you are right, Mione," Harry laughed and pushed his two friends out of his quarters, whilst giving Ron a sympathetic look; he would have a long night if Hermione's rambling was any indication. Ron glared back at him, but he only winked at him before saying: "Good night," and closing his door.  
Sighing, Harry returned to the living room. Merlin's eyes were twinkling merrily and he made a mental note to look for a whole family tree to see if the wizard was really related to Albus. They had to be, with all the similarities, it was a bit scary.  
"You have returned," Rowena said a bit surprised when she saw him.  
"Of course he has, he is a nice boy, trust me, I have a feeling for people," Helga scolded her lightly.  
"So...Um...you wanted to see me without glamours?" He asked a bit hesitantly.  
"Yes, as Helga correctly told you, to research creatures is my passion, but it is nearly impossible to meet a vampire who is willing to participate in a examination."  
"Examination?" He asked, taking a step backwards; that did not sound so harmless anymore.  
The black haired witch huffed and Merlin said calmly: "She will not do more than take a look and maybe ask a few questions..."  
"A few?" Salazar asked snidely, but his great-grandfather ignored him and continued: "We are portraits, we cannot do much anymore."  
This time it was Godric who snorted: "Don't trust him; he is a meddling old fool."  
Harry nearly choked at his spit. He would take one of the empty portraits and give it to Albus, then the two old wizards could meddle together, he thought dryly.  
"If you would now take off your shirt," Rowena asked politely and Harry was still so in shock about the old fool comment, that he obliged without even questioning it.  
He slipped out of his Hogwarts cloak and then untied his red waistcoat and tie, before unbuttoning his white shirt and discarding everything on the leather sofa. Concentrating for a moment, he let go of the glamour and instantly felt more free and at ease. When he had not heard anything after about a minute, he looked up and saw his five ancestors look at him curiously.  
"Am I right to assume, that you are a submissive?" Rowena asked matter of factly; but he still flushed, he had not yet admitted it to anybody outside of those he considered family, but then again, they were family as well, but very distant family.  
"Would you take off the bandage around your right hand as well?" Rowena requested softly. Nodding, Harry undid the sticking charm and exposed his mating mark.  
"As I thought, you have a soulmate," Rowena commented.  
"Blood mate," he corrected her automatically.  
The witch looked very interested at this little piece of information and then said: "You were too calm and balanced for a freshly turned vampire. Normally, you should be in a blood frenzy right now."  
Harry shrugged, she was probably right. "None of us have any urges to kill anyone," he told her.  
"Of us?" Helga asked curiously.  
"Yes; my mate, my father and myself."  
"Your father?" Godric inquired.  
Deciding that it would be easier to tell the whole story, he recalled the events which had lead to his, Lucius and his father's turning. At the end of his tale, all five portraits practically gaped at him in astonishment.  
"Let me get that straight?" Salazar hissed. "A mad man, who calls himself 'my' heir, has tried to kill you since you were an infant. That is also the reason, why you grew up with horrendous muggles and knew nothing about your real father. The same mad man, cursed the person who is apparently your soul mate, involuntarily turning you as well and probably giving you the power to defeat him one day?"  
"That's about everything," he grinned.  
"Do you realize that you are especially beautiful for a vampire submissive?" Rowena brought the topic back to his physique.  
"Yeah, I guess," Harry admitted and fumbled with a strand of his black locks.  
"I developed a theory about vampire submissives and dominants, due to the fact that I could not find anybody willing to let me have a closer look at your species. I must say, I came very close. Only your eyes are a bit bigger and you are even thinner than I had imagined...but at least I foresaw your translucent skin."  
"Um...thank you. My mate finds me beautiful as well," he mumbled shyly, his cheeks hot like never before. He still was not use to getting praised for his body, or anything else to be honest.  
"I certainly believe that," Rowena laughed.  
"Well, if it is ok, I would like to go to bed now, I will have Potions with my father first thing in the morning; we always have Potions Monday mornings," Harry explained.  
"Your father is a teacher here?" Salazar asked. "A Slytherin?"  
"He is the Head of House," he answered with a proud smile.  
"Maybe I will visit him, now that the chambers are open again, we can finally visit the rest of the castle," Salazar mused.  
"Why weren't you able to before?" He wanted to know, he had always wondered why none of the Founders could be seen in the portraits.  
"Our dear Great-Grandfather's security spells were too good," Helga laughed and Merlin flushed a bit.  
Snickering, Harry waved at them and picked up his upper clothing, only to find Justitius lying beneath the pile, glaring up at him.  
"Oh, sorry," Harry stretched a hand out to carry him, but the little bat huffed, and fluttered away.  
"Was that a Phoenix Foundling?" Merlin asked excitedly.  
"He is, I am training him with your book," he said.  
"I hope he is learning well," Merlin smiled.  
"He is a bit hyperactive, but maybe that is because he laid in his egg for over 50 years, before my mate gave him to me. My mate comes from a purely Slytherin line and Justitius would never have hatched for him."  
"Your mate must love you very much, to give you such a great present and it makes me very happy to hear, that in contrast to firm beliefs," Merlin glared at his great-grandsons, "...that a Gryffindor and a Slytherin can find happiness together."  
Harry finally succeeded in saying his goodbyes then and went with Nagini and Justitius to his new bedroom. Justitius fluttered in front of his window and Harry opened it for the little bat, he was now a few days old and he trusted him to find his way back, he was part-phoenix after all.  
The bed was incredibly soft, probably as soft as Lucius' and he snuggled contently under the heavy comforter, before spelling the torches out.  
Nagini circled around him and laid her heavy head on his chest.  
 _"Sleep well little master, so that you can make your mate proud tomorrow,"_ Nagini hissed.  
 _"What do you mean?"_ He asked.  
 _"Don't you have to go to school tomorrow?"_ Nagini asked.  
" _Yes,"_ Harry frowned.  
 _"Your mate will surely be proud if you do well in your classes and you will see your father again,"_ she answered.  
Smiling, Harry decided to take her advice and closed his eyes. Unfortunately sleep didn't come quickly. As soon as he closed his eyes the cold feeling he had felt at entering Hogwarts returned full force and he started to shiver in loneliness. Once again the pictures of his mate and his mate's son started to dance in front of his eyes, blurring into one, smiling at him, or just looking expectantly.  
He tried to decipher what the pictures and the feelings wanted to tell him, but it didn't make any sense. Did he feel guilty because of Draco's death? But it wasn't his fault, was it? Sure, if he had let Lucius go at Privet Drive, the blonde brat would surely still be alive, but he most likely would be dead himself. Besides, he could not have foreseen that Voldemort would kill his right hand man's family after not even two days. No, Draco Malfoy's death was not his fault, but what was keeping him awake then? He sighed in frustration. The longer he thought about Lucius and Draco, the lonelier he felt. He wished his friends or his father were there to distract him from his cold, shivering body and the wish to be held by strong, protective arms. His submissive side sobbed silently, while he still could not stop wondering about those flickering images.  
Harry couldn't say how long he brooded over the question, not coming to any epiphany, but at some point he fell asleep over his pondering, despite his shivering body, pictures of two beautiful blonde males haunting him even in his sleep.


	19. Chapter 19: The New Teacher

**Chapter 19: The New Teacher**

 **HP**

Harry awoke the next morning in a very soft bed. It was heavenly; the only thing missing was the warm body of his mate lying next to him. At that thought the memory of his horrible evening from the day before came back to him and the feeling of loneliness returned full force. Now he also realized that he (naturally) had not warmed up during the night and his muscles felt sore from the hours of shivering. Hopefully standing up and moving would help a little, otherwise he would feel like this for the next three school years, because it would take that long before he could live with his beloved dominant and wake up next to him.  
The word beloved jolted another memory to the forefront, a more pleasant one and his cheeks heated in a flush. The strange memories of Draco had made him forget his epiphany on the train, but now a giddy nervousness befell his body. He was in love. For the very first time he was in love! He would have felt like an excited school girl if it wasn't for the coldness fighting inside of him against the warmer feeling. Rather wanting to daydream for a bit than worry, he let fantasies about Lucius' reaction rise inside of him. How would his proud dominant react to a confession? Would Lucius reciprocate his feelings or love for him with such childish and Gryffindorish actions? Frowning, he banned that thought from his head. No, Lucius was kind-hearted and understanding and a true family person, even though nobody besides him and probably his father realized it, he would not hurt his feelings in any way. He couldn't say whether his dominant already felt the same way, but he was sure the nobleman would be polite about his answer either way.  
Casting a tempus, he noticed that he was already rather late, but in the privacy of his rooms, he could take full advantages of his vampire speed and pushing all thoughts (good and bad) from his mind he was dressed, his glamours were back in place, the bandage once more around his right hand and he was ready to go within five minutes.  
Justitius had returned in the early morning hours and was now sleeping on his perch. Hedwig had also found her way to Hogwarts and was sitting next to him. Harry was happy that she wasn't jealous; in fact, she seemed to have adopted the young bat as her student and had already showed him the way to Ron and Hermione's house during the last few days of his holiday.  
Grabbing his bag, he hurried down the long corridor and nearly ran into his two best friends, who stood outside and was waiting for him.  
"Hey guys, why haven't you come in?" He asked.  
"You apparently don't need a password, your magical signature is enough, but we do," Hermione explained and pointed at the proud falcon, who was guarding his door.  
Blinking owlishly, he asked his brainy friend:"Do you have any suggestion?"  
Hermione nodded. "Myrddin," she suggested.  
"Myrddin? Sounds like an illness," Ron commented.  
Harry snickered at his friends comment, but had to admit that Ron was right.  
"Ron, please, Myrddin is the Welsh name of Merlin," Hermione rolled her eyes.  
Not having any other idea, Harry nodded in agreement and stepped in front of the little falcon, before clearing his throat. "I would like to set a password for my friends." The falcon didn't answer, but tilted his head as sign that it was listening.  
"Myrddin," he said clearly and the bird gave a chirp in reply. "Try it," he said and Hermione stepped next to him: "Myrddin," she said and the door swung open.  
"Perfect," he smiled and closed the door again.  
"Yeah, especially because nobody will be able to remember the password, even when someone overhears it," Ron muttered, but followed them to the great hall. All eyes were following him when he entered and made his way over to the Gryffindor table. It seemed that no one was sure how to react to the 'praised child' after it had turned out to be him, but he would not complain as long as the annoying whispering did not start up again.  
"Morning, Harry," Neville greeted him and gave a nod to his friends, before carefully saying: "Um...I know you hate these kinds of things but maybe you should read this," the shy Gryffindor fidgeted a bit and gave him the newspaper.  
Sighing, he thanked him: "I think I have an idea of what this will be about," he huffed and spread the Daily Prophet in front of him so that Ron and Hermione could read over his shoulders. He really didn't want to deal with the crap the Prophet made up, but it would be stupid not to know what kind of rumours they spread about him.  
His eyes landed on a huge picture of himself in front of the head table, with all the insignia of Hogwarts. Above it, the headline announced:

 **"The Golden Apple of Gryffindor (by Rita Skeeter)**  
Trustworthy sources confirmed that last night around 9 PM that the mysterious noble boy from Diagon Alley is none other than our already famous boy hero, Harry James Potter. Apparently his outing as the Heir to Hogwarts was also the motivation to take his rightful place as one of the last council members of our great country. This reporter is not really surprised to find out about our beloved hero's amazing family tree given his great feats of accomplishments in his brave fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.  
It will be safe to assume that the revelation of the boy's identity will not end his popularity amongst young witches and caring parents who wish only the best for their daughters in the future:  
"I wish that there had been such a wonderful and handsome boy when I visited Hogwarts," Patricia McPie (mother of Annabella McPie, 6th year Hufflepuff) told me. She sincerely hoped that Harry Potter would notice the beauty and kind-heartedness of her daughter. "A young hero needs a loyal wife to comfort him in hard times of war and my daughter would be the best choice for him."

Harry was about to shove the article away, refusing to read the stupid dribble, when his eyes landed on the name of his familiar further down:

"...but this is not the only news concerning our beloved hero. Harry has apparently entered a bond with Voldemort's former familiar, a huge snake called Nagini, who somehow managed to follow our favourite Hogwarts student back to his home at the end of the last term. Albus Dumbledore himself guarantees that the reptile no longer poses any threat.  
This journalist, having the unfortunate luck of having gotten a glimpse of the snake from afar before, believes that there could be no better protection for the Boy-Who-Lives."

He finally laid the newspaper back down; at least the part about Nagini was not too bad.  
"At least, they don't hate you right now," Ron commented dryly, before asking. "But what does Skeeter mean by 'The golden apple of Gryffindor'?"  
He only shrugged. The stupid title made even less sense to him than all the others Skeeter had given him so far but Hermione; ever the clever witch, apparently had a idea and explained: "I think it is a combination of 'golden boy' and the 'forbidden apple', the forbidden fruit of Adam and Eve. She means to say that you are alluring," She explained with a teasing look at him.  
Ron made a retching sound and looked with disgust at the newspaper."No offense, mate...but...urgh!  
"No offense taken; you are right, this is one of the biggest pieces of shit she has ever written. And I am sure that this Annabella girl would turn out to be a good wife; even after I had my first ten nightmares sleeping next to her," Harry snorted. Ron had always been the one who had woken him from his nightmares and visions and had distracted him from the horror of his past and the war until he was calm enough to fall asleep again.  
"Speaking of nightmares, have you had any recently?" Ron inquired, looking guilty at the thought that he might not have been there to help him.  
Thinking that it was not worth lying over, especially when Hermione already knew the truth, he told his friend truthfully: "I had a vision back at Privet Drive, but Lucius and... 'Snivellus'," he said with a cringe, but not wanting to say his father's name or even the word dad in the great hall "...helped me. Since then I have had no problems and they believe that the visions are now over at least...you know after...the purification."  
"I really hope so," Hermione pat his shoulder.  
"Was the vision bad?" Ron looked even guiltier now, even though he had not been alone that particular night.  
"No, not really. Voldemort was only a little upset, because he could not find Nagini," he lied smoothly and Hermione gave an unsuspicious nod of approval. Ron had been plagued by his own nightmares for about two weeks after he had returned from the graveyard. The redhead had always thought it was his duty to try and keep him safe, but this last time he had not even been able to accompany him, even at least for a bit, like he had done in their first two school years.  
McGonagall stepped up behind them and handed out their time tables.  
"I knew it, Potions first thing in the morning," he grinned happily with a look at the parchment. Ron only groaned: "He will not be any nicer, you know that?"  
"I do, but at least I will see him," he hummed, his smile unwavering and looked up at the head table. His father must have been watching him from afar, because their eyes met for a split second, but Severus only sneered at him and turned back to his empty plate.  
"Yes!" Hermione exclaimed. Harry looked at his timetable again and saw what had the girl so excited.  
"We will get to know our new DADA teacher today," he said and scanned the head table, but he could still not find a new face.  
For the next few minutes he watched his friends eat, whilst he himself only sipped a goblet of pumpkin juice sometimes. At ten to eight he stood up, grabbed his bag and said: "Let's go."  
"Harry, if you are a bit more obvious, some students might suspect something," Hermione hushed him.  
His face fell. She was right; he had to be more careful or he would endanger his father and his position as a spy for the Order.  
"Don't worry Mione, they would never guess right. They would probably say that Harry is having an inappropriate affair;" Ron smirked and earned himself a smack to the head by their female friend.  
"Ouch, that hurt!" he muttered and rubbed the back of his head, whilst Harry blushed furiously. He might be prone to be the centre to the oddest situations, but he would surely never start an affair with a Professor. Never! That was a scandal he didn't need.  
Hermione meanwhile glared at Ron: "Well, you deserve it; such a reckless comment could easily start said rumour."  
Ron grinned sheepishly as they made their way down into the dungeons.  
The typical mixture of Gryffindors and Slytherins were already gathered in front of the heavy metal door. They greeted a few of their friends and did their best to ignore the Slytherins who where sneering even more at him than usual. Pansy Parkinson was flanked by Crabbe and Goyle; apparently the Snakes now had a 'princess' instead of a 'prince'. He had already wondered whether someone would take over the leading role after Draco's death. He honestly thought that Pansy was a poor replacement for his blonde nemesis.  
Turning his back to the group of Slytherins, his eyes fell on the heavy door of their classroom and the lonely feeling roared up inside of him once more. It grabbed his heart painfully and he winced silently. What was this feeling? Did he somehow feel Lucius' grief? He had never dared to ask Lucius if he was still grieving for his son, in fact, after the eventful evening of their mating it had never even crossed his mind again that his mate could still be mourning. It probably had something to do with his dominant's guarded expression. If the man really was still in mourning, he would be too proud to let anything show on his face. Lucius was one of those people who believed that most feelings were weaknesses. His father was another of the same school of thought. How could he of all people have gotten stuck with the two most guarded and aloof people in the world?  
Furthermore, Lucius was such a private person, and when his son had been murdered, they hadn't known each other very well.  
Pansy's drawling voice pulled him from his pain then, sadly, with more to worry about: "My father is negotiating with Lucius Malfoy. It was always planned that I become the next Lady Malfoy. Father said that I will now marry him instead of Draco. Poor Draycy; but his father was always more sexy anyway."  
For a moment Harry thought he would choke on his spit, but managed to transform it into a cough. What a foul bitch, he thought. Not even Draco Malfoy deserved to be treated that way after his death.  
"You don't believe that is true?" Ron whispered.  
Hermione quickly cast a silencing spell around them and answered: "No, of course not. He has betrayed the Dark Lord; he would not endanger himself by marrying one of his former comrade's daughters."  
"But he still needs an heir," Ron argued.  
Harry purposefully kept silent and tried his best to look bored.  
"He will get married some day, but the Parkinson's are in the inner circle and unfortunately not stupid, so he will choose someone else...and hopefully someone older," Hermione wrinkled her nose.  
Now he really choked on his spit.  
"Man, is everything alright?" Ron asked, while patting his back roughly.  
"Just..." he coughed "...just the thought of Lucius Malfoy marrying someone so young," he answered, feeling very ashamed.  
"Yeah, gross, isn't it?" Ron looked slightly green.  
Luckily their classroom door opened at that moment and ended their uncomfortable conversation.  
They shuffled over to their usual spot in the middle of the class and Harry watched the Slytherins eying the new robes of his father with awe, whilst his fellow Gryffindors only looked confused.  
"Is he trying to look more fashionable?" Dean snickered behind them.  
"Well, he looks...not as greasy as last year," Seamus commented.  
Harry shook his head, feeling the need to explain his father's new attire because the man would certainly not do it himself: "He was announced the best Potions Master in the whole wizarding world and the robes he wears are special ones which only the wizard or witch with that title is allowed to wear; it is like a medal."  
His friends looked impressed and Seamus had already opened his mouth again, when Severus' harsh voice interrupted them:  
"Finnegan, Thomas, 20 points from Gryffindor. This is a classroom and not a cafe where you can chat about the latest gossip."  
Dean and Seamus instantly fell silent and he turned back to his father as the man started the lesson.  
"We will start this year with an antidote for a fairly common poison." With a flick of his black wand, a list of ingredients and instructions appeared on the blackboard and they started to copy it down.  
"This is a very delicate potion, which tends to explode, if stirred incorrectly."  
Harry watched his father glare at Neville, who trembled in his seat. Poor Neville, someday he would tell him that Severus Snape actually was not as bad as they had always thought and that the dark man was in fact his father; that would likely convince the boy better than the first argument.  
"Potter," his father snapped and pulled him from his thoughts. He quickly sat more straight in his seat and looked at him  
"You will start with this book; it seems that you once again need some special attention."  
Harry looked down at the small and worn down looking book with the title: "Potions for Preschoolers."  
"I expect you to have it finished by our next class," his father said, before snapping: "And now get started!"  
"I think he really wants to re-teach you Potions," Ron commented, but unfortunately, Severus had heard him (no wonder with vampire hearing) and drawled: "15 points from Gryffindor Weasley."  
Ron and Hermione went to the storage room to get all the necessary items and Harry opened the first page of the black book and saw a small scribbled name in one corner: Severus Tobias Snape. The date indicated that his father had read this book at age four. No wonder he was such a genius at Potions if he had started to study the art so early, he thought with a little smile. His father had given him one of his books; his first personal item from the man.  
He quickly noticed that Potions would have been much easier if he had read one of these pre-school books before, even if his Magical Field had still been too underdeveloped to brew a good potion.  
The book explained the difference between all the instructive words, like chopping and slicing, when you typically had to stir clockwise and when counter clockwise. He had never noticed that nearly all poisons were stirred counter clockwise, whilst all antidotes needed to be stirred clockwise. The book also explained that the angle at which someone sliced an ingredient was fundamental for its effect and potency.  
His father had been right when he had told the class in their first year that Potions brewing was a fine art.  
He could finally see some similarities between brewing and cooking: Some ingredients just didn't work well together, or some need a careful approach to mix them, like melted chocolate and beaten egg whites. If someone wasn't careful, the beaten egg white would just fall in on itself and not be fluffy any longer.  
Harry didn't even notice that he had devoured the book at vampire speed. After about half an hour he was finished and wondered what he should do now.  
Still pondering the question, he didn't notice that his father had stepped next to him, but the harsh tone quickly pulled him back to the present:  
"Potter, what are you doing? You are suppose to read the Potions Book and not this...this..." his father bend down, picked a small book up with distaste and laid it on his work table. "...this book for children! 20 Points from Gryffindor."  
Harry eyed the book in shock; he had never seen this book before. On the colourful cover was a small boy with long fangs and a black cloak and the printed title which read: The little vampire.  
Opening it, he saw another child like scribble:  
"Happy birthday Sev, love Lily."  
He stared at the book in shock, why had his father given him this book? Carefully he looked over at Hermione, who carefully wrote something on her notes:  
"I believe the title might be his password."  
He nodded his thanks and a quick glance over at his father, who had sat back down behind his desk, told him that he had seen the exchange of the note, but it would not do to draw any attention to it.  
"Thanks," he whispered so silently that only his father would be able to hear him.  
"No problem my little vampire brat," Severus' voice sounded as if he was smiling, but the frowning face gave nothing away.  
He pocketed the two books and opted for just watching his friends brew silently. Ron was chopping ingredients with an annoyed expression, while Hermione stirred their Potion carefully. After about two minutes of watching, a prickling feeling started at his neck, as if someone was watching him. Frowning, he turned around to glare at whichever Slytherin was staring at him (probably planning to hex him or something), but his eyes landed only on Draco Malfoy's empty seat and the cold fist around his heart squeezed once more. He hastily turned back to his friends and tried to ignore the feeling, but it didn't leave him. He would write Lucius this evening; his mate must feel even worse than he had thought earlier if the constant pain in his heart was any indication. And now the aristocrat sat alone in a huge manor with no one there to distract him from his sorrow.  
Suddenly a strong, disgusting smell alerted him and distracted him from his own worries over his mate; he looked up right in time to see Neville ducking behind a desk. Without thinking he jumped to his feet and threw up a barrier he had not known five days ago, at the clumsy boy's cauldron, before it exploded with a loud bang. Thick, black smoke gathered inside the warded area and his father made his way over to the shield while grumbling and cursing.  
Harry watched him flick his wand at the bright silver shield, but nothing happened. Frowning, his father snapped: "Whoever did this spell, end it!"  
He quickly obliged and his father frowned at him for a moment before banishing the smoke, which was spreading through the room, the spilled Potion and the entire cauldron.  
"Longbottom! Didn't I warn you?" Severus snapped and glared at the frightened Gryffindor. "Fifty points from Gryffindor and detention this evening with Filtch. If you impertinent fools keep this up, you can hand over the House Cup to Slytherins right away," he sneered.  
Harry huffed, but didn't comment.  
"Finish up and then get out, I have to repair this," Severus hissed, his wand pointed at a huge crater in the stone floor. They all quickly bottled their Potions, before bringing them to his desk and leaving hurriedly.  
"By Merlin's beard, that was a strange lesson!" Ron exclaimed as soon as they were out of the dungeons.  
Harry sighed. "You can say that again. I had hoped to speak to him after class, but with the hole in his floor, I think it was better we left." It probably would be more difficult to get his father alone than he had thought. That thought didn't bode well for his meetings with Lucius either and his heart sank even more.  
"Let's go and look if the classroom for DADA is already empty," Hermione pulled them both by their sleeves and dragged them to the staircase.  
Sighing a second time, Harry followed her without any argument. He missed Lucius so much and he was so worried about him. And now he hadn't even had a chance to talk to his father. He had promised himself and his friends to at least try and be happy and have fun at Hogwarts, but it was turning out to be harder than he had imagined. His skin was cold and he hated that feeling, it made him feel lonely. Quietly he wondered how normal vampires could stand it. They had no mate to warm their skin and most likely not even a parent who had transformed to be with them. Could they feel warmth if they lay next to a human? Harry didn't think so.  
He stepped into the classroom, which had already belonged to four different teachers in the last four years. At least Draco didn't have a usual seat here, so no chair would stare at him in this lesson. Looking up at the staircase that lead to the teacher's private offices, he wondered what their new professor would be like and tried to push the dark thoughts away.  
"I bet he or she will be no-good," Ron commented, having read his mind, or maybe his face had just been an open book like always.  
"You're probably right. I mean, he or she comes from the ministry and Dumbledore won't even say who it is. It must be really bad," Harry sighed.  
"Maybe we will have some luck and finally get another competent teacher," Hermione said cheerfully.  
Harry huffed. "The only possible competent teacher is not allowed to return to Hogwarts," he said, thinking about Remus.  
"Well, there has to be another competent one somewhere," Hermione argued.  
"There are, but none that the ministry would ever send to us," Ron muttered.  
They pulled their journals from their bags and watched the same students, who had already sat with them in Potions, enter the classroom.  
Wondering, Harry asked: "Do we have all our classes with Slytherin this year?"  
His friends just shrugged, they would come to see during the week and neither of them really wanted to know the answer; a whole year with Slytherin just sounded too horrible to even think about.  
Eying the incoming students, Harry noticed that he and his friends sat in the second row to the left, whilst Pansy and her friends took the places on the right side in the very front. He wanted to snort. The girl had never been very studious and always purely relied on her looks. He supposed that her father wanted her to do better now that she was supposed to catch the attention of his mate. Harry knew enough about Draco to know that a brainless housewife would have been enough for him, but he also knew that everybody realized that Lucius Malfoy was much more complex and difficult to impress. And again the cold feeling returned at the thought of Draco. Could it be possible that he wasn't feeling Lucius' sorrow, but just wasn't allowed to think about his mate's dead son? Did his instincts have something against it? Scowling, he pushed the sensation away, refusing to be annoyed by the prat even after his death, and eyed Pansy again.  
Looking at the dark brown corkscrew curls, her round, soft looking hips and thighs, he could understand why Lucius never found the female body appealing. There were beautiful girls, like Hermione, who had a natural kind of beauty (whenever she tamed her hair), but he still could not envision himself getting intimate with them. He loved the hardness of Lucius' body against his own; his strong muscles...  
Sighing he conjured the picture of his mate sleeping that morning before he had left for Hogwarts, to the forefront of his mind. He wanted to slide his fingers over those muscles again, wanted to touch his warm skin and feel his heat.  
With a frown, Harry pulled himself back to the present; fantasizing about what he could not have in the next weeks would not help to keep his mood, at least to some degree, happy. He tried to distract himself by listening in on the conversations around him, hoping that he would not hear Pansy talk about her 'upcoming wedding' again:  
"I really hope he is hot," Daphne was saying.  
"I would rather we get a hot female teacher," Zabini grinned sickly and Harry shook his head. Someone had to be really stupid to pick up the sly and slutty Italian boy.  
"Keep dreaming," Millicent Bullstrode commented. "We have never had a female teacher before."  
"I fear she is right," Parvati sighed to her friend Romilda.  
"But it would be nice for once," the other girl answered.  
"Well, he or she has to arrive soon," Seamus said, obviously annoyed by their conversation.  
"It really doesn't matter. The teacher will only stay for one year after all," Dean added drily.  
Hermione sighed: "Isn't it sad that we are already expecting the teacher to last only one year?"  
Sadly, Harry thought, his friend was right. In the beginning he had not believed the rumour, but it grew more likely with each passing year; but it probably had more to do with him being a student than anything else. Somehow, all crazy followers of Lord Voldemort liked this position to try and get to him. "It is. Slowly I am really starting to believe that the position is cursed," he frowned unhappily.  
"Maybe, Dumbledore should give it to Snape after all; at least we would be rid of him after another year;" Dean suggested suddenly.  
"I still think whoever it is, will be an incompetent prick and with our luck a follower of You-Know-Who," Ron muttered, but Harry wasn't listening any longer. His ears had picked up on soft, but confident steps, the sound of a cane and a sweet scent like rich wine entering his nose.  
His heart started to race madly at the familiar, intoxicating smell, but this couldn't be, this was not possible. And at the same time his instincts were telling him that it was exactly what he had hoped. The soft steps and clunk of the cane grew louder. He tried to calm himself down, because he didn't want to get disappointed in a moment. Surely his mate couldn't be here; he was fantasizing out of loneliness, he thought, when a tall, lean figure entered the classroom, his silver blonde hair floating behind him, his right had strong around the silver snake handle of his cane and his cold eyes piercing as ever.  
Harry gasped and nearly fell from his chair; he couldn't believe what he was seeing. Lucius was his new teacher? His mate had foregone all his duties at the Ministry to teach at Hogwarts? To be by his side?  
His gasp had alerted Ron and Hermione, who gasped as well.  
"Malfoy?" Ron hissed, but he ignored him. Cold eyes fixed on his shortly and his cock instantly twitched in his trousers at the sight of his mate standing confidently and elegantly as ever in his classroom. But the face only contorted in disgust; still, for him it was better than any kiss because Lucius was here at Hogwarts and he would be able to see his mate every day.  
He tried to stop his eyes from roaming his dominants gorgeous body; it was as if Lucius Malfoy was the glass of water in the desert and he had been about to die of thirst. He took in the elegant white shirt, which fit perfectly and tight like always. His long fingered hands were covered by the most expensive looking dragon hide gloves he had ever seen, still curling around his snake cane.  
Harry wanted to stare at his mate's beautiful, angelic face as well, but that would be too obvious he feared. And the feeling: the cold, lonely feeling was subsiding and his heart could slowly beat more freely again, even though the feeling hadn't disappeared completely yet.  
His heart skipped a beat when he suddenly remembered his epiphany and blushed even further, suddenly feeling like a lovesick schoolgirl all over again. But his DADA classroom was certainly not the right place for any confessions, and looking at his stern, proud and elegant mate, who was a living wet dream on two legs, he realized that he also needed to find his courage first before he could confess anything at all. Well, he would search for it later, now he needed to concentrate on the lecture, or Lucius would be disappointed.  
"He didn't tell you something, did he?" Hermione suddenly hissed, startling him. She frowned at him at the thought that he might have kept the identity of their teacher from her on purpose.  
He shook his head and wondered why Dumbledore had told nobody about Lucius. Maybe he had been upset in the beginning; Harry assumed that Lucius had used his contacts at the ministry to get the job. But back then Dumbledore had not known about Lucius' new loyalties he thought, remembering the day when the journal had appeared on their book list from Hogwarts, and probably tried his best to keep one of the most famous 'suspected' Death Eaters out of his school.  
Later, Dumbledore had probably put one and one together and had wanted to surprise him with his mate.  
"Meddling old fool," He huffed and saw the corner of Lucius' lips twitch slightly.  
"Good morning," Lucius greeted them, but only stunned silence answered him. His mate, confident as ever, just ignored it and started his lecture. Harry fidgeted in his seat; Lucius' rich, deep voice let his cock harden even further and he could feel the green silk band tightening deliciously around it, making his penis throb. Suppressing a moan, he concentrated back on his mate, hoping that the aristocrat did not pick up on the smell of arousal.  
"I am sure that all of you know my name already, but for those who don't have enough money to buy a house with enough rooms for each of their children, let alone a radio or the Daily Prophet, I will introduce myself again," he sneered with a look at Ron. Ron went beet red and glared straight back, grumbling: "Bastard."  
"That will be twenty points from Gryffindor, Mr. Weasley," Lucius smirked and the Slytherins snickered. Somehow, Harry had the feeling that the snakes would only get bolder with such a famous and powerful idol at Hogwarts.  
"My name," Lucius drawled as if he was introducing the Queen Mum and not himself, but then again, he probably had never even heard about Queen Mum, Harry thought "...is Professor Malfoy and I will teach you everything you need to know for the upcoming war, regardless of which side you are on," this time his mate threw him a very disgusted look.  
"I can already tell you that this will not be a normal class. Knowledge in Defence is the same as experience, so you will spend very little time reading texts. That does of course not mean that you will not need to do homework," Lucius continued and Harry shivered at his deep voice. How would he survive four classes a week with his mate sitting in front of him, sounding like the wet dream of every witch and gay wizard?  
"No Defence Spell will be useful to you, if you do not live long enough to get a chance to use it. You all are still young and your classes have been very...lacking, so I will first teach you a method that will at least give you a chance of becoming old and experienced enough to actually fight. That is, if you are not Potter and blessed with an abnormal and certainly unhealthy amount of luck. Or shall I call it bad luck, for stumbling across the Dark Lord year after year in the first place?"  
This time the Slytherins laughed openly and Lucius' evil smirk was even broader than before, but it didn't disturb Harry's excited penis, which only pulsed even more violently at the sexy expression.  
"We will start with animagus training," The whole class gasped.  
"But Sir, it is illegal for children under 17 to become an animagus!" Hermione blurted out, not able to hold herself back at the announced breaking-of-law.  
"Ten points from Gryffindor Miss..." Lucius looked exaggeratedly down to his desk where a list with the name of every student lay, as is he did not knew her well enough after the past week, before continuing: "Ah yes...Miss Granger. Ten points, as I said. You will raise your hand in my class. Even a 'Muggleborn' witch should have that much manners."  
Harry wanted to roll his eyes at his dominant. Lucius had said 'Muggleborn' in such a way that it would have made no difference to call her 'Mudblood'. How could someone put so much distaste and spite into one word?  
Hermione flushed darkly and Ron looked ready to explode. He knew that he would get an ear full the moment class was over, but sadly, the man had to behave like this.  
"To answer your question: Even an underaged wizard can get a special license, if he or she goes to the ministry and has the patience to fill in all necessary documents. I am still an employee of the Ministry and can draw up such a license. These special licenses are a bit more expensive than the regular one, so you all will have the option of not getting registered, but you all should remember that the amount you have to pay if someone catches you transforming without an official license in nothing close the registration amount."  
Harry wanted to smile brightly. He felt so giddy. His mate would teach them how to become animagus! Moony and Padfoot would be so proud. He thought about what kind of animal he would be. His mother had been a doe, similar to her cousin James, who had been a stag like his Patronus. But he didn't know what animal his father was, or if he had an animal form at all. Not all wizards tried to become an animagus. It was difficult and needed a lot of time and patience.  
A Slytherin boy had lifted his hand and Lucius gave a curt nod to indicate that he could ask his question: "But how will becoming an animagus help us in the war?"  
Hermione sighed in desperation: "Stupid," she muttered under her breath.  
"Not directly, unless you are a dangerous animal. But most animals are faster and more agile than humans, some can even fly and you will most likely face a situation where your only chance will be to run or hide. I told you that I will first teach you how to survive long enough to get a chance to fight."  
Harry watched his mate suppress a sigh of his own at the brainless idiot, before he stepped in front of his desk and continued: "The first step in becoming an animagus is finding your animal, which is usually done by meditation. Please stand up."  
Harry blinked in confusion, but rose with everybody else. With a flick of his mate's wand the desks and chairs were neatly piled into one corner and big, soft looking pillows appeared instead.  
"You will find an explanation for the meditation in your books and if you are at least a bit competent, you will at have a shape or colour at the end of this lesson. For homework I expect you all to practice every evening for at least twenty minutes. Begin," Lucius ordered.  
A shiver ran down his spine and his cock twitched again, he loved getting orders from his mate, it made him want to get to his knees and caress Lucius' body with his mouth, at least as soon as he found the courage to actually do so...  
"Well, let's get started," Ron grumbled and they pulled three pillows to a secluded corner near the staircase where they sat down, their backs leaning against the wall. Harry had followed him at a slower pace; careful of hiding his raging hard on. Oh how he wanted to press against Lucius right now and rub his heated flesh against his dominant's delicious body. He quickly pushed that little fantasy aside, before he could explode in his pants; that would be rather embarrassing.  
Opening the black journal, he saw that the first three pages where filled with the extract from some book and another page had a hand written list with all the steps of the meditation. He instantly recognized his mate's elegant writing and stroked tenderly over the page, before flipping back and starting to read.  
The extract was good, but the short list was even more helpful; this way, he could easily check which step followed after another. Laying the book open in front of him, he crossed his legs comfortably and closed his eyes. Everything was quiet around him; the task, combined with their stern teacher kept all mumbling and chattering and plain lazing about at bay.  
He quickly fell into a trance-like state, similar to his first days as a vampire when he was still under the influence of the unnatural sleep during day time. Meditating felt natural to him and he supposed that he could learn to live completely without sleep, if he replaced it with times of meditation. The fact that he did not have to regulate his breathing until it was even and that his heart almost always beat slowly and steadily helped also. The only time when his heart was beating more erratically, was when he was intimate with his mate or the aristocrat succeeded at getting him all flustered.  
Concentrating again, he saw golden lines in front of his eyes, like a beautiful, shimmering spider web. The golden threads grew bigger to the middle, where a huge dome of light was. Was this his magical core? One single silver thread went upwards and it reminded him of the substance memories were made of. He had mastered the first few steps of the meditation quite quickly: the calming of the beating of the heart beat, the entering and visualization of his inner world and he had even found his core already, but he didn't remember what came next.  
Sighing, he opened his eyes again and saw Ron still fidgeting, whilst Hermione already looked very relaxed. His fellow students were all in different states of reading or meditating. He spotted Lucius sitting behind his desk, watching the class attentively. He was a good teacher, Harry thought with a smile. The only thing was that he had to pretend to be a stuck up bastard, who hated Gryffindors. To be honest, he even believed that his mate really didn't like Gryffindors very much, but he had tried his best to be polite to his friends during their stay at Grimmauld Place. But this was no well hidden Safe House, where not even Lord Voldemort could enter. This was Hogwarts and many children of his former Death Eater colleagues were watching him. They had most likely even been order to keep an eye on him.  
Looking across the room, he frowned when he saw Pansy sitting directly in the line of sight of Lucius. The girl sat leaned against a wall, facing him, with her eyes closed. She was smarter than Ginny had been during the summer: her blouse was not unbuttoned inappropriately and her skirt not too short, but she sat in a way that made her blouse stretch the slightest bit over her breasts.  
Suppressing the urge to growl, he looked down at his instructions, he quickly read over them again, before the urge to rip the girl's head off could grow even stronger and closed his eyes once more. He had already noticed once that he could become very possessive, even as a submissive, but then again, vampire submissives were different from most other submissive creatures. They could be cocky and disobedient if they wanted to be and a vampire dominant did not have the power to lure their mate into something they didn't want to do. Of course he possessed all the typical submissive traits as well, like the mewing or purring; it made for an interesting combination, but until now, Lucius had only triggered his famous stubbornness once.  
Scolding himself inwardly for slacking in his mate's class, he finally concentrated back on the task at hand. The next step was apparently to get a feeling of his own essence, whatever that meant. Most likely, he should concentrate on his typical character traits and the little things, that made him a unique person. The book had said that if he concentrated enough and was completely in synchronization with himself, the picture of his animal should appear in front of him.  
This was much harder than the steps before, which had come naturally to him. Sometimes he believed he could see some shadows in front of his eyes, but they were quickly gone again and he could not even say if he had just imagined them. The scent of Lucius hanging potently in the air, his still fairly hard cock and the lingering coldness around his heart didn't help either; but he didn't allow himself to think about all those things, he wanted to make his dominant proud, like Nagini had suggested the evening before.  
Forty minutes later a shake of his shoulder pulled him from his trance:  
"Hey man, everything alright, or did you fall asleep?" Ron grinned at him.  
"Um...no...I was just...deep in concentration I guess," he mumbled and tried to get rid of the irritating feeling of being pulled so roughly from a deep meditation.  
"Let's go to lunch, I am starving and after that we have..." Ron babbled, whilst fumbling for his already wrinkled timetable.  
"Divination," he told him, remembering their timetable for the day.  
Ron made a face: "We really could drop that subject, I can tell you right now what Trelawney will say to us in her lesson."  
"That I will die a horrible and painful death," Harry chuckled, thinking that his death had been accompanied by being fucked into his dead relatives' mattress and a great orgasm. His cheeks reddened and he hastily cleared his throat: "Let's go then."  
They left the classroom and it took all of his willpower to not turn around and look longingly at his mate. Lucius could probably smell his still very prominent arousal and he felt the older man's intense gaze on his back, until he had rounded the next corner and was out of sight.  
When he sat down in his usual spot at the Gryffindor table, a note suddenly appeared on his plate in front of him. Picking it up curiously, he read the short note:

 **"I have bought too many Chocolate Frogs and need someone to help me with them. Meet me in half an hour,  
Albus."**

"I guess you will have to suffer through Trelawney's class alone, Albus wants to see me," he said at the questioning looks from his friends.  
Ron groaned: "Couldn't he have pulled you out of DADA? I need someone to play rock, paper, scissors!"  
"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "You should not play anything in your classes. Even though Divination is useless, you still need the grades."  
Harry watched his friends pile food onto their plates. He was relieved that they had accepted that he was not eating with them anymore. Ron and Hermione probably assumed he felt embarrassed about whatever he had to eat now. That was not true in the least, but he left them to their belief that he secretly ate tons of fruits or something equally harmless in his quarters.  
"So, what do you think about our new DADA teacher?" he asked curiously when his friends had finished filling their plates. He had a guess as to what they would tell him, but he wanted to know for sure.  
"Well...he really knows what we need to learn and his methods are very good," Hermione started hesitantly and exchanged a look with Ron.  
"But he is a right prick!" Ron added bluntly.  
Harry waved his wand quickly and drew up a privacy barrier. "He was, but you two also know that he tried his best at Grimmauld Place and that he is watched here. He has to act the part."  
Hermione sighed: "I know, but in contrast to the things Professor Snape always say, he is plainly mean and cruel. Snape calls us idiots and Malfoy makes allusions to our blood status, whilst being clever enough to phrase it in a way that we could never go and complain to another teacher about him."  
"Yeah, he really is intelligent," Harry mused a bit dreamily, but luckily neither of his friends had noticed anything.  
Hermione grabbed her goblet and turned back to her plate, before saying: "But like I said, he is a good teacher, maybe even better than Remus. I think he most likely has more experience than him."  
"To be honest," Ron confessed "I am really excited about becoming an animagus. What do you think I will be?"  
"I don't know," Harry said "but maybe something tall and red?"  
"Is there even a tall, red animal?" Ron asked.  
"Not many, but sometimes the fur of your animal can mirror one of your strongest physical features, so I think Harry might be right," Hermione mused.  
"And me?" Harry grinned at them and watched his friends frown.  
"That is really difficult to say. I could imagine you as something strong and catlike, due to your Gryffindor nature, but maybe you will take on the form of your Patronus... what kind of animal is your father?" Hermione asked.  
"I honestly don't know, but I wondered as well. Maybe I will ask him later if I get the chance," he mused and then looked at his watch: "Oh shit, I have to go. Have fun in classes," he said with a wink and quickly grabbed his bag.  
"Yeah, yeah, thank you very much," Ron muttered.  
In front of the gargoyle Harry gave the password, 'Chocolate Frogs' and quickly climbed up the staircase.  
"Come in," Albus said, even before he had touched the door to knock. The headmaster sat twinkling happily behind his large desk, a tea set in front of him and a single goblet in front of the free chair he had already conjured for him.  
"Hello, Professor," Harry greeted him and sat down.  
"There is no need to be so formal Harry, just continue to call me Albus," the old wizard said and pointed invitingly at the goblet. He picked it politely up, even though he didn't want to drink anything, but a sniff at the liquid made him stiffen. It was the spiked Pumpkin Juice his father had brewed at Grimmauld Place.  
He had been right after all; Albus once again knew things he shouldn't.  
"How did you find out?" he asked.  
"Ah, my boy. As the headmaster, I am connected to all kinds of wards. The castle picked up on your new magical signature as soon as you stepped in here after your transformation." Albus sighed and his face slightly fell: "I must admit I felt quite guilty. As your Headmaster, I should have protected you, but I wasn't able to at platform 9 ¾. But then I recognized two other changed signatures, both connected to you."  
"So you know that my father has transformed as well and who my mate is?" Harry asked, picking up the juice and taking a sip. He groaned; finally something that tasted good. Not as good as Lucius' blood of course, but still very good.  
"I know about you and Lucius and to be honest, I am glad that you are mated. Lucius is a very powerful wizard and could have become a great threat to you, but this way he will be a great defender," Albus admitted.  
"So...you have no problem with me...being a vampire?"  
"No, my dear boy. I would have wished an easier destiny for you, but it is no problem for me. Maybe your transformation is even something good; it gives you an advantage and a better chance of surviving this war. It would have been difficult, if you did not have a blood mate, but as it is, you are no threat to the other students and Professors."  
Relieved that his creature status would not get him into any more trouble, he asked: "Is there anything else you wanted to talk about with me?"  
"Yes, indeed. As your mentor, I have some say in your education," Albus said calmly. Harry only blinked at him, not knowing what the old wizard meant.  
"I would like you to drop two of your classes in favour of privately tutored lessons."  
"But then I won't have enough grades to pass, let alone to graduate in three years," Harry said and crossed his arms; he would not do this, he needed his graduation for his future, he planned on having a life after Voldemort.  
"Of course you need your education. I will grade you for these private lessons. It is a rare, but legal method. You will be able to graduate like everybody else," Albus explained.  
Harry sighed; that sounded better. "And what would these private lessons include?"  
"Ah, that is the interesting point. You already have all the theoretical knowledge you need, but that does not mean that you know how to use all those spells correctly. I have arranged for you to not only train with me, but also with Kingsley, Remus, Sirius and I think you should ask your father and mate as well. As far as I know, vampires learn how to fight in their natural way by fighting against each other."  
"Why so many different teachers?" Harry wondered.  
"Kingsley trains his Aurors not only magically, but also physically; he is also the best to educate someone in fighting strategies. Sirius was an Auror himself and Remus as a werewolf has even more power in his human form. As a vampire, you are immune to lycanthropy. This means that you will even be able to train with him on full moons. I know you want to solve this war peacefully, but you have to be prepared regardless."  
"I know, only because I don't attack the Death Eaters, doesn't mean that they will do the same," he sighed.  
"I fear not," Albus agreed and then asked: "Do you already have a plan?"  
"Actually I have," he said and placed his right hand with the Signet Ring on the desk. "I plan on using Voldemort's Horcruxes against him. First I wanted to destroy all pieces except for one, but then Hermione suggested that instead I collect them and try to rejoin him with Voldemort." he smirked, hoping that his plan would be approved.  
To his relief, the old man nodded and smirked as well. "Ah, I see. How Slytherin of you my boy, but we both know that you have the potential." Dumbledore's smirk mirrored his own and for a short moment, he wondered if the Headmaster could have been a Slytherin himself.  
"Well my boy," Dumbledore added "I believe it is wise to follow Miss Granger's suggestion."  
"Oh, before I forget it! I found the Founders and Merlin in my new quarters," Harry exclaimed suddenly; he nearly had forgotten that bit of news, but the mentioning of Slytherin had done the trick in reminding him.  
Dumbledore's eyes widened; it seems he didn't know 'everything' after all.  
"The Founders and Merlin?"  
"Yeah, didn't you ever notice the small falcon on the Hogwarts Signet Ring? It is a Merlin, his crest. Apparently he was their great-grandfather," Harry told him.  
"You truly have an amazing family, Harry Severus James Potter," Albus smiled.  
Harry smiled back at his mentor and then asked: "So, which classes will I drop and where will we train? I hope not in the great hall or somewhere equally obvious."  
"We will not train in the great hall, it could possibly frighten you fellow students, but I still have to come up with a good place. The room of requirements will not be strong enough to hold both our magical energies when we start to fight earnestly."  
Harry thought that it would be more than a possibility that the other students get frightened, if they saw him train with Albus, Remus or his mate.  
"As for the classes you will drop, it will be Divination and History of Magic. I know that they are both interesting classes, but they are also the ones who are the least useful for your life after Hogwarts," Albus said with a somewhat apologetic expression and Harry gave him an incredulous look. Divination and History of Magic important classes?  
"I am also currently collecting memories, which might help you find the Horcruxes. Tom was not always insane and will have them hidden quite thoroughly. To be frank, I believe that he was unaware of the piece of soul inside you, or he would have taken more advantage of it. He could have done much more harm than an occasional vision, regardless of how agonizing they were," Albus explained.  
"And Nagini? Was that a coincidence as well?" He asked.  
"I do not think so. It is more likely that Tom had planned on finding a fitting object and change the vessel of his soul piece, but for him it had to be meaningful and such an item is hard to find."  
He nodded in understanding; that sounded pretty likely. Voldemort would not put part of his soul in an empty butter beer bottle, even if it would be quite the good hiding place. He drank the rest of the juice and licked his lips contently, before looking up to his mentor again.  
"Well Harry, I will send for you as soon as I have found a room for our training," Albus said, closing the meeting.  
"Ok. Um...what do I do now...I mean, should I go to Divination one last time?" Harry inquired.  
"I don't think that this is necessary. Use the time for yourself; you have many duties on your shoulders," Albus answered with a smile.  
He skipped down the stairs, happy that he did not need to suffer through his two most hated classes any longer. Arriving in front of his private quarters, he saw Nagini just entering them.  
" _How did you open the door?"_ He asked her in astonishment.  
 _"I am bonded to you, I don't need a password,"_ Nagini hissed in explanation.  
 _"Oh...that sounds useful,"_ he blinked and followed her inside.  
Going to the living room, he decided to make some plans for the Order; he still had to change a lot about it and now he had time.  
"Good day, Harry," Rowena and Godric greeted him.  
"Good day to you too," he replied and chuckled at the other, quietly snoring portraits.  
"How was your day?" Godric asked curiously and looked down at him, as he made himself comfortable on the creamy leather couch.  
"My day was good. My mate surprised me, he is the new DADA teacher," he grinned happily.  
"That is good, you have been mated for too short a time to live without your mate for long," Rowena said and smiled softly. "I am looking forwards to meeting him," she mused. Harry hoped she would not ask Lucius to strip for her as well; his mate would not oblige so willingly and to be honest, a single look at the aristocrat should be enough to warn every sane witch and wizards to not ask the man such a question in the first place.  
Justitius came fluttering from somewhere in his quarters and chirped happily, before nuzzling his cheek and hanging himself upside down on his sleeve. He meanwhile pulled out a quill and some parchment and started to think about where he should start.  
First of all, he needed to find out who might be interested in joining him. His friends would be able to help with that, but they didn't know everybody either. Looking down, his eyes landed on Nagini.  
 _"How much of the human language do you understand?"_ He asked her.  
 _"I cannot speak your language, but since my bonding I have come to understand more of it; but I could always read humans quite easily. Your kind smells of every emotion you experience,"_ she answered from her spot on a soft carpet.  
 _"I need to find out which students would want to help me defeat your old master,"_ Harry told her. _"Could you help me with that?"_  
 _"I will look around a bit,"_ she agreed.  
Hoping that he had not just set a giant, 10 foot long snake loose on the student body, he thanked her. _"Thanks. Please try not to scare them."_  
 _"I do not scare anybody who does not deserve it,"_ Nagini huffed. It probably would not help to try to explain to her that most humans are frightened of such huge reptiles, even if it had not lived with Voldemort for over a decade, so he simply returned to his parchment.  
Maybe he should install a second headquarters for the young members of the Order? Grimmauld Place was getting too small and frankly, it could be quite bothersome to live with so many adults sometimes. Especially Molly, who often wanted to protect them from things they did not need to be protected from or ordered them around like little children. But where? He would need powerful wards, maybe even a Fidelius Charm or... Harry smiled suddenly. Or he could use Privet Drive. It was very well protected, even without a Fidelius Charm. They would have to renovate the place to make it more comfortable for wizard and maybe they should enlarge it magically, but Hermione would surely help research the necessary spells. He made a mental note to ask her at dinner.  
Being satisfied with his ideas so far, he decided to take Albus at his word and do something for himself. Ten minutes later he was on the Quidditch pitch with an excited bat and mounted his broom. He flew for the whole afternoon and even forgot that he had promised his friends to explore his new quarters with them. Ron, who had finally spotted him from Gryffindor Tower, joined him an hour before dinner.  
When they met Hermione later in the great hall, she wrinkled her nose in offense at Ron's dishevelled and sweaty appearance and blinked in surprise at him; he looked as if he had just lay lazily in bed and not flown for the last four hours. His hair was messed, but he was not out of breath and most importantly not sweaty.  
He cast the silencing spell again, before turning to the girl: "I wanted to ask you if you could help me with some research," he started.  
Hermione's face lit instantly up: "Of course. What do you need to research?"  
"Count on her, if you need to find out something," Ron commented and piled some potatoes on her plate, more than she would probably be able to eat. Harry snorted, before explaining: "I plan on renovating Privet Drive and making a second headquarters out of it."  
Hermione frowned. "You want to close Grimmauld Place?"  
"No, I just want to add a second one. Grimmauld Place is getting too small, even if I don't recruit new members and I thought it would be nice to have a separate place for...you know..." Harry fidgeted nervously; he didn't want to offend anybody.  
"For the younger ones?" Hermione suggested helpfully.  
"Yes," he agreed with a blush, feeling a bit uncomfortable to hear his rude thoughts aloud.  
Ron beamed excitedly at him: "That's great Harry. Mum is nice and all, but she gets on my nerve whenever the Order is mentioned."  
"That's about what I thought too," Harry admitted, glad that his friend was not offended.  
"But Privet Drive? It is a muggle house," Ron complained.  
"To choose Privet Drive is actually a brilliant idea. The house already has strong wards and with some spells, we will be able to change it enough for wizards to live there comfortably," Hermione said and pulled a parchment and a quill from her bag and started to scribble down notes.  
Ron's face suddenly brightened as well: "We will annoy the hell out of your not-so-late-family," he snickered.  
"It will already annoy them to see magic used in their precious house. They still believe that it's theirs, not even Lucius could make them see reason," Harry told Ron and looked up at the head table, but his mate was not yet there.  
"So, what did Professor Dumbledore want?" Hermione questioned.  
Harry grinned and winked at Ron, his friend would be so pissed. "He told me that I don't need to go to Divination and History of Magic. Instead I get private tutoring."  
"You're not serious, are you?" Ron pleaded.  
Harry laughed at his exaggerated quivering bottom lip: "I have to learn how to use all the knowledge that the ritual put in my head."  
Sighing, Ron admitted: "I guess you are right. But why those two classes?"  
"Because," Hermione said knowingly. "The chance for Harry not needing any of those classes in his life is high and if he miraculously finds his burning passion for History of Magic, he can just buy a book. That really is a topic you don't need a teacher for."  
Ron laughed so hard at the image of him finding his 'burning passion' for History of Magic, that the gulp of Pumpkin Juice he had taken a second before came back out of his nose.  
"Oh Ron, you are such a pig!" Hermione exclaimed and shoved a napkin in his face.  
Meanwhile, his attention had shifted to the great double doors of the hall. Lucius had just entered and strode with long, confident strides over to the other teachers. Harry followed the movements of his strong leg muscles, which showed just enough through the expensive fabric of Lucius' pants to drive him crazy.  
He quickly averted his eyes, before his cock decided to stir again.  
"Harry, if you are finished we could go to your rooms and look around a bit," Ron pulled him out of his musing and made a motion to the doors with his head.  
"Sure. You know that I am finished," he said.  
"Just being polite," Ron replied with a grin.  
They returned to his room and started their investigation without delay. The bedrooms were all located at the end of the long Hallway and it was easy to guess which one had belonged to whom. He was sure that his father and mate would love Slytherin's former quarters, with its rich greens, light silvers and dark wooden furniture.  
Rowena's bedroom was more of a small library with a bed in it than anything else. One closet stood in one corner, a desk in another and the rest was filled with bookshelf after bookshelf. Helga's rooms where light, with light furniture and soft yellow walls. They also discovered a couple of bedrooms, but Hermione was quickly becoming a bit miffed, when they had yet to find the library.  
"Wow! Harry look at this!" Ron exclaimed, his head was peeking into a room, they had yet to examine.  
"What is it?" Harry asked and followed him.  
"I told you that you would have a pool!" Harry could hear the grin in his friend's voice and peeked inside the room as well. "This is not a pool," Harry said and started to grin as well: "This is even better!"  
The room was made from rich marble and there were three basins. Two were fairly large, rectangular and inserted into the ground, whilst the third one was smaller, round and sat on a stone pedestal between the other two. Steam was coming from this one and he could hear the silent popping of bubbles.  
"They all have different temperatures," Hermione said, who had stuck a hand in the two larger basins and was now eyeing the whirlpool.  
"This would be perfect for a party! We could organize a welcoming party for the new Order Members! You would be the hero of our school!" Ron said excitedly and then blushed: "Um...I mean, the hero for something other than just living." he teased. Ron and Hermione knew very well how he felt about his 'hero' status. He had never believed that he deserved all the fame. He had done nothing but survive on sheer luck. If someone should be praised, then it should be his late mother and uncle.  
"That sounds like fun," Harry grinned and then asked: "Want to try the whirlpool?" With a flick of his new wand, he had transformed all their clothing into swimwear and ran over to the round basin, Ron hot on his heels, but Hermione said:  
"I will join you soon, but first I will search for the library. There has to be one somewhere."  
"Do that, Mione," Harry grinned and dived into the hot water. Of course, it did not really feel hot for him; not even warm for that matter, but it was heavenly to float on his back and let himself be massaged by the bubbles.  
Ron had draped his long arms over the edge of the pool and sighed blissfully: "Don't freak when you find me in here every evening. I bet after a rough Quidditch practice it is even better."  
"Or after my training with Dumbledore," Harry agreed, wondering whether a vampire could get sore muscles.  
"That will be tough, man. I honestly don't envy you. Sure, it is great to have such a powerful mentor, but I bet the old coot will turn out to be more than sugar and candy," Ron mused.  
"He has to be, or he would never have survived the fight against Voldemort for so long," he agreed.  
Ron flinched next to him: "Hey, I want to relax. Call him You-Know-Who for once."  
"Sorry," Harry hummed and looked up when he heard Hermione returning.  
"Have you found the library?" He asked and watched her disappointed expression.  
"I have and it is really impressive, like a whole tower with shelves up to the very top," she told them. He could honestly not imagine a library like that. How would he get to a book at the top? Just randomly conjuring them? He would figure that out later and asked the question Hermione was waiting for: "Why the crestfallen look then?"  
"Because I can't read a single one of them," she huffed in annoyance.  
Ron snorted: "I can't believe it. If you had told me that I have forgotten how to read, that would be something else, but you... never," he snickered.  
"I didn't say I forgot how to read, it's just the script," she glared at him and held up a book at a random page.  
Harry stared at it for a moment and then recognized the little signs: "That's Parselscript!"  
"Parsel-what?" Ron asked.  
"Script, Parselscript. It is writing only Parselmouthes possess. I used it to bind Nagini and Lucius to me when we first arrived at Privet Drive," Harry explained and then asked his female friend: "Are you sure they are all written in this script? I mean, only Slytherin was a Parselmouth and maybe Merlin..."  
"I even tried to accio a book in English, but nothing," she said and laid the book on a stone bench before sliding into the water as well.  
"Strange," Harry muttered and when he saw the empty portrait on one wall he shouted: "Hey Merlin, I have a question. Would you come to the bath please?"  
A moment later not only Merlin, but also all his great-grandchildren appeared and squeezed into the portrait.  
"Yes?" asked Merlin and his green eyes twinkled as merrily as Dumbledore's blue ones.  
"Hermione said that there are only books written in Parselscript in the library, is that true?" He asked. When Merlin nodded, he inquired: "How so? I thought only Slytherin could speak Parseltongue."  
Godric grumbled something and turned his back to them.  
"I am the most talented at Parseltongue," Salazar drawled and Merlin threw him a disapproving look. "With the exception of Grandpa of course, but we are all gifted in some way."  
"Gifted in some way?" Hermione questioned.  
"Yes, Salazar and Rowena can speak and write the snake language, like I myself," Merlin explained. "But Helga and Godric only can write and understand it, but somehow they never learned to also speak it. This was especially difficult for Godric and did not come as easily as for my other grandchildren. We often used the Parselscript as a safety method, but there is a charmed parchment on one desk. You just have to add the names of those who you want to allow to read the books and they will be able to, as long as they stay in your quarters."  
Hermione sighed in relief.  
"What do you mean that Parseltongue did not come as easily to Godric?" Ron asked and Harry could hear Godric mutter some obscenities.  
Merlin smiled down at them softly, before elaborating: "While the others could naturally speak or at least write and understand the language, Godric had to actually learn it."  
"No wonder that there is no Gryffindor with this gift besides Harry," Ron muttered.  
"There is no other Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff either," he reminded him.  
"Really? How unfortunate," Merlin sighed.  
"Do I assume correctly when I say that there are speaking Slytherins?" Salazar smirked.  
"Yes, but only one; your self-declared heir. We are the two last ones with this gift," Harry told him and Salazar's face fell as well.  
They talked for another hour when Hermione declared that she and Ron had to go back to the common room because curfew was only 30 minutes away. Harry spelled their clothes back on and they agreed on meeting the next morning in his living room at eight, because they had a free double period first thing.  
"You still have to establish doors," Merlin said suddenly, appearing in a portrait in the hallway.  
"Doors?" Harry asked, suspecting that he didn't mean the normal ones.  
"Yes, when you say 'door' and where it should lead in Parseltongue, whilst pressing your wand to the wall, then a door will appear, which leads directly to the destination," the wizard said.  
"Really? Then my mate could visit me more easily," He grinned and went over to the wall next to the door which lead to the rest of the castle. _"Door, Lucius' private quarters,"_ he hissed and a door appeared. There was no indication as to where it lead to and he was relieved. But he would only test it after he had told his mate about it, in case the man did not appreciate his sudden appearance. He created a second door to his father and even one to Dumbledore. Not even ten second later, Dumbledore's door opened and the Headmaster peeked inside:  
"Oh, my boy, I wondered what kind of door this was," the old wizard said, apparently as curious as all Gryffindors.  
Smiling sheepishly, Harry explained: "Merlin told me I could create shortcuts and I thought it would be easier this way, with me as your apprentice and the whole Order business."  
Maybe he should have asked first. Somehow, he hadn't imagined that the doors would work both ways.  
"That is quite alright, my dear boy. Ah, is that Merlin?" Albus glided past him and stepped in front of the portrait Merlin currently resided in.  
"The similarity is astonishing," Albus mumbled.  
"You must be Dumbledore, the current headmaster," Merlin greeted his very similar counterpart.  
"I am, but it is enough when you call me Albus, I am after all only a wizard, who leads this school for your great-grandchildren," Albus replied politely.  
"How is my heir doing?" Merlin asked and Harry groaned inwardly, when Albus answered: "He is quite the special child, if you would like to accompany me to my office, I could tell you some amazing stories about him. I think Harry would like to go to bed soon. He has classes tomorrow after all."  
Great, Harry thought as he watched both old men disappear again. Now, he had two old geezers at his neck. A dream come true. He watched Nagini opening the door to the huge bathroom and decided that he really would just go to bed. He didn't yet have much to do. Classes were starting slowly and except for meditating, he had no homework.  
Hoping that his mate would come by soon so that he could finally tell him about his feelings, he went into his bedroom and simply undressed, before climbing under the covers and extinguishing the torches for the night. Making himself more comfortable, he closed his eyes and decided to meditate for half an hour before he would actually go to sleep.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius left Severus' private rooms, his cane in his left hand, a smug smirk tucking at his lips and made his way up to his own. He had visited his friend a few times in the past and had known how to find the Potion Masters quarters. On his way through the dark corridors, he thought about his first day as a teacher. When he had bonded to Harry, he had known instantly that he had to find a way to stay at his little submissive's side and with Harry in possession of his 'Lord's Horcrux', it had not been very complicated to convince the dark wizard that a second Death Eater at Hogwarts would be a good idea.  
The Dark Lord of course had no idea that the Horcrux was already safely sealed away, but he would not enlighten the man. First, he had wondered how it was possible for his former master to not feel the loss of a piece of his soul, but considering that the crazy man had split his soul into seven pieces, it was very likely that the pieces did not have enough power anymore to remain connected to the main soul like it was usually supposed to be with Horcruxes. Well, that was the result when a Halfblood tried soul magic; it could only go wrong, he sneered inwardly.  
Dumbledore had been rather opposed towards his new teacher and had tried everything to convince the Ministry to send somebody else, but he had called in some favours and the old coot had not been able to remove him from his new position. In the Ministry, his request to be sent to Hogwarts as a Professor had gained him some odd looks, but no one dared to question a Malfoy, not even the Minister, or more precisely: Especially not the Minister.  
Dumbledore had quickly backed off after he had been introduced as a spy by Harry and after he had gone to the old wizard a second time. The old man probably once again knew more than was healthy for the meddling old fool, or anybody around him, but at least he had granted his request to arrive at Hogwarts a day later. The Headmaster's eyes had twinkled knowingly and agreed without further questions.  
His little submissive's surprised look when he had entered the Gryffindor's class had been worth all the difficulties. His gape would surely have been suspicious if everybody else had not been gaping as well. What had been even more exciting than his mate's shocked expression, had been the strong smell of arousal that had started to emanate from the boy only moments after his arrival. He would like to know what exactly had triggered this reaction so that he could use it to his advantage. Harry was his little mate and he loved the child, but he was still a Slytherin.  
Thinking about Harry, he decided to search out the boy and pay him a late night visit, maybe he could relieve him of some of his earlier 'tension'. Licking his lips, he turned in the direction of the Gryffindor Tower. His mate would most likely want to be as close to his friends as possible.  
When he arrived at the repugnant portrait which guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor tower, he was pleased to see that he had been right. Next to the portrait was a door with a Merlin and the Hogwarts Crest on it. To his surprise, the door swung open as soon as he was close enough. He had expected to have to guess the right password, but maybe the magic of the castle had recognized him as Harry's mate.  
The hallway he entered lit up as soon as he stepped inside, but he had no eye for the beauty of the Founders Quarters and instead sniffed the air to find out where exactly Harry was. He could smell his little mate, but also Granger and Weasley and even Nagini and his little bat. He quickly picked up the strongest smell and went down the long corridor, until he stopped in front of a door to his right.  
Hesitating a moment, he forewent knocking and just stepped inside silently, maybe he could surprise his mate a bit.  
A small smile tucked at his lips, when he saw his little submissive lying under a heavy, red comforter, already fast asleep. He lay on his stomach and his arms were wrapped around a pillow. Lucius' heart skipped a beat when he heard Harry mumbling "Lucius" in his sleep. His Harry was dreaming about him.  
He crept closer and carefully removed the blanket from the boy, thinking that the innocent looking child must have done the exact same only a day ago.  
Harry's smooth, nearly translucent skin came into view and he growled in appreciation at the sight of his naked mate. His eyes roamed those small, but very round and perfect buttocks in front of him; they drove him crazy on a daily basis knowing that they hid the precious entrance to his mate.  
Letting the blanket fall carelessly to the floor, he carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and started to stroke sinful patterns over Harry's back. If life would grant him so much freedom, he would be content to just caress Harry's soft skin all day long. He felt Harry shiver underneath him and heard him moan silently. To evoke such a reaction from his mate was wonderful. Climbing onto the bed, he proceeded to carefully massage his little mate. Oh how he loved touching Harry. Harry sighed in contentment and shifted a bit closer to him, seeking his body heat.  
He had never massaged Harry before and was surprised to find hard muscles under his pale skin. He had already wondered where the strength of a submissive vampire would come from, seeing that the boy looked as if he did not possess a single muscle on his body, but now he could feel that it wasn't just bones under his flesh. That of course didn't mean that the boy was even remotely as strong as he, but he would not have any problems with a human.  
Leaning forwards, he nuzzled Harry's slender neck and pressed a second kiss to it, making him shiver. His roaming hands moved lower, but he had no plans on moving them to more private areas than his mate's back and legs. As a dominant, his sexual urges were strong, but Harry had shown him that there was an intimacy that did not require sexual contact. After his transformation and bonding to the child-vampire, Lucius had expected that it would be difficult to refrain from taking Harry again. Like most Purebloods, he knew everything about physical desire and how to please a body, but Harry was the first one who had taught him how to love, and now it was easier to relish in the small kisses and embraces he got from his mate.  
He had never told Harry how difficult it had sometimes been in the beginning and always reassured the young submissive that it was fine if he took his time to get comfortable in their relationship and the trust he had returned for his patience was well worth every unattended hard-on. He would never think otherwise.  
"Lucius?" Harry's soft voice pulled him from his musings and he startled a bit. He had been so deep in thoughts that he had not noticed his little submissive waking up.  
"Yes, Harry, it is me."

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry sat up and rubbed his eyes. He still felt tired, but he couldn't just fall back asleep when his mate was right there.  
"What time is it?" He asked and climbed into Lucius' lap, snuggling against his strong chest.  
"Only one in the morning," his mate said and pressed a light kiss on the top of his head.  
Snuggling even closer, he laid his head on the strong shoulder in front of him. It was so nice to have Lucius with him again. All day long he had itched to just go up to his mate and kiss him. To see the aristocrat walk through the halls of the castle he considered home, which was actually his home now, had made his heart flutter, or maybe it was still the realization that he had fallen in love with the man.  
Suddenly it struck him: This was the perfect opportunity!  
But just then all his stupid fears came back. What if Lucius laughed at him after all? What if he didn't want such a deep relationship? Many men preferred loose arrangements; he had gathered that much from the boy's conversations in the Gryffindor Common Room. He fidgeted a bit, remembered the rule about fidgeting, stopped and instead started to bite on his bottom lip.  
"Harry, is something wrong?" Lucius asked with concern, but it didn't register in his mind.  
Maybe he shouldn't tell his mate, but then again, he would hate to keep something from Lucius, especially something that felt so important to him. A hand cupped his cheek and he was startled.  
"Harry, is there something you want to tell me?"  
He blinked; had Lucius already asked him the question before? Seeing his dominant's frown, he thought so.  
He started to fidget again, but strong hands descended on his hips and quickly held him in place. "Um...yeah...I guess..." he stuttered nervously, still not sure if he should tell Lucius or not.  
"Is it important?" Lucius asked. His mate looked at him in open concerned and he realized, whether he wanted to tell him or not, he should decide quickly, before he could agitate Lucius even further. But maybe this was a good sign? Lucius had to feel something more than lust for him if he was concerned, didn't he?  
"Harry, tell me what it is. Is it important?" his mate repeated and tightened his grip around his waist.  
Making up his mind, he finally mumbled: "It is something important... at least, I think so." He was not even blushing, he was that nervous. He had never confessed his feelings for anybody: of course not, he had never been in love before. This was even harder than asking Cho Chang to be his date for the Yule Ball last year.  
"Tell me Harry, or I won't be able to help you," his mate coaxed him and he realized that his nervousness had made Lucius seriously worried.  
"I...IthinkIloveyou," he mumbled so quietly and quickly, that not even his dominant's sharp vampire ears were able to pick it up.  
"What, Harry? Please repeat that a bit louder."  
"I love you!" he blurted out, nearly shouting this time and then went beet red. Lucius only stared at him in utter shock, his eyes were huge and wide and Harry could see the surprise all over his mate's face; that was something new.  
But when his mate continued to stare at him in shock, he grew nervous again and shifted to slide out of Lucius' lap feeling hurt and mortified. Lucius didn't want to hear about his feelings; this had been a mistake and now he had ruined everything.  
Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around his body and hugged him fiercely against his mate's body.  
"I love you too Harry," Lucius whispered, before claiming his mouth in a desperate kiss. Harry moaned at the sudden intrusion and then mewled submissively when Lucius pushed him into the mattress and covered his small body with his own.  
His submissive side purred in contentment and the fluttering feeling in his stomach grew stronger with every second and warmth spread into every cell. He closed his eyes in happiness. Lucius loved him as well. His mate had fallen in love with him too. He was so happy. This was the best day of his life.  
Wrapping his arms around Lucius' neck, he pulled the man even closer, as strong hands roamed, stroked and caressed him. Lucius pulled away and he mewed in disappointment, but his mate's lips where on him again in an instant. The soft kisses grew to demanding and bruising nips as Lucius proceeded to mark every inch of his skin. Harry shuddered under the onslaught of sensations. He could feel his mate's fangs drawing little droplets of blood before he licked his precious life essence up with his soft tongue and his claws dug into his skin. All his little arteries and veins were so sensitive and Lucius knew exactly how to drive him even faster into a blissful insanity.  
He moaned in pleasure at a nip at one particularly sensitive spot just below his ribs and his cock started to harden.  
"Harry," Lucius breathed against him and small tingles spread all over his body.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

"Lucius, please," he moaned and tugged at Lucius' robe. He wanted to feel his mate's skin on his. Lucius obliged without hesitation and a second later his expensive robes lay crumpled on the ground. As soon as he saw that his dominant had discarded his clothes, he pulled him back down. A moan tore from his throat at the delicious skin to skin contact; this was so much better.  
Now it was his turn to lick and nip every inch of Lucius he could reach, which was not much because the dominant man still lay on top of him, but it didn't bother him. A heavy, vibrating purr started in his chest and he made little, happy mewing noises as he happily sucked on Lucius' neck, shoulder, collarbone and everything else he could reach. Lucius shifted a bit, accidentally rubbing his thigh over his sensitive cock. Gasping, he pushed into the touch, rubbing himself desperately against his stronger mate. The warm feeling was still fluttering excitedly in Harry's chest, but lust was slowly clouding his mind. Lucius shifted again and suddenly his small cock was pressed against a bigger one and he groaned in need, when Lucius ground into him.  
This was so good, he wanted more, needed more. His body was burning with passion and need and only his mate could cool his heated flesh down again.  
"More," he gasped and his small hands found their way to Lucius tight boxers, trying to pull them down, but his mate stopped him. He frowned in confusion at the hands that held his own in place and then at his mate.  
"Harry, are you sure?" Lucius asked him gently and suddenly he understood. His mate wanted to know how far he wanted to go. Even during the moment of passion, Lucius was still thinking about him. Harry felt as if his heart would burst at that moment from the love he felt for his mate.  
Thinking quickly about what he wanted, he mumbled: "I just...want to feel you. Like just now...but without the fabric between us," and tugged at the pants again. Lucius lifted his hips so that they could slide down and before he could realize it, the boxers were gone and hot flesh pressed deliciously against his cock. He groaned into Lucius mouth, who captured the sound with a deep kiss. He welcomed Lucius' tongue back into him. His dominant seemed to burn as hot as he himself, his large penis was throbbing with need, sending shivers up his spine as he wrapped his legs around Lucius' strong hips, urging him even closer.  
His hips started to move automatically when Lucius deepened the kiss even further and the pleasure in his lower abdomen grew stronger. He had never experienced anything that felt as good as the friction of his and his mate's cocks thrusting against each other, meeting each other; with the exception of his mating maybe, but it was a blur in his mind and he could only remember that it had felt good, but not how good exactly.  
Lucius was much stronger than him, but he left him enough space to meet his dominant's thrusts, even though he could just have rubbed himself against his mate. His heart pounded heavily with the knowledge of how much Lucius always gave him, and he arched his hips again.  
He could never feel used, because their intercourse was always an interaction, a show of love, he realized now. Thrusting up again, Harry could feel his balls tightening and Lucius' shaft was also pulsating even more violently against his by now.  
"Close!" he moaned and suddenly felt his mate's large hand grasp the back of his head and pressing him down onto his neck. Not needing to ask what Lucius meant, he opened his mouth and sank his fangs into his dominant's soft skin. The same warm feeling that fluttered in his chest floated into him through Lucius' blood. It tasted even sweeter than the last time he had tasted it and as he thrust up again, meeting his dominant's pulsing member, he exploded. Lucius thrust three more times, until he had fully spent himself and then came with a hoarse shout as well.  
Harry took another gulp as hot cum spread between their bodies.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

The purr that had stopped sometime during their love making came back with full force and his mate chuckled silently above him. After one last mouth full of blood, he carefully pulled his fangs out and licked the punctured wound to stop the bleeding, before resting his head on his mate's shoulder.  
"I am so happy," he mumbled blissfully and nuzzled his Lucius' chest.  
"So am I," Lucius whispered and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.  
Harry scooted even closer, wishing he could just melt into his mate and inhaled the alluring scent that was Lucius Malfoy. He could not believe his luck: He was mated, he was in love and he was loved back in return.  
Had someone told him even half a year ago, that he would experience all this with Lucius Malfoy of all people, he would have laughed at them. But this was the truth. What had he ever done to deserve such a gorgeous and caring mate? Lucius Malfoy was perfection in every aspect, not only his looks; and he would never let go of him, regardless of how unfitting he thought himself to be sometimes. But thanks to his dominant, even those self doubts grew lesser and lesser by the day and by now he could look into a mirror and see his own beauty; that was all thanks to the amazing aristocrat next to him.  
He sighed happily, the sound carrying all the feelings he felt at that moment and said once again: "I love you, Lucius. So much."  
Lucius tightened his grip around his small body and answered: "I love you too. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I will never let you go."  
Smiling contently, Harry closed his eyes and just relished in his mate's steady heartbeat next to his ear. They lay there for a long time and he was about to fall asleep, when suddenly a burning pain shot through his head and his muscles cramped. He gasped at the sudden agony, tears pricking in the corner of his eyes. Lucius had shot up next to him, but his head was pounding and he could only see a blurry outline of Lucius. The feeling not as bad as the pain he had experienced during numerous visions by far, but it was still very uncomfortable.  
"Harry, what is happening?" Lucius asked desperately, but he was too overwhelmed by the feeling of sudden, raging anger that fluted at his awareness. Never had he experienced something like this before, it felt as if he was actually feeling these feelings, as if they were his own and at the same time, he could clearly say that they weren't. Something like this should not be possible, it was paradox.  
"Harry, please, speak to me!" Suddenly he noticed that he lay not on the bed any longer, but in Lucius' lap. His mate had picked him up and was now cradling him against his chest, but Harry had been so disturbed by the foreign emotions, that he hadn't noticed it.  
Forcing himself to answer, he tried to explain what he was feeling: "He...is angry..." he gasped. The pain was subsiding, but now the feeling was even more prominent without the other sensation to distract him. "He is so angry... and hurt. He cannot stand pain... he cannot stand 'this'..."  
"Who is...?" Lucius started to ask, but then hissed and pressed his right hand to his left forearm.  
Harry nearly fell out of Lucius' lap at the sudden motion, the jolting making his muscles cramp again, but his mate caught him quickly, his face still contorted in pain.  
"He is summoning me," Lucius hissed in the same moment as Harry's bedroom door flew open.  
Their heads instantly snapped to the intruder and they both sighed in relief, when they recognized, who it was:  
"Daddy," Harry croaked.  
"Harry, what is wrong? You should not have any visions anymore," Severus was over at his side with two long strides.  
"I didn't, but he is so angry," he answered weakly, his muscles were still cramping under the onslaught of Voldemort's fury.  
For a moment, he could see all the concern in his father's black eyes, before it hardened and he said: "Lucius, we have to go now,"  
Lucius gave his friend a filthy glare: "You do not honestly believe that I will leave my mate alone when he is hurting?" He snapped angrily and tightened his grip around him. He whimpered slightly when the possessive touch made his pained muscles burn like fire. His mate instantly loosened his grip around him, but continued to glare at his father; but the man held the gaze unwaveringly:  
"If you don't go, then all your efforts to become a spy will be wasted and you will not be able to help Harry anymore. I hate to leave him like this as well, but we have no choice. He survived this for months without us and he will again," Severus said harshly and spelled a set of black robes onto his friend's still naked body, before doing the same with a sweat pants for him as well.  
Trying to shove the aching of his body and the turmoil of his feelings to the side he said: "Ron and Hermione know what to do, they have helped me before."  
Nodding, his father conjured a Patronus and sent it off. Absentmindedly, Harry noticed that it was a stag, but a black one. A small vial was pressed against his lips and he swallowed the disgusting liquid without any protest, before he was lifted from Lucius' lap and laid back onto the bed.  
Lucius growled angrily, but Severus only said: "Harry will not be alone; Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger should arrive at any moment." As soon as he had closed his mouth, Harry's bedroom door flew open again and a dishevelled looking Ron and a equally tousled Hermione ran into the room. Harry saw his friend's eyes widening in shock at the sight of him lying next to an angry looking Lucius Malfoy, whilst Severus Snape towered in front of them, face once again unreadable.  
"Come on, Lucius," Severus said and the protective aristocrat finally moved.  
Turning to the newly arrived teenagers the dark man said: "Keep an eye on him and here is another pain potion if he needs it. We have to go now," before pressing another vial into Hermione's hands, before storming out, closely followed by Harry's still angry mate.


	20. Chapter 20: New Plans For The Order

**Chapter 20: New Plans for the Order**

 **HP**

Harry groaned as he tried to shift to a more comfortable position and his muscles protested. This seemed to pull his friends out of their shocked stupor at finding Lucius Malfoy in bed with him. It probably was more the fact that the aristocrat had been there in the first place than anything else, because Lucius had luckily been fully dressed again and had sat next to him and not laid.  
"Oh Harry!" Hermione exclaimed and rushed over to him to help him turn onto his side.  
Ron also climbed onto the bed and asked: "What happened? I thought you can't have visions anymore?"  
Gasping, he tried to answer: "Not a vision... only feelings. Angry...he is angry...as if, I feel it myself and... I believe...he is hurt." He wasn't sure if his explanation made any sense, but his friends seemed to get the gist of it because they lay down next to him, like they had done so often in the past. Hermione took his shaking hands and held them firmly, whilst Ron wrapped an arm around him.  
"You are so cold," Hermione said and rubbed his hands between her own.  
His muscles cramped again, as a new wave of anger swamped over him.  
"Harry, have I ever told you the story of how Quidditch was invented?" Ron asked suddenly. It usually was like that when he was too distressed by a vision he had just witnessed, or a nightmare of the Dursley's or the graveyard to participate in a conversation: One of his friends would start to tell a story, it was always a funny one, or an adventures one, like a fairytale, but never something serious. It helped him to concentrate on something positive and relaxe again.  
"No," he answered, shaking his head.  
Ron smiled and lay down behind him, saying: "Then I will tell you the story. The name of the family isn't known anymore and neither how many sons they had exactly, but they were all in love with the same beautiful girl," the redhead started. "It was the youngest of them, who had won the heart of the young witch. He went to the nearest city and bought an impressive diamond ring to confess his feelings to her and ask her for her hand in marriage."  
Hermione giggled and stopped for a moment to massage his strained hands. She had found out that his whole body started to relax as soon as the stress was worked out of his hands.  
"However, his brothers intercepted him as he returned to their family manor to change into his most expensive robes and being jealous, one of them hexed the diamond ring to fly away, but the younger brother was determined to win his love and quickly summoned his broom to capture the ring."  
Harry smiled slightly. He didn't believe that this story was actually true, but it was a beautiful story and it fulfilled the job of distracting him from Voldemort's feelings. Quidditch was something he liked and something he could easily concentrate on and Ron really was a good story teller.  
"When the others saw him leaping into the air, they grew even angrier and started to hex all kinds of objects to try and blast him from his broom. Some, they just shot into the air with a spell; others were charmed to follow him. But the young brother, being very talented with a broom, avoided each one of them and finally captured the ring," Ron continued.  
Harry felt his eyes slowly drooping, but he wanted to know how the tale ended: "How did the story end, did he marry the girl?"  
His friend shook his head behind him. "When the young man went to her, he found her kissing someone else. The girl had been after their money, and deceived not only him, but all his brothers as well. He went home again and reconciled with his brothers. It didn't matter to her which one she would marry, as long as she married into their rich family. The brothers were so happy that none of them had married that false girl that every year on the same day they hexed the ring again and tried to capture it as a way of reminding themselves that they nearly had destroyed their relationships over a witch."  
His friend lowered his voice as he told the end of the tale, apparently noticing that he was falling asleep. "The game became tradition and with time people exchanged objects with balls and formed teams to play against each other. It still took about a hundred years before they added goals for balls for those who tried to knock the players off of their brooms."

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius entered the big, hall like throne room, where the Dark Lord usually held his Death Eater Meetings. Severus was striding behind him, his mask covering his face, but he knew that it would have shown nothing, even without the white covering. He himself had finally gotten a grip on his raging feelings, but it had been difficult. As Harry's dominant he should be by his side, but Severus was right: It would not help Harry if he lost his role as a spy.  
The doors in front of them opened automatically and for a moment he was surprised to see the room empty with the exception of the Dark Lord and a quivering muggle at his old master's feet. Blood was running from the half dead person's mouth and he could see the tale tell signs of overuse use of the Cruciatus Curse.  
"Finally!" The hissy voice spoke and in the next moment the pale wand of their cruel master was pointed at Severus and he hissed: "Crucio!"  
Lucius didn't flinch when his best friend fell to the ground, writhing in agony, but no sound left the Potions Master's mouth. He, like Lucius himself, was too proud to scream. Lucius also didn't show any sign that he had seen a slight tremor in his 'Lord's' wand hand.  
After half a minute the curse was lifted and Severus stood up again; on much less shaky legs than usual, he noted, and assumed that the curse had lost its power as well because of his change for Severus.  
The Dark Lord made a motion and they crouched down to kiss the hem of his robes in greeting, mumbling: "My Lord."  
He wrinkled his nose; how could he have ever bound himself to a man who demanded that they had to grovel at his feet, his Malfoy pride should have prevented that. Absentmindedly he thought that Harry would never want one of his followers getting to their knees in front of him, and yes, he knew that Harry would deny vehemently that he had followers, but he did.  
"Potter!" The Dark Lord finally began to explain the reason for their summoning. "That little nuisance! Not enough that he had somehow persuaded my familiar to bind herself to him..." Lucius wanted to snort; there had not been a lot of persuasion needed to convince Nagini that Harry was nicer than her captor.  
"...now he has also fallen in love!" This time, Lucius had to restrain himself to not flinch. How had the mad wizard found out about their love?  
"Not a silly school boy crush, but actual love! I could feel his happiness," Voldemort spat out and Lucius suddenly remembered the rumours the Dark Lord could neither stand the feeling of love, nor of happiness. Supposedly, it was like torture for him, like physical pain and that would explain his shaking hand earlier. Apparently, Harry had more power over the evil wizard than he knew.  
"Sectum Sempra!" Voldemort shouted again, this time not even looking at which of his two 'most loyal' followers he was hitting with the curse. Severus went down again and Lucius winced mentally at the sight of the blood splashing from his friend's side. This would naturally not kill Severus, but the man would need his first blood soon after such a loss. He would have to take Harry to his father when they were back to Hogwarts in order for his little mate to feed his last relative.  
Severus pressed his black robe onto his side, making it look as if he was trying to stop the bleeding, but Lucius knew that he was hiding the fact that he had already stopped bleeding completely.  
"You two will try and find out who the person he had fallen in love with is," the Dark Lord continued when he had ended the curse. Lucius nearly sighed in relief; apparently the wizard had no idea whom Harry was intimate with.  
"Yes, my Lord," Lucius and Severus said in unison, heads bowed. Personally, Lucius didn't know how his friends could have kept this charade up as a spy for so many years. Now that he finally saw the Dark Lord's flaws, he wanted to rip his head from his bony shoulders.  
"I personally, would recommend you keep an eye on the young Miss Weasley first. In the meantime, we will attack the families of students who sympathize with Potter. He must have too much free time if he has fallen in love and it will be good to add some more guilt to his conscious," the Dark Lord said.  
"Yes, My Lord. We will keep an even closer eye on him," Severus promised and bowed deeply, his friend's voice not betraying the hatred he felt for the other wizard.  
"You may return to Hogwarts, I have no further use for the two of you today," the Dark Lord said dismissively.  
They bowed again and then turned to leave, a bit miffed about the fact that they had been dismissed after barely twenty minutes. At the door their 'Lord' stopped them once again: "And I expect results when I next call you, or one of you will have to keep an eye alone on Nagini in the future."  
Lucius did not speak until they had apparated back onto the Hogwarts grounds, neither did Severus. Only when they were a few steps away from the Hogwarts gates did Lucius speak up:  
"We have to warn Harry, or the Dark Lord's plan to weaken him mentally might succeed."  
Severus nodded in agreement. "We will, as soon as he is awake. I believe he has a free period in the morning, maybe we should plan for a small Order meeting."  
"What I do not quite understand, is why the Dark Lord could feel Harry's emotions, or why Harry could feel his for that matter," Lucius mused. Mind magic was really not his specialty, he was a brilliant Legilimence, but he never was very subtle or had bothered to learn about all the delicacies and complexities there were when it came to someone's mind and magic. Usually, he entered a mind and searched for what he needed to know, without concerning himself over the mental state of his victims after he had finished. As a Death Eater, he had never needed to keep track of someone's mental health.  
His friend sounded thoughtful when he answered. "I have to enter Harry's mind to say for sure, but it is possible that the link made by the Horcrux has been so strong, that it could not heal completely after we removed the piece of soul."  
"If you are right, then it is even more important that we teach him Occlumency as soon as possible," Lucius said as they entered the school.  
Severus sighed. "This weekend at the latest; we are lucky that the Dark Lord had only gathered some feelings from Harry and no actual pictures. By the way," Severus smirked, "congratulation on your love confession."  
"Thank you my friend," Lucius drawled with a small, but very smug smile on his lips, not wondering how his friend had found out. Their cuddled position and the Dark Lord's fury had probably been explanation enough.  
"I am not sure if I should be astonished that it took my son so long to fall in love with you, as Gryffindors are usually emotional fools, or if I should be surprised that he realized it so quickly, seeing as he is often very thick headed," Severus chuckled.  
Turning left into the corridor that lead to Gryffindor Tower, Lucius said: "I cannot give you the answer either. Did you need a password earlier?" He asked nonchalantly when the door to Harry's rooms came into view.  
"No, I think the wards noticed my relation to Harry. I presume you didn't either?" His friend asked.  
He nodded as he entered Harry's chambers and then frowned at nothing in particular: "I hope Granger and Weasley have been able to help Harry. It seemed as if it was not the pain that caused the most distress this time."  
"It is more complicated to transport physical pain over such a distance and even the Dark Lord's magic cannot cause as much pain as before without the mental connection of the Horcrux, sadly this doesn't apply to feelings," his friend explained.  
"I would like to know whether the Dark Lord only received the feeling of love from Harry, or 'more'," Lucius smirked evilly.  
Severus eyed him with a crooked smirk and then asked: "What exactly were the two of you doing?"  
"What do you suspect normally follows a love confession? Let's just say that if the Dark Lord has a good connection to my mate, he might have suddenly cum in his pants," He grinned evilly and pushed Harry's bedroom door open, only to freeze in shock:  
First, he thought that only the Weasel and Granger lay cuddled together on the bed. One arm of the girl lay on the redhead's hip and vice versa, but then he saw the small, still half naked figure protectively snuggled between them.  
His vision went red and a low growl started to vibrate deep in his chest. Severus gave him a warning look: "Lucius! Don't be stupid; these three are like siblings and I am sure that they have already helped Harry many times. Don't take something this important away from him."  
Gritting his teeth, Lucius conjured an armchair and let himself fall into it and tried not to think of the words Ronald Weasley and spooning in the same sentence. "You are right. I even believe that Weasley and Granger have a thing for each other and Harry and I are mated; nothing can destroy such a bond. I should spare my anger for those who are really making advance towards my little mate and not waste it on them."  
Severus conjured a chair as well and they both simply watched the teenagers in front of them.  
"He is still so small," Severus said suddenly, remorse heavy in his voice. "He should not have to go through all this, he is still too young and at the very least I should have been by his side."  
"You had no chance of knowing," Lucius reminded his friend.  
"I know," Severus just answered. They both knew that what Lucius had said was true, but that also did not lessen the feeling of guilt.  
"At least I now have an eternity to make it up to him," Severus added, his eyes on his sleeping son.  
Harry looked much more relaxed than hours ago when they had left, but both men had seen him even more relaxed before. You could still make out slight frown lines on his forehead and his body shivered from time to time.  
"I cannot even imagine how the Dark Lord's anger must feel," Lucius said.  
"Me neither," his friend agreed, his dark eyes fixed on the sleeping form of his son, huddled between his two best friends and then added: "Sometimes I fear what we will find hidden in his mind. What dark and horrible memories he hides with his wide smile and bright green eyes."  
Watching his sleeping submissive for a moment, Lucius, for the first time in his life, found himself hoping for something that was far too unrealistic to happen: That Harry's life had not been as bad as they feared. "I hope we will find nothing," he confessed. "But I fear we will find out soon enough. How much can the heart and the soul of a child endure before both break?"  
His friend shook his head sadly: "I don't know. My father was abusive and it nearly broke me, but then I met Lily on a playground one afternoon and she saved me. Even years later, her memory has saved me countless times."  
Lucius glanced over at the man who was normally as closed off as he himself was. What they knew about each other they had learned by years of watching; not during long, lazy evenings in front of the fireplace with a few bottles of red wine, whilst laying open their hearts. "I never was a man who cared much about friends and I know you were exactly like me," he mused. "But Harry has taught us both the value of friendship and love in less than a month."  
Severus sighed next to him, a lost expression on his face: "Sometimes he reminds me so much of his mother; you were right back in Harry's kitchen that day," the man confessed. "He has the same warm heart and the same bright smile, but then again he is so much more fragile and stronger than her at the same time. Sometimes I fear he might shatter at the slightest breeze and other times I know that he will survive storms, neither his mother nor any of us would have come out of alive."  
Nodding, Lucius said: "I know what you mean. Sometimes he is very fragile, even for a submissive. With his past and his young age he needs even more attention and care than normal vampire submissive's need. And then, it suddenly bites him and I ask myself how destiny could have thought that the boy might be a good submissive. When I arrived at Grimmauld Place, I honestly had doubts."  
Chuckling, Severus replied: "You should have seen him in Dumbledore's office. Everybody could see his distress, but he kept himself upright, threw everything he wanted to say at Albus and demanded the leadership of the Order."  
Smirking, Lucius agreed: "I would have liked to see that. It must have been a sight."  
"It was." his friend said and then added suddenly: "Never take them away from him."  
Frowning, Lucius followed his friend's gaze to the two older Gryffindors and without hesitation he nodded. He understood by now that Harry drew a lot of his strength from his friends and they had lived through a lot together. Regardless of how much he would try, as a mate he would never be able to replace a good friend. He was much older than Harry and he was no Gryffindor, but his little submissive needed some stupid Gryffindors in his life to balance all the hardship he had to go through.  
They fell into a comfortable silence then, neither saying a word for the rest of the night, they simply watched the one person they both loved more than anybody else in the world. In the morning, they had to figure out a plan to rescue probably all the families of Halflood and Muggleborn children and most likely even some of the Pureblooded Gryffindor students; and that all between teaching. The next day would be a long one.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

"Hey Harry, wake up, it won't take much longer anymore!" Harry's bedroom door burst open for the third time that night (or was it already morning) and Harry groaned at the loud voices of Ron's twin brothers. Next to him Ron and Hermione groaned as well and two even deeper sounds could be heard from a bit further across the room. Opening his eyes, he saw his mate and father just waking up from their spots in two big armchairs, where they had apparently fallen asleep after they had returned to Hogwarts.  
"Did we interrupt something?" Fred asked with a grin and George added: "A 'three-something'?"  
"I believe if that were the case, you would find your brother and Miss Granger less thoroughly dressed!" his father snapped in irritation and the twins, who had not noticed the two teachers before, spun around.  
"Oh shit!" Fred cursed and took a step backwards towards the door.  
Harry watched his mate sitting up, having composed himself very quickly; he was a Malfoy after all and drawling with a smirk: "So, Mr. Weasley, what will happen at any moment?"  
"Nothing!" George said with a frightened look and whispered quite audibly into his brother's ear: "Can we stop it?"  
"Stop what?" his father asked, but the question was answered when a loud crack sounded and Albus Dumbledore suddenly appeared in the middle of his bedroom, a colourful bathing cap on his head, naked with the exception of an equally colourful towel, that was thankfully wrapped around his lower body and a one of those brushes to scrub his own back in one hand.  
"That," Fred winced in explanation and took a step back, grinning sheepishly.  
Harry stared in utter bafflement at his nearly naked headmaster, who only smiled and said:  
"How nice to see you all this early in the morning my dear boys."  
Sometimes, Harry honestly wondered what the old wizard mixed in his tea every morning, whilst Ron, Hermione, his father and mate, all wore the same gaping expression. Of course, it was not so easy to tell with his father and Lucius, but he had seen the widening of their pupils.  
"At least, we do not need to go up to the Headmaster any longer," Lucius drawled and then added: "Would it be possible for you to get more decently dressed, Headmaster?"  
"Of course, my boy" Albus smiled and Harry could practically feel his mate's desire to rip the old wizard's head from his shoulders. With a flick of his wand, which had been safely hidden under the bathing cap, Albus transformed his towel into a dark purple robe.  
Albus' face grew more serious then and the perceptive wizard asked: "Something new from our dear friend Tom?"  
Harry immediately sat up straighter; with Fred and George's sudden appearance, he had almost forgotten that his mate and father had been summoned last night.  
"Are you two hurt?" he asked with concern and scanned their bodies with his eyes, but luckily he found no traces of bigger injuries, which would have been difficult with vampires in the first place, but that did not change his worry.  
"We are fine, but it might be wise to discuss this in your living room," his father said impressively.  
"Oh..okay..." he answered and climbed off of his bed.  
Lucius stopped him with a pointed look and said: "We will go ahead and I will call a house elf to bring some breakfast up. You father mentioned that he is quite starved," before striding out of the room, the others following closely behind. None of the others had asked why Severus stayed behind with him, as they all followed the aristocrat into his large living room.  
"You...need blood?" He asked his father as soon as the door had closed behind Ron.  
To his surprise his father only nodded. He had assumed that the man would try to refuse politely, not wanting to bother him with the matter, but he only explained: "Yes, I would have been able to go without for another few days, but the Dark Lord hit me with a nasty curse and I have bled quite a bit."  
Scanning his father again, he thought that Severus had probably lost a lot of blood and this time he noticed that his father's skin had gained an unhealthy, greyish tint.  
"You don't need to justify your hunger. I am happy that I can help you. You are my father," he simply replied with a bright smile and waved him over. "So, where would you like to drink from? My neck?" He watched his father sit down a bit hesitantly and shake his head: "No, that spot is for Lucius alone, I would not feel comfortable drinking from your neck. Your wrist will suffice."  
Harry blinked a few times in confusion and then blushed. He had not realized that there might be arteries on him that where more 'intimate' than other ones. Maybe the one at his loins, sure that was a very intimate spot, but his neck? He could not see the intimacy there. Maybe he would understand it when he was a bit older, he thought.  
Scooting closer to his father, he held his wrist out and was a bit surprised, when he was lifted into Severus' lap. The position held nothing sexual, instead, he felt for the first time like a little child sitting comfortably on his daddy's knees, which he was. He leaned back against his father's right arm and watched curiously as Severus lifted his offered appendage to his lips, his fangs flashing in the morning sunlight.  
A flicker of hesitation crossed his father's eyes, just when he had been about to sank his fangs into his skin and he asked: "Can I?"  
"Just drink as much as you need," he replied and practically shoved his wrist into his father's mouth. His father chuckled, shook his head and finally sank his fangs in.  
He shuddered a bit when the long fangs pierced his skin and sank into his flesh and a warm feeling spread through his body, but as his father had promised him, the sexual reaction didn't occur. His muscles relaxed with every mouthful of blood that was sucked from his body and a soft melody, like an inaudible lullaby hummed through his veins. This was so different from how Lucius made him feel, but equally good. Leaning his head against Severus shoulder, he closed his eyes and relished in the feeling of being connected to his father.  
Magic was humming between them and he imagined that the connection between mother and child would feel like this. Sadly, he would never experience it himself, but for now he was content with what he had, it was much more than he had ever expected.  
His father combed caringly through his hair and Harry found himself wishing that he could have experienced this kind of love years ago. What would it have been like to snuggle into his father's arms and listen to a story every evening before falling asleep? Or how would it have been, if he didn't have to go to school alone every morning, but would have been taken there by his father, like all the other kids?  
Images of dreams he had long tried to suppress resurfaced in his mind, together with the warm feeling of parental love and without being aware of it, silent tears started to roll down his cheeks.  
Even now, where he finally had a father, Severus could not just take him to the Hogwarts express at the end of summer and kiss him goodbye. They had been forced to say their farewells in the parking lot so as not to draw suspicion.  
His father had noticed his sadness, maybe because of his body, which was shaking violently by now, or maybe his blood had carried his sadness to the man and he was pulled closer into the protective embrace.  
He didn't want to be sad, he wanted to be happy for his father and for his mate and because life had really given him much in the last few weeks, but it still seemed so little in comparison to what had all been taken from him, right now.  
A last mouthful of blood was sucked from his veins, before his father pulled his fangs carefully out and closed the two little wounds with a swipe of his tongue. In Harry's opinion, they had separated far too soon and without thinking he turned around and flung himself into his father's arms, burying his face into the black robes.  
"Hush, Harry, we have each other now and you will defeat the Dark Lord with our help and after that, we can still fulfil all your dreams," His father whispered and stroked soothing patterns down his back.  
"How do you...?" He sniffed and looked up through tear filled eyes.  
"The bond between parent and child can be strong, especially during an intimate moment like sharing blood. You blood is your essence, it never forgets," his father explained with a small smile.  
Sniffing again, he asked: "Would you really do all that for me? Would you take me to the train and pick me up there after the term again?"  
Severus chuckled: "It might defeat the purpose a bit, seeing that we will see each other every day even during the school year, but yes, I would take you to the train and pick you up again."  
His heart jumped happily and a wide smile spread across his face, all tears forgotten: "Thank you dad!" He exclaimed and threw himself around his father's neck again. Severus only chuckled and pat his back for another moment, before carefully detaching Harry from his robe and placing him back on the ground: "We should join the others now. A lot has happened last night."  
Nodding, Harry turned to leave, but suddenly his father held him back once again: "Thank you Harry, I cannot even begin to tell you what this has meant to me," he whispered and pressed another kiss to his cheek before letting him go again.  
He answered his thanks with a smile, he could not find the right words either, but if it was anything like it had been for him, then he knew how much the experience of sharing blood meant to both of them.  
His father stood and straightened his robes and together they left his bedroom.  
They found the others in his living room, animatedly chatting with the five famous portraits, the tea trays in front of them all but forgotten. Harry could see that Slytherin was very happy to finally meet someone from his own house; he assumed that a horde of Gryffindors really could be annoying for a Slytherin, given their very different personalities, but as soon as he and his father entered, the conversations died down and everyone sobered up once more.  
He saw Lucius inconspicuously sniffing the air and he assumed that his mate could still smell the dried tears on his face, but when the aristocrat gave his father a pointed look, Severus only shook his head, indicating that he didn't need to worry. Lucius nodded, but Harry knew that he would ask later on.  
When he had sat down, he sighed and then asked: "How was the summons?"  
His mate and father exchanged a look and then Lucius said:  
"It was different than any other meeting. Normally, the Dark Lord prefers to summon at least the whole inner circle to relish in the power he has over so many powerful wizards, but this time Severus and I were alone with him."  
Harry blinked a few times. At the first this did not sound very important, but with Voldemort, every single detail had specific meaning: "Do you know why he summoned no one besides the two of you?"  
"Yes," this time it was his father who answered. "I believe he would not feel very comfortable to admit to all his followers that he was greatly...affected by a twelve year old boy that evening."  
"What do you mean?" Harry asked in irritation.  
"Your father means, that the Dark Lord received strong feeling of love from you last night. Could it be possible that you used your private quarters to meet secretly with your mate?" Lucius lifted a single eyebrow and gave him a disapproving look, like he had to as a teacher.  
Flushing, Harry tried not to meet Albus' twinkling gaze, or Ron, Fred and George's wide grins, as if he had just earned the title of 'greatest Casanova of Hogwarts'.  
"Hm..." Albus mused. "I would have thought that the use of Harry's blood in his resurrection ritual would have made Tom more resistant to Harry, but maybe only to his touch, a mental link is much more complicated to block."  
Hermione bit nervously on her lip and then asked: "But Sir, I thought that the connection is gone after we extracted the Horcrux from Harry."  
Harry looked over to his father, who shook his head: "Harry lived nearly his entire life with a very powerful piece of souls in his body and it was put there when he was still very young. It is possible that some kind of link remains, but luckily it seems far weaker than it was before, or he would have felt more physical pain than he had."  
"I don't understand..." Ron said.  
"It is much easier to transfer feelings. They are not physical like the pain and damage of the Cruciatus Curse he had experienced this summer," Lucius told him.  
Ron and Hermione and the twins gasped in shock and Harry realized that neither of his friends had realized that it had been the Cruciatus Curse which had caused him so much pain during his visions. He himself had only learned about it in the night at Privet Drive, but he had never mentioned it to them. The twins did not even know that he suffered not only from nightmares, but also from visions. He and his friends had kept that information a secret, worried what harm it could bring to them, when the information got leaked to the wrong people.  
"Harry, you have visions?" George asked in shock and he merely nodded.  
"The Cruciatus Curse? I never realized that the link was that strong..." Hermione gasped.  
"Yeah, we always thought you were so distressed about what you saw in those visions, which just caused you to cramp. Otherwise we would have gotten more help... Pomfrey or someone," Ron sounded pained.  
Shrugging, Harry mumbled: "I didn't realize it until this summer either and Pomfrey couldn't have done much." He should have felt bad for not having told them before, but it was just the opposite; their worried faces told him that it had been right to not tell them how bad his pain really had been.  
"Well, this is not the most important thing right now," his father ended their conversation, bringing their attention back to the main topic.  
"So, Voldemort got angry, because of the feelings he received from me, feelings he could not endure and grew angry, am I right?" Harry repeated what he had been told to make sure that he had understood everything correctly.  
"Yes. Your feelings hurt him physically; I believe I saw his wand hand shaking as we arrived," Lucius told him.  
"What does he expect from you and Lucius now, Severus?" Albus asked, his years as the Head of the Order giving him the ability to know what questions needed to be asked, something Harry had yet to learn.  
"He wants us to find out who Harry is in love with and bring 'her' to his Manor."  
Harry flinched visibly, but his mentor only nodded slowly.  
"In the meantime," his father continued and his closed off expression told him that the really important information was now coming, "...he plans on attacking families of students who sided with you, Harry."  
A heavy stone dropped into his stomach and he gulped. Voldemort planned to attack families, only because they supported him? He knew Voldemort too well to realize that it meant he would attack every family who was not on his side, even when he didn't know one of them. He would not let that happen.  
"We have to do something," He stated, without having any idea what to do.  
"That will be difficult. There are too many families to protect and we have no idea when exactly the Dark Lord will make his move. With a bit of luck, your father or I will be able to get at least that information, but the other problem remains," Lucius said neutrally.  
"I won't accept that," He said sternly and crossed his arms, he may not be able to save every one of them, but he would at least try and he would make sure that the Order tried alongside him.  
Dumbledore tapped at his chin with a long finger and then mused: "I do not believe that he will attack every student from a non-dark family. He does not yet have the resources to do so. Many of his old followers are still in Azkaban and he has not yet had much time to recruit new ones."  
"But even if we narrow the list of possible victims down, we still do not have enough Order members to guard every family," Lucius argued once again and Harry started to ask himself whether Lucius even wanted the families to be rescued.  
"You are right; the ministry will not help us either. Fudge still denies that Voldemort could be back," Harry saw the flinches at Dumbledore's mentioning of the Dark Lord's name.  
"Then we will have to bring them to a safe place," He decided, not planning on giving up on saving those people.  
"And where do you think we will we find a place spacious enough to house so many people?" His father asked snidely, the situation making him cranky.  
He thought for a moment; he was Lucius' mate now and the official Heir to the Potter and Founders line, he had to own a place big enough to house so many people, or at the least, many enough. Suddenly an idea struck him:  
"How huge is the Potter Manor? Would the wards be strong enough?"  
Seven pairs of eyes blinked in surprise at him and after a moment, Albus said:  
"The Potter Manor would certainly be huge enough, but you would have to ask Sirius and Remus about the wards, I myself was never there."  
Not waiting for another comment, he went over to the huge, marble fireplace and was glad to find a bowl with floo powder. He tossed a hand full of powder into the flames and shouted: "Number 12 Grimmauld Place!" He stuck his head into the flames, about to shout for Sirius, when he froze at the sight in front of him. Just to his left was his godfather kneeling on the old sofa, one leg on the old piece of furniture, the other still on the ground and beneath him, laid a very flustered looking Remus. The werewolf's cheeks were red, his lips looked slightly swollen and a slightly surprised expression on his face.  
With horror he saw Sirius leaning down and he quickly cleared his throat; he didn't need the image of his two former guardians making out. That would haunt him a lifetime and considering his vampire status that would be an awful long time.  
The two men sprang apart, visibly shocked and now Sirius looked flushed as well.  
"Harry...what are you...have you seen something? Sirius stuttered and he quickly shook his head in denial, not wanting to have to talk with them about this. Remus and Sirius sighed in relief and came over to kneel down in front of the hearth.  
"Do you need something? Or did you just want to say hello?" Sirius asked, his eyes quickly flashing over to the couch and Harry hated that he had to interrupt their bonding process.  
"I need your help; maybe it would be best if you came over for a moment." He saw that Sirius wanted to protest, but Remus shoved him harshly in his side and said: "We will be there in a minute."  
Pulling back from the fireplace, he stood up, still a bit flustered. Luckily Ron, Hermione, the twins and Albus hadn't caught up on it, but Lucius and his father raised their eyebrows simultaneously.  
"Nothing," he said at their questioning expressions, "Just interrupted a bonding moment."  
His father's brows rose further, and he could clearly see the question 'bonding or mating' in his face.  
"Bonding!" He all but exclaimed, drawing more questioning looks too him. Luckily his fireplace flared up then and Sirius, closely followed by Remus, stepped out of it. The Marauders looked around in surprise at the fairly large gathering of people.  
"What happened?" Sirius asked and flopped down in an armchair.  
"Voldemort happened, what else?" grumbled Ron and glared at the still untouched tea tray in front of him.  
"Did he attack?" Remus asked and Harry shook his head hastily: "Not yet, but he plans to attack families of students who sympathize with me."  
Remus and Sirius exchanged worried looks.  
"Do you already have a plan?" Sirius inquired; no trace of joking in his face any longer.  
"I have an idea. Seeing that we will not have the method of defending so many families, I thought of bringing them to a safe place and that is why I called you," Harry explained.  
The two men nodded and motioned to him to explain further. "I thought we could use the Potter Manor; Albus said it will probably big enough, but we don't know if the wards could keep Voldemort out."  
"The wards would be strong enough. It is a very old family Manor and those wards grow stronger with every generation that has lived there," Sirius said.  
"But Harry, you cannot go to those families and tell them to hide for who knows how long in your Manor and the moment the Death Eaters attack, we will have not enough time to take them all there," Remus said apologetically.  
"But Lucius and Severus..." Harry began, but his father cut him off:  
"We cannot promise you that Voldemort will tell us any more details of his plan. We will not be able to join in the attack and he has never told me as much as his other followers in the Inner Circle, due to my proximity to Albus. It will not be different with Lucius now. I am sorry Harry, but I don't think that we will be able to do much for these people." His father extended a hand to him in an offer of comfort, but Harry avoided the touch and glared at them all. He was about to say something really nasty; something about that it was no wonder that the war was still going and that so many had already died, when no one was ready to go out of their ways to help, when Fred's tentative voice spoke up:  
"I think, George and I might be able to help."  
"How?" Harry asked. His heart finally started to flutter in hope. He really had started to believe that nobody took his wish to save everybody seriously. Maybe he was a foolish Gryffindor, but someone had to set goals in his life in order to achieve them. Without goals, you would never start to do anything.  
"Our little prank might come in handy," Fred added, a grin spreading over his face.  
"Your prank?" Severus sneered, but refrained from throwing any nasty insults.  
"You see, we brought Dumbledore here with some kind of Portkey we invented," Fred went on, immediately gathering all the attention.  
"One object functions as the trigger and another as destination. You place the second object in the room, where the person should arrive and as soon as someone touches its counterpart, he or she will be brought there. In contrast to normal Portkeys, these have nothing to do with time."  
"So, if we place a destination object in Potter Manor, then people who have such a trigger only have to touch it and they will be brought to safety?" Harry made sure.  
"Exactly," George grinned.  
"That is quite genius," Lucius admitted.  
"I think we could manage to link all triggers to one destination object," Fred mused.  
"How fast could you produce these things?" Harry asked curiously.  
"Hm...How many do we need?" the twins asked in unison.  
Albus conjured a fairly long list and gave it to Harry: "Would you mark every student who you know personally?" Albus asked and conjured a quill as well.  
Harry took the items and started marking. "Do you think that Neutral Pureblood families from Gryffindor will be attacked?" Harry asked his mentor.  
"No, Tom needs to concentrate on your supporters; he does not have enough followers to attack more people than necessary. As long as they are neutral, Pureblood families will be fine. But those, who are clearly on the Light Side, are in as much danger as Muggle families."  
Harry skipped through the names of Gryffindor House and then marked a few others from other Houses; in the end he counted twenty eight names. Albus took the scroll back and marked some more, then waved his wand over it and said: "We have 21 families with a total 75 people."  
"We might have to put some in the old House Elves and servant's quarters in order to house everybody," Sirius mused.  
"Could you and Remus go there to check in what state the Manor is?" Harry asked and the two men nodded.  
"We need to go there as well," George said. "To place the destination object and key it to the wards."  
"You cannot key something to the wards of someone else's home," Lucius huffed, but earned only two very amused grins from the twins.  
"If they ever decide to become thieves instead of pranksters, then I will move out of this country," Severus grumbled.  
Bringing the topic back on track, Hermione said: "That will be too much keep an eye on... Grimmauld Place, Privet Drive and Potter Manor."  
"You're right, Mione. How will you manage all this?" Ron asked.  
Harry shrugged, but then a second brilliant idea for the hour struck him: "The Marauders map!"  
"What? The map shows only..." Ron shut up with a look at the professors.  
Harry ignored him, he was too excited. Instead he jumped up and hopped up and down in front of Sirius and Remus like a small child in front of the Christmas tree: "Can you draw a new one? One that shows Hogwarts, Grimmauld Place, Privet Drive and Potter Manor on one parchment?"  
The two pranksters blinked in surprise: "We would have to go to every place and it would take us some time, but it should be manageable," Remus said slowly, with a look at his partner in crime.  
"But why Privet Drive?" Sirius asked.  
"I want to make it into a second headquarters. Grimmauld Place is getting too small and we will have more young members, who will surely like to have a place without..." Harry broke off and blushed.  
"Yes, Harry?" Lucius asked pointedly, but it was Ron who glared at the aristocrat and said: "Old people like you, Malfoy."  
Harry saw his mate's face redden in anger, but his facial expression showed nothing, only boredom and Harry knew, that the flush was not visible to his friend's eyes.  
Luckily, Albus seemed to be as keen about an argument as he was and said: "Gentleman, if everything is set for now, I believe we all have classes to hold, attend, or at least paperwork to do."  
Severus conjured a tempus and they all noticed with shock how late it was. Hermione gasped and exclaimed: "Herbology starts in 15 minutes!" and rushed from the room.  
"See you soon, man," Ron waved and followed their panicked female friend at a more leisurely pace.  
Sirius and Remus set a time to meet after classes with Fred and George to discuss their future plans and left through the floo, whilst Albus strode out with a happy little tune on his lips.  
Harry turned to his mate and father as soon as he heard his quarter doors close and crossed his arms. He was angry at the men who had promised to help him to the best of their abilities, but suddenly didn't seem to believe in him one bit.  
"Harry," his father started, but Harry cut him off with a glare, he was so angry:  
"I thought you wanted to help me. Telling me that I will not succeed is not the way to do so."  
"Harry, please," his father tried again, but once again, he gave him no time to say much: "Do you not believe in me after all?"  
"We are Slytherins Harry. It is not as easy for us to believe in miracles as it is for you," Lucius declared and stood up. Harry watched him coming closer warily. When Lucius pushed his head up to face him with his index finger, he merely glared at his dominant, but didn't move away. Lucius sighed and then leaned forwards to brush softly over his lips:  
"I am proud of you. You were a true leader and I wish I could have your bravery to try the impossible," Lucius whispered into his ear.  
Harry's heart fluttered at the compliment and he wrapped his arms around his mate's middle, suddenly appeased. "Thank you," he mumbled and leaned his head against Lucius' firm chest, or more his firm upper belly, because he could not reach higher. A warm hand settled on his shoulder and when he looked up, he saw his father look down at him with pride shining brightly in his red-ringed eyes:  
"You really are a hero. A stupid, foolish, Gryffindor-hero, but the best hero I ever met my little vampire brat."  
Loosening one arm from around his mate, Harry drew his father into the embrace.  
"Oh please no! No group hug!" His father protested with indignation, but didn't really resist and after a moment, returned the hug with a long sigh.  
"Oh Sev, you would do this for your son," Lucius teased with a smirk.  
They stood like that for a moment until Severus suddenly said: "And now hurry or you will be too late for class and no son of mine will be late for his lessons."  
"Yeah, dad," Harry grinned and ran off, followed by a muttered: "Cheeky brat!"  
Harry got ready in record time, but he, Ron and Hermione still arrived ten minutes too late. His vampire speed had helped a lot and in contrast to his friends, he looked immaculate, but Ron and Hermione's slightly dishevelled and very tired look was the source for many flying rumours until lunch time. Their fellow students were sure that they had 'hooked up' the previous night; they only argued about the place where it had happened. The girls, tended to a romantic tale about the Astronomy Tower, where stars took an important part, whilst most boys believed in a more adventurous story, in which Hermione had been overcome by the wish to 'make Ron feel good' (in numerous ways, of course).  
Harry felt slightly guilty that he was the reason why his two best friends were the subject of so many ridiculous rumours, but was for the most part happy that he for once was not even mentioned in the Hogwarts gossip mill. That, of course, didn't stop the many (mostly lustful) gazes that followed him these days.  
Ron and Hermione reassured him, that the rumours were no big deal and that nothing as stupid as a castle full of gossiping teenagers would stop them from helping their best friend. The school day turned out to be very busy. They had not yet started to practice new spells, like always the first week would be filled with mostly theory, but that didn't mean that they did not have to listen. His muscles also still ached from his night-time torture, but he didn't feel lonely and cold the whole day and no chair seemed to stare at him, so his mood improved with every passing minute, despite running stressed from one end of the castle to the other and in the end they had not even had time to talk about the eventful morning until classes had ended for the day.  
Hermione had insisted that they go to the library to start on their first assignment, but it took only five minutes until she had cast a privacy barrier, silently admitting that they all wanted to talk about the events:  
"I never imagined, that You-Know-Who would plan on attacking so early in the year," she sighed and put her quill down for the moment.  
"Well, he is not directly going after Harry, so it doesn't really count, does it?" Ron shrugged.  
Harry shook his head. "Maybe you would have been right last year, but know I am the Head of the Order and every attack concerns me directly," he commented drily.  
"Guess you are right, man. That really sucks!"  
Harry lifted an amused eyebrow at his friends; it was always fun to point out when Ron succeeded in phrasing something in the worst way possible. The redhead spluttered and quickly tried to save the situation: "I mean...not you being the Head of the Order...but the attacking!"  
Harry grinned for a moment, but then sighed: "You are right, it really sucks. Why can't he go on a nice, long holiday and die in a Pacific Storm?" That really sounded too good to ever become true, he mused.  
"Because he would instantly get sunburned with his white complexion and will therefore never go on holiday in the Pacific," Hermione snorted.  
"An ice bear would be fine with me as well," Ron chuckled and for a moment they all relished in many different images of Voldemort dying in a holiday accident.  
"This really will be a tough year for you Harry, with all these houses you have to keep an eye on. How will you manage all those places? Even if you can check them on a map, you cannot just disappear every day from school grounds. Even if Dumbledore trusts you and would give you the freedom to do so, he can't, or he might get into trouble himself," Hermione said, honestly sounding exasperated for Harry.  
Harry thought that she was probably right. He did not regret his decision concerning the Order, but it turned out to be an even larger responsibility than he had imagined. He had forgotten that his workload would increase with every new member and every family they took in to protect.  
"I honestly don't know, but I will manage," he replied confidently.  
"You really should get a personal House Elf," Ron joked. "You could key him to Hogwarts and he could run all kinds of errands for you, like delivering important messages."  
"Yeah, but I have no House Elf and even if there are still some in Potter Manor, they will be needed there," Harry said.  
Shrugging and with a careful glance at Hermione, Ron said: "Maybe it is better if you have none; at least Hermione won't rip your head off for supporting slavery." He chuckled.  
Harry winced, he had almost forgotten about Hermione's obsession over House Elf rights; last time he and Ron had made the mistake of mentioning the topic, she had told them that she planned to open a Society for House Elf Rights and that she had already a name for it: 'puke' or something equally ridiculous.  
"Maybe, that is not such a bad idea," Hermione suddenly said.  
Harry and Ron snapped their heads around in utter surprise.  
"Who are you and where is Hermione?" Ron exclaimed and jumped up. Harry too, was not so sure that this really was their friend, not after her passionate speech about equal rights for every creature in the wizarding society, even for House Elves. This was just too big of a change of mind, so he carefully tucked his wand from his trousers pocket, just to be sure.  
"Oh please Ron! I am not an imposter!" She huffed and pulled him back down, before explaining: "You two are right, I don't like 'slavery'..."  
Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation, but kept silent; he had learned that every word on this topic was the wrong one.  
"...but Harry really needs a way to communicate safely with all the people in the different houses and we all know that the Floo System is not safe enough for delicate messages. We should not even use the Floo very often at all, or one of You-Know-Who's followers at the Ministry might find a way to get a way into those houses after all."  
Harry and Ron still stared at their friend in disbelief. After a moment, Harry carefully said:  
"But I still have no House Elf and I don't know how to...'hire' or buy one either."  
"Well, I know where you could buy one and if you promise me to treat him fairly and pay him at least a bit, then I will tell you where you could get one," Hermione said, worrying her bottom lip.  
"Does she mean it?" Ron whispered in Harry's ear, but he could only shake his head in disbelief. This went totally against all Hermione's beliefs.  
"Look, I know this does not sounds like me and I would prefer it, if you would really just try to 'hire' a House Elf, but I also know that a House Elf which is bound to you cannot betray you and the safety of our whole world is more important, especially if you promise me that you will treat him or her well."  
Harry finally came to the conclusion that Hermione was serious about the matter and finally pocketed his wand again and said: "Of course I will promise you that. You know that I would never treat a House Elf like Lucius Malfoy had treated Dobby!" His eyes widened as he realized how cruelly he had just spoken about his beloved mate and his heart started to clench in agony. He gasped and clenched his chest for a moment, trying to calm himself down; after all, Lucius really had been a cruel man back then.  
"Hey Harry, everything alright? Is it You-Know-Who again?" Ron lay a concerned hand on his shoulder. Closing his eyes, Harry waited for a moment until the punishing pounding of his heart had subsided: "Everything is fine, it was...just like a short flash," he said, thankfully using the given excuse.  
"Okay, if you say so," Ron said, but his friends still looked very concerned.  
"You really don't need to worry, the feeling is already over and we have more important matters to deal with."  
Hermione threw him one last concerned look and then looked at her watch: "We should go now," she said.  
"Go where?" Ron asked.  
"To the Ministry, that is the only place you can legally buy a House Elf," Hermione explained with a roll of her eyes. "Really Ron, as a Pureblood, you should know that."  
"Well, it is not as if my family could ever afford a House Elf," Ron huffed.  
"I am sorry, Ron," Hermione mumbled. Harry sighed; money was a delicate topic for Ron. The redhead loved his family, but he had always suffered under the insults of the richer Purebloods, who looked down in disgust at his second hand clothes.  
Knowing, that they needed a change of topic, he asked: "But won't we break a million rules by leaving the school?"  
Hermione smiled at him, it was her evil smile, when she had worked out an especially good plan with her huge brain: "Not if we argue right. Underage students are not allowed to leave the grounds, unless they are accompanied by someone, who is already of age."  
"And I am off age," Harry grinned as well.  
"Exactly." Hermione gathered up her things and Harry and Ron quickly followed her example.  
"We should probably change into something different to our school robes, or we will draw to much attention," Hermione said and swung her bag over her shoulder.  
"Are students even allowed to have a House Elf?" Ron asked, as they left the library.  
"Usually not, but Harry is the owner of Hogwarts and I am sure Dumbledore will realize that he would never buy one only because he is too lazy to clean his quarters up himself. As long as he keeps the matter quiet, he will surely overlook it. He has overlooked much worse things in the past," Hermione said confidently.  
"Will we Floo from my fireplace?" Harry asked, wondering, how they would get to the Ministry.  
"Yes, we will Floo to the Leaky Cauldron and go from there. The Ministry has fireplaces as well, but they are only for their employees."  
"What would we do without Mione?" Ron asked.  
"Shaking his head, Harry answered: I don't know. We likely would not have been able to stop Quirrel, or the Basilisk, or even pass most of our exams."  
They separated in front of Gryffindor Tower and Harry quickly changed into his red outfit. Justitius, who had woken up when he had entered, fluttered over to him and sat down on his shoulder with a happy chirp.  
Harry stroked him quickly, before he pulled his money pouch from the drawer of his night stand and checked its content, only to realize that he probably did not have enough money on hand to buy a house elf. Worrying his lips, he thought about going to Lucius' private quarters to see if his mate had some more cash. He didn't like the idea of just taking Lucius' money, but the aristocrat had told him often enough that they had more than enough money and that he could spend as much as he liked. Maybe not with those exact words, but he had certainly never told him to be careful to not spend too much, and he could not take Ron and Hermione to his vaults. It would take too much time and they were not exactly safe without any Aurors for company and even if Voldemort and all his Death Eaters were not hot on their heels, he still could not go with them into the Malfoy vault.  
Sighing, he quickly made his way to the new door which lead to Lucius' rooms and entered carefully. Everything was silent, but it was possible that his mate still had a class to teach or was just visiting Severus.  
Lucius' private quarters was of course much smaller than his own, but well furnished. Harry had the suspicion that his fancy mate had ordered one of his House Elves to bring some of his own furniture over to Hogwarts, because the black leather couch looked much too expensive to be something that would normally belong to a teacher's quarters, so did the antique desk he could see in a corner in the next room. Scanning the living room quickly and finding nothing that even remotely looked like a money pouch, he went into the study. Many people kept their money in their study, often in their desk drawers.  
Pulling at the top drawer of said antique desk, he cursed when it was locked. With a sigh, he pulled out his wand, pointed it at the desk and whispered: "Alohomora!" The drawer nearly sprang out of the desk as it shot open with a loud 'bang'. Harry winced when he saw that the expensive drawer now hung askew on their runners. His muttered "Reparo" made it even worse when the drawer only slammed back into the desk, scattering small splinters of wood everywhere. Frustrated, he shook his wand like muggles did with a broken device. Maybe he needed a bit more practice with his new wand. Somehow, it had felt as if too much magic had flown through the Elder Wand...maybe it could channel 'more' magic at a time? Did that even make sense?  
Regardless of the reason, he did not have the time to think about it now. Pulling the drawer carefully open again, he sighed in relief when he saw a small chequebook. He picked it up and noticed that it had two free spaces: One, where someone had to fill in their name and one for the amount. He pocketed it quickly and left Lucius' quarters again, making a mental note to apologize for the ruined desk.  
 _"Hello little master, how was your day?"_  
" _Much too busy,"_ Harry responded. _"And now I have to go to the Ministry."_  
 _"The Ministry? What do you have to do there?"_ Nagini lifted her heavy head and made a expression that looked very close to a frown, or as close to a frown that snakes could make, that was.  
 _"I want to buy a House Elf."_  
 _"I already wondered why you have any. You are rich and powerful, every rich and powerful wizard has at least a couple of House Elves,"_ Nagini hissed.  
 _"I am only now allowed to buy one;"_ Harry explained.  
 _"Because you are mated now?"_  
 _"Not exactly. I can now buy one because I am now an adult. But without my mating, I would still be considered a child,"_ Harry told her.  
 _"Shall I accompany you?"_ his snake asked.  
It probably was a good idea to take her along and maybe it would even ease his mate and father's temper when they found out that he had sneaked out of Hogwarts with his friends. This way, he could at least say that he had not left without protection and the paper had reported about his bonding to Nagini, so they should not cause too much of a panic.  
 _"Yes, that would be good,"_ he answered and motioned for Nagini to wind herself around his body.  
"Are you planning on taking her with you?"  
Harry spun around at the voice of Hermione. He was not used to not hearing someone approach anymore, but he had watched the beautiful scales move as his familiar slithered around his body and had not been listening at all.  
"She will keep us safe," Harry shrugged and went over to his fireplace to hold the bowl with floo powder out to his friends. Hermione still frowned and eyed the huge snake.  
"I guess it is a good idea," she said and grabbed some powder.  
"Of course it is. You-Know-Who has Death Eaters in the Ministry, but they will think twice about attacking us with Nagini at our side," Ron said.  
"Or they will attack us because their Master wants her back," Hermione commented.  
"We will take our chances," Harry cut her off, before this could grow into an argument. Apparently his new place in the Order had gained him some more say in such situations at least, because Hermione only nodded and stepped into the fireplace.  
"I will go next and catch you on the other side," Ron winked and followed their friend.  
 _"Have you ever floo'ed before?"_ Harry asked Nagini as he took some powder as well.  
 _"No,"_ Nagini hissed.  
 _"It is not a pleasant experience,"_ Harry warned her, before shouting: "The Leaky Cauldron!"  
The loud chattering in the pub died down as soon as Harry stepped out of the floo and the wizards and witches at the bar and the tables saw him arrive with Nagini. Nagini shook her head in irritation, hissed something about _stupid fire riding_ and slithered to the ground so that Harry had more freedom to move.  
"Let's go before they decide to panic," he said and gestured with his head to a group of tables. His friends nodded and they quickly made their way onto the busy street. The Ministry was located in the muggle part of London, a fair walk away from Diagon Alley. Hermione, ever the clever witch cast an illusion spell over Nagini quickly to make her look like a dog for all muggle eyes; with that done, only Harry still drew attention to them.  
Feeling uncomfortable, Harry quickly stepped between his two best friends. Sometimes it really was annoying to be a submissive. He tended to quickly get nervous when many alien eyes stared at him, especially when his mate was not at his side. Hermione pat his shoulder reassuringly, having guessed what was wrong with him, whilst Ron, ever the perspective one, had not noticed anything at all.  
"Well, your clothes look kind of extraordinary, even for most wizards," Hermione said quietly.  
"I know but I still like them. They fit me and I feel comfortable in them."  
His brainy friend smiled softly at him: "They do fit you."  
Ten minutes later, Ron and Hermione stopped in front of a small, shabby looking telephone box. Harry had nearly continued to go down the road, but Ron had grabbed his arm and stopped him.  
"We are here man," he said and pointed at the telephone box.  
"A telephone box?" Harry asked sceptically, eyeing the shabby looking thing; wizards really had the strangest ideas sometimes.  
"Yes, it is the entrance to the Ministry. They couldn't just build a huge building in the midst of Muggle London with a fancy entrance, so it is underground," Ron explained.  
"But Grimmauld Place and the Leaky Cauldron are in the midst of Muggle London as well," Harry frowned.  
"Those buildings are much smaller than the Ministry is," Hermione said and pushed Harry into the Telephone box. "Let's hurry, before we become even more conspicuous," she said and picked up the handset.  
With Nagini, Ron, Hermione, himself and an excited Justitius in the small box it was quickly getting uncomfortably crowded. He caught his little bat, who had decided that fluttering hectically about was a brilliant idea and tried to shift far enough to the side to get Ron's elbow out of his ribs.  
"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please state your name and business," the voice of a woman came out of the receiver and Hermione answered: "Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, we are here to buy a House Elf."  
"The office of House Elf affairs is located on the 8th floor as part of the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures, please take the badges and register your wands at the security point," the voice said again. Ron grabbed into the telephone slit for the change and gave Harry a silver badge, just before the entire phone box started to lower into the ground.  
Harry had not imagined that the Ministry would be so full of people. He had nearly gotten run over as he stepped out of the box and a Ministry Worker, with a stack of parchments, ran past him.  
"Be careful man, they are all a bit crazy here, guess you become like this if you work for someone like Fudge," Ron said and quickly pulled him to the side before the man could actually knock him from his feet.  
"You realize that your father is a Ministry Employee as well?" Harry snorted dryly.  
"I would never argue that he isn't a bit crazy sometimes, with his crazy love of muggle stuff," Ron replied.  
Harry had to agree with his friend on that point and wisely said nothing more, instead turning to their bushy haired friend.  
"I think the elevators are over there, behind the security point," Hermione interrupted them and pointed at the far end of the huge entry hall they had landed in.  
"Then let's go," Harry said and hissed in Parseltongue: _"Stay close or you might get lost,"_ to Nagini. His snake made a huffing noise, but said nothing and just followed him. They passed a gigantic, golden statue with a golden wizard and a witch, who were surrounded by a Goblin, Centaur and House Elf, who stared up at them in awe and adoration.  
"This really is sick," he commented and Hermione nodded in silence: "As if any creature is more or less worthy than another one. Even a Squib or Muggle has the right of honour and dignity and Goblins, Centaurs and House Elves also have their own powerful magic; we certainly would have a problem if even one of those groups would decide to start a war with us. House Elf magic for example is really different from ours, that is why they can enter many warded areas and deliver mail without any problems," Hermione whispered back.  
"Fudge placed the statue here," Ron explained silently. "When dad started working here, it showed the same creatures and the wizard and witch, but they all sat around a huge table, that supposedly looked like the Round Table King Arthur constructed on Merlin's advice. Now we have this; it is a shame to our honourable history!"  
Harry looked at his friend in surprise, he had never heard Ron speak so patriotically about Wizarding Britain, but he was certainly right, this statue was a shame and as far as he had read about Merlin and as far as he could rate the man after getting to know his portrait, he was sure that he would never have agreed to such a piece of art. Merlin had been all for equality.  
They arrived at the security point and Hermione motioned for him to go first. He placed his wand in front of the security wizard on the counter and waited for the registration. The man didn't even look up, as he placed his wand on a strange device and then read out loud:  
"Elder Wand, materials: Elder-Wood and core of Thestral tail-hair. Owner: Harry..." The security wizard broke off and lifted his head to stare wide eyed at Harry: "...Potter," he ended weakly and Harry feared for a moment that the young man in his twenties might pass out from awe, fear or simply shock, he could not say.  
"That is correct" Harry said quickly to pull the man out of his trance, even though Dumbledore had never told him which materials the Elder wand was made from, but he supposed that the magical device would be right. When the man still didn't move and continued to stare he stretched his hand out: "I would like to have my wand back."  
"Of course, Mr. Potter, sir," The man stuttered hastily and gave him his wand, before stepping to the side to let him through.  
"Thank you," Harry said and hurried to get the hell out of the checking point.  
The registration of Ron and Hermione's wands went much smoother.  
"Did you see his face when he turned to watch where we would be heading and he saw Nagini next to you?" Ron snickered.  
"No," Harry answered and turned around again, only to see the wizard lying on the ground, unconscious. "I guess, she gave him a break," he snickered and pressed a button on one of the many elevators.  
"Harry, Ron, you are unbelievably! It is mean to say something like that;" Hermione huffed.  
"Don't spoil our fun, Mione," Ron huffed and went into the elevator first. Harry saw a couple of witches and wizards wanting to follow them, but as soon as they saw his familiar, they quickly stepped back again.  
 _"Humans have uncomfortable ways of moving,"_ Nagini hissed in irritation as the elevator started to move upwards."  
Being able to relate to her, not with elevators, but at least with many other wizarding travelling methods, Harry tried to sooth her: _"It will be over soon."_  
"What is she saying?" Hermione questioned and looked down at her curiously.  
"That we have weird ways of moving," Harry answered, just when the elevator stopped on the 8th floor. Still not knowing what he had to do exactly once he was in the department, he asked his all knowing friend: "So, how will this go?" and motioned to the door where written in big, red letters , it announced: "Department of House Elf Affairs."  
"As far as I know, House Elves who need a new job can come here and register," Hermione told him. "I believe they will be in a common room where you can talk to them to find out which one will fit into your needs the best. Then you go to the Ministry Worker, do the paperwork and pay for him or her."  
"Do you think there will be many? I always thought that it was difficult to get a House Elf," Ron mused.  
"Well, it is rare that House Elves need a job. They are usually born into a family and will serve there. But sometimes a family has too many or is no longer rich enough to afford all of their Elves; you have to provide for their means of living after all and it can surely get expensive if you have ten or even more of them. Just think about how much a child eats, then you know how much an Elf eats," Hermione explained.  
Harry pushed the door open and they indeed found themselves in a room with about eight House Elves. The little creatures sat on wooden benches which were lined against the walls. The first thing he noticed was that seven of the eight Elves sat all to their left, staring at another Elf opposite of them. They all wore disapproving looks, disdain or wrinkled their nose at their comrade. When Harry eyed the elf who was sitting alone, he instantly saw how much smaller he was, not even half the height of Dobby he guessed, and he was silently sniffling and wiping tears away.  
Without sparing the other Elves a glance, he went over to the sad creature and kneeled down in front of him. Somehow, the Elf reminded him of himself with his small, thin build and his hunched posture. He had often sat like this in his cupboard, or later on his bed in Dudley's second bedroom, where the Dursley's had locked him in for days. But then he had gone to Hogwarts and this summer he had finally found a person who protected him and took care of him.  
"Hey little one, what is your name?" he asked carefully, in order not to startle the elf. The little elf started of course regardless.  
"O...Oscar, sir," the creature sniffed and looked at him with huge, bright blue eyes, even brighter than Dumbledore's. From the direction of the other house elves came disapproving coughing sounds, but Harry simply ignored them.  
"Why are you crying?" he inquired gently.  
"No one wants Oscar, sir," the Elf explained.  
"Why not?"  
"Oscar is only 75 years old, sir."  
Harry blinked in confusion, what did his age have to do with a getting a new job?  
"That is really young, Harry, he probably is barely educated, he would not have had the chance to learn much yet," Ron explained from his spot where he stood just behind him and eyed the elf critically.  
"House Elves get really old, much, much older than a wizard, that is why they are only considered adults and fully educated after 200 years of age," Hermione added for his benefit.  
"Normally it is dishonourable to throw out such a young house elf, because they really have a hard time of getting a job. Usually, the other elves of a family educate their children or the young newcomers, but I guess his former family went bankrupt," Ron told him.  
The young elf nodded his head fiercely, confirming Ron's theory.  
Harry supposed that Oscar really was still very young, but in his opinion that didn't make him a lesser House Elf, so he asked: "How long have you been searching for a new job?"  
"Four months, sir." Oscar answered, evoking malicious snickers from the other Elves.  
Standing up, Harry spun around and glared at the other Elves who instantly shut up at his angry glare. Without another word, he turned to the door with the label "Office" on it and went determinedly over.  
Ron came after him: "Harry, think about it, you will have to teach him everything," he tried to stop him.  
"I know," he just replied and glared at his friend, he hated that kind of prejudices. No person was at fault, only because he or she was born smaller, or without magic, or to muggle parents, or with a different skin colour; this was the same crap.  
"There are seven well educated elves, pick one of them, you have enough on your mind without him."  
"He deserves a chance," Harry said and yanked his arm out of Ron's grip.  
"But,.." Harry just shook his head and cut the next argument of his friend off and sighing, he thought that maybe he needed to explain his reasons more clearly; his friends didn't know his complete past history after all: "You don't understand; he is just like me. I got bullied for years because I was small, my family didn't want to look at me, because I was different- because I was a freak. I am still small, but now I have friends and a family who protect me and they don't care if I am the wizarding world's hero or not, they love me for who I am and everybody deserves such friends."  
Ron's eyes softened: "You're right Harry, I am sorry and I guess he will love you."  
Hermione, who had followed them sighed and leaned her head against Ron's shoulder, a soft smile on her lips.  
"I will hurry," Harry said and knocked on the office door.  
"Enter," A male voice said and he stepped into a very small room, where a rough looking wizard in his fifties sat behind an old desk.  
"I want to buy one of your House Elves," Harry said and sat down on the chair in front of the desk, it creaked suspiciously, as if its shaky legs would give at any moment.  
The man looked up and then asked dryly: "Hey kiddo, are you sure you can afford a House Elf? They cost more than a rabbit or even an owl."  
Harry bristled in indignation. He had thought that after the two articles in the Daily Prophet every witch and wizard would recognize him; even with his new look and even without being famous and filthy rich, the man's words would have been rude.  
"I am sure, Mister," he answered equally dryly.  
"If you think so," The man replied in a voice that clearly suggested that he could always destroy the purchase contract when Harry finally realized he could not afford the House Elf after all.  
"Which one do you want to buy?"  
"Oscar," Harry answered.  
The wizard raised an eyebrow: "You know that he is still young?"  
"Yes, I am aware of it."  
"We will not give you any warranty," the wizard told him and scribbled something on the purchase contract, before signing it with a dramatic gesture. "That makes 10, 522 Galleons. He is a bit cheaper because of his age," the wizard grinned waiting for Harry to withdraw from the purchase, but Harry only pulled out his mate's chequebook and asked: "Can I borrow your quill? I forgot to bring one along," and filled in the sum before signing the piece of paper and handing it to the stunned wizard.  
The wizard read his signature and then gasped: "Mr. Potter, I didn't recognize you!"  
Not wanting to talk to the man any more than necessary, Harry replied: "I noticed," and stood up.  
Back in the main room he kneeled down in front of Oscar again and said: "My name is Harry, I hope you will like to work for me."  
The elf looked up, his eyes even wider than before: "Has sir bought Oscar?"  
Harry nodded and stretched a hand out to help the little elf from the bench, noticing for the first time that he was naked.  
"We will stop at a store and buy you a uniform." At the panicked expression on Oscar's face, who had thought that he was already jobless again, he quickly added: "That is not sign that you are getting sacked, I just don't want you to go around naked or clad in an old pillow case."  
"Then let's go to Madame Malkins," Hermione said, nodding in approval and they made their way back to the exit.  
On their way to the elevators, Oscar eyed Nagini a bit fearfully and so Harry explained: "This is Nagini, she is my familiar and that little fellow," he pointed at Justitius on his shoulder "...is Justitius, he is a Phoenix Foundling."  
Oscar's eyes widened in awe: "Sir must be a well known and rich wizard."  
"Your new master is Harry Potter," Ron told the little Elf helpfully, who started to tremble in awe: "The great Harry Potter? Oscar is honoured!" The Elf squeaked.  
Harry threw Ron a disapproving look; there really was no reason to introduce him like a hero. "I am just a normal student," he replied, stepping back into the phone box, but his friend only snorted.  
"Yeah, only a student and only the Heir to Hogwarts and only You-Know-Who's greatest opponent," Ron scoffed.  
"Well, the last thing is not my fault," Harry blushed.  
"If you weren't powerful, then you would not be his greatest nemesis," Hermione cut him off simply and he could not really argue with that.  
Casting another illusion over the elf as they left the Ministry again and changing the topic, Hermione told him: "You will have to tell him his duties and what you expect from him when we are back at Hogwarts. It is also important, that you tell him everything important about your life and give him clear orders about which things he can share with others and what has to be kept secret."  
"I will do that," he said, smiling down at the little Elf, who was walking next to him with huge, disbelieving eyes.  
Madame Malkins was luckily empty as they entered. The plump witch came bustling over to them and greeted them with a warm smile. Harry had the feeling that she recognized him, but being a businesswoman she knew not to annoy her customers.  
"How can I help you three?" she asked, her gaze only quickly flickering down to Nagini, but her friendly smile never faltered.  
"This is Oscar, he will work for me, but I don't like the idea of him running around in a dirty pillowcase. So I thought that maybe you could tailor some white button down shirts for him and black trousers." Harry looked Oscar up and down. "Do you know my school uniform?" he asked the witch after a moment.  
"Yes, they were bought here," she said, not naming the person who bought them, like it was proper for a good shop keeper.  
"I would like him to have the same ties I wear, they have part of my family crest on them," Harry explained.  
Madam Malkin nodded in understanding and motioned for Oscar to stand on a little chair, not in the least bit affronted by providing a House Elf with new clothes.  
"How many sets of clothing shall I tailor for you, Mr. Potter?"  
Thinking a second, Harry answered: "One for each day of the week."  
He and his friends decided to wait for the clothes and sat down on a couple of chairs. Harry thought that he was slowly starting to understand what Lucius had meant back in Muggle London. His mate had told him that with a family name came duties and those duties would influence someone. Back then he had not believed in his words, but now he did. It was not necessarily his marriage into the Malfoy family, but more his own personal inheritance: To find out that he was the Heir to Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and even Merlin had started to change him slowly. He realized that even if the threat of Voldemort was some day gone, he would still be a household name in the public.  
His standing in the society he had received due to his marriage was different from the one the Hogwarts Inheritance gave him: The first one made him politically powerful; the other gave him more of a sort of social recognition. The Founders and all Headmasters of Hogwarts had been wise people and were often considered counsellors for all kinds of people, even though their direct political power was fairly limited. Dumbledore's own political power came from his seat in the Wizengamot and of course it helped that his advice was almost always considered pure wisdom, but that was something he had earned for himself.  
In the last month he had successfully sneaked his way into many important aspects of the wizarding world: He was not only in the midst, but the Head of the warfront against Voldemort, he was the one who had the power to change the education of young wizards and witches essentially and he had become the Bloodmate to the last council member of Britain.  
Without having noticed it at first, he had started to live a life like a true Pureblood from one of those Noble Families. He had first imagined that he would always stick out like a sore thumb at the start when he had been mated to Lucius, but he was adapting very quickly. Only a few minutes ago, when he had ordered the ties with his family crest had he realized how much he was already changing. That didn't mean that he was suddenly a spoiled bastard, but he considered thinks differently.  
He just could not live the life of a foolish, stupid teenager when he had all these responsibilities and when every mistake he made would reflect on his mate. He really wanted to be the perfect mate for Lucius.  
Knowing the answer, but wanting to find out how obvious it was, he suddenly asked: "Guys, do you think I am changing?"  
"Yes and no," Hermione said hesitantly.  
"What do you mean by that?" he asked her, frowning.  
"When we parted at Kings Cross after the last term," Ron mused thoughtfully "...you were this typical Gryffindor: You didn't care about your looks, you were reckless, and you didn't care what would be considered proper in wizarding society. Not that I do, for that matter."  
Hermione continued for him: "It seems as if you have grown up, even though you were never really childish, but since you have found your mate, you seem to be more thoughtful about how you look, how you behave and yet you are still the same boy with the messy hair: You still believe that every person is equally valuable, regardless of their family background, you are still a Gryffindor through and through and you can still be unbelievably thick headed. But I guess you had to change in some ways with everything," she shrugged.  
"It is not bad," Ron said. "Dad always said that Dumbledore had once told him that the key to a successful society would be 'accepting diversity' and that he believes in it as well. In some way, you are above us all, even above Dumbledore and it is good, because we need people like you as much as we need the witch who sells the Daily Prophet in front of the Leaky Cauldron."  
Harry blinked at his friend; he had never heard Ron say something as wise as this before.  
"I hope," Ron grinned at him, honesty shining in his eyes: "that you will be able to connect the upper class with the middle class and lower class; that you can make them all more understanding and accepting and I believe, if anybody will ever succeed with a miracle like that, then it will be you, because you know both sides."  
Not understanding what his friend meant, he asked: "Both sides?"  
"Yes Harry," Hermione explained: "You have grown up treated worse than most House Elves, with too little food as well as physical and mental abuse. Then you entered Hogwarts and you became a celebrity of sorts, but still without real social standing, at least no legal one, you were still too young to be considered the Potter Heir and then you found your mate, who apparently is a council member and you found out that your family line goes directly back to Merlin himself, and that gave you the legal backing to your fame."  
"Everything done!" The voice of Madame Malkin interrupted their quiet conversation and as they all looked up, they saw a hesitant, but smiling Oscar stepping out in front of them. He was now clad in a short-sleeved white button down, the Hogwarts tie around his neck and his legs were covered by black trousers, which reached his knees.  
"You look good," Harry smiled and the little creature blushed.  
"How much do I owe you?" He asked Madam Malkin, before paying with a second cheque.  
"Thank you, Mr. Potter, have a good day," she said as they left.  
The rest of their journey was rather short. They went to the Leaky Cauldron and Harry was the first to floo back, but when he stepped out of his fireplace, he knew that he was in big trouble.  
"There you are," His father glared down at him, his arms crossed in front of his chest, whilst Lucius was just growling.  
"You forgot your snake man," Ron said, stepping out of the hearth behind him, but then went silent at the sight of the two enraged wizards in front of him.  
"I would advise you to go back to your common room, Mr. Weasley," Severus sneered, just when Hermione arrived with Oscar. She set the Elf down, who took in the scene in front of him with huge, fearful eyes, but stepped in front of Harry protectively.  
Not wanting the situation escalated, he quickly said: "It's okay Oscar, the left one is Lucius Malfoy, my Professor and the right one is Severus Snape, my father. Maybe you could find yourself a room and put your new clothing away?"  
To his relief, Oscar nodded and disappeared with a last sceptical look at the two men.  
"Well, we will better go then, too," Hermione said and pulled Ron hastily from the room.  
As soon as they were alone, his father snapped: "Do you have any idea how completely stupid and reckless it was to sneak out of Hogwarts?"  
"I wasn't alone; Ron, Hermione and even Nagini were there with me as well," Harry tried to defend himself, but he knew that it was a weak argument.  
"Last night, Voldemort had gotten so enraged because of you, that he transferred his feelings to you even without a proper link, and today you sneak away to buy a House Elf?" Severus snapped.  
Harry winced, seeing it from that angle it sounded much worse and his mate was still growling. He didn't even dare to look at the enraged face of Lucius.  
"But I need help if I want to watch over all those houses and we didn't break a rule!" he huffed, crossing his arms. He knew that he had acted a bit rashly and that it really had been a more dangerous trip than he had realized, but he would stick to his decision. He was not a child anymore (at least by law) and he was the Head of the Order; he had responsibilities.  
"Then you should have talked with one of us! And Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger are not yet educated enough to provide the same protection Lucius or I could give you. Not to even mention what you have done to your mate!"  
That comment stung and Harry finally looked closer at Lucius. Rage was not the only thing glittering in his currently completely red eyes; there was panic as well.  
Guilt crashed down on him like a huge wave and without being able to look his mate in his face any longer, he mumbled: "I am sorry, I didn't think..."  
"No you obviously did not! You did not think about how your mate would feel when he finds you missing, without a sign as to where you have gone just a few hours after the Dark Lord has sworn to take revenge on you! We didn't even know if you just gone off to go shopping, or if one of the Death Eater children had somehow managed to kidnap you! Lucius nearly went on a rampage through the castle, blowing all our covers into the wind and to get him even this calm took all my calming droughts!"  
"I...I am sorry," Harry mumbled, voice weak and shuffled closer to Lucius; he had never wanted to hurt his mate, he had not even known that a mate would go this mad when their counterpart was missing. Carefully he grabbed one of Lucius' hands, hesitatingly, because he was not sure if Lucius wanted to even see him right now. But Lucius snatched him up and hugged him close to his strong chest, as if he was nothing more than a small doll.  
"I don't know if I should punish you for leaving or throw a party out of relief because you are back and uninjured," his mate growled and buried his nose into Harry's neck.  
"You," his father spoke up again "...will go to your library, conjure every book you can find about Bloodmates and mates in general, read them and write an essay about the relationship and deep connection between mates and it better be long and good enough to be worth publishing as well!"  
"Yes, daddy," Harry mumbled, feeling very ashamed and thoroughly scolded.  
"I will leave you two alone then," his father said and stormed off.  
Lucius instantly took him to the sofa, where he sat down with him. Now, without his father there as a distraction, he could feel and smell the panic and desperation radiating from his mate. A croaked mewl tore from his throat and he wrapped his arms around Lucius' neck, before starting to purr soothingly. Lucius' whole body was tense; Harry could feel the muscles clench beneath him and the man was also shaking.  
"I am so sorry, I didn't realize..." he croaked out, but went silent when Lucius spoke up:  
"I thought that the Dark Lord somehow got you, I thought that you were being tortured," his mate's voice was no more than a whisper and sounded as strained as the body beneath Harry felt. Harry didn't know what to say, or how he could even begin to make it up to Lucius.  
"I feared that I had lost you, Harry," Lucius said and then suddenly spun him around, so that he had to face the hurt in his mate's eyes: "I know it is not your fault that you know so little about mating bonds. Harry, we are soulmates, do you know what that means?"  
"That we are destined to fall in love with each other?" Harry asked carefully; he really had no real idea what soulmates were, he only knew that they were rare and that it was a great honour to find his soulmate.  
Lucius shook his head sadly, Harry assumed at his lack of knowledge. "Soulmates are not only meant for love, they balance each other, and they complete each other. No being is perfect, you are caring and understanding, but you miss some traits that I possess. Finding your soulmate means finding the one person who has strong traits where you have weak ones, even their magic is in harmony with one another. When two of those souls find each other, they connect and form an entity, they grow so close that it is often said that only one soul is living in two soulmates. To lose your soulmate, would mean that your soul would be torn apart, that half of you dies, whilst you are still alive and have to stay behind on this planet."  
Harry felt a lump in his throat, he had had no clue. Tears pricked at his eyes and he buried his face into Lucius' chest:  
"I am so sorry," he sobbed, the extent of what he had done to his mate finally sinking completely in. "You are so important to me, how could I not have realized?"  
Lucius sighed and slowly stroked through his hair: "The soul only connects slowly to its counterpart, it takes time, it is a complex process and for someone who is still as young as you and who does not yet have a lot of experience with their own magic, it is not so easy to notice at first. Some of it you have already experienced; that you have fallen in love with me is a sign that our two souls are already connecting and that you are slowly starting to realize it, at least on a subliminal level. Just promise me that you will tell me next time when you plan to go and buy a House Elf and stay in my sight for the rest of the day," his mate said and pressed a kiss on top of his head.  
Harry looked up through watery eyes: "Are you still mad at me?" He didn't want his mate to be mad at him, he hated it; it made him all the more aware that he had hurt Lucius.  
"I was at first, but the relief that you are back and unharmed is stronger and to be honest, Severus and I knew that you lived with muggles and that you know next to nothing about the magical world; we should have explained our bond more thoroughly to you, after all, you are still the child in this, regardless of your legal status."  
"I promise," Harry said and snuggled closer to Lucius; he was so relieved that he had not ruined everything between them, only because he had once again been a typical, reckless Gryffindor, who didn't think.  
"And now," Lucius said, sounding much more at ease again "...tell me about the House Elf you bought. He still looks quite young."  
Huffing, Harry sat up a bit straighter and crossed his arms: "Don't start like Ron, or the Ministry Worker; Oscar is great, I believe in him!"  
Lucius lifted an eyebrow in amusement: "I never said he would be a bad House Elf. I realize that many wizarding families don't like the extra work a young House Elf brings in the first few years, but the Malfoy family has always hired their Elves at a very young age. They are still fairly untainted by former masters at that age and you can educate them more thoroughly to fit your needs and they often grow more attached to you."  
Harry winced at the thought of what Hermione would say to the bit about 'educating House Elves to fit your needs': "Don't let Hermione hear you speak like that, she only agreed to tell me where I can get one under the promise of treating him well, I think I will even have to pay him..." he huffed.  
"Miss Granger will never understand that House Elves work for us not because we forced them to do so, but because it is what makes them happy. But then again, I don't expect Muggleborns to understand those subtle things about our world," Lucius drawled.  
Harry glared at him; Lucius really could be a bastard at times. "You know, I might not be Muggleborn, but I am Muggle raised, I didn't understand it at first, especially because the first Elf I met was Dobby, who was certainly unhappy working for you and ironing his hands."  
"It is common practice to punish House Elves," Lucius replied unfazed, but then sighed:  
"Would you like to know more about how I grew up?"  
Harry blinked at his mate in confusion, how had he moved from the topic of House Elves to his childhood? But that didn't really matter as long as he learned more about the aristocrat.  
"I would like that," Harry grinned at him and sat back comfortably in Lucius' lap.  
"My father, Abraxas Antonius Hesperos Malfoy was the first Malfoy, who was opposed to the Dark Arts. He was a Master at Dark Spells of course, but he tried to avoid them as much as possible, believing that no living being should be tortured and hurt in the way Dark Curses are able to. He married a beautiful witch, whose family origin laid in Germany, Rosa Antoinette Grünwald. The Grünwald's sent all their children to Hogwarts and they were all Slytherins, but when the Dark Lord rose, they started to educate their children at home, wanting to protect them from the evil wizard's influence."  
Harry was intriguing by the story; he had always believed that the Malfoy's had been evil wizards until he had mated to Lucius, but apparently not.  
"I do not exactly know where my parents first met, but I know that they were already fairly old at the time, at least at Pureblood standards. My father had somehow managed to avoid every marriage to a woman his own father, a loyal follower of the Dark Lord and a true Dark Wizard, wanted to arrange for him. He fell in love with my mother instantly and my grandfather, relieved that his son was finally willing to marry, agreed after he had done some research about the Grünwald line. I was born only a year later and my childhood was one of many contrasts:  
My father taught me that every being had its own value, even a squib or a House Elf; he was also the one who told me that children, regardless of who their parents were, were the most valuable thing in the world, because without children, there is no future. His words were the reason I woke and promised to help you that night at Privet Drive."  
"But how is it possible that you became a Death Eater, when you had such an understanding father?" Harry asked bewildered, thinking about the things he had learned so far about his mate.  
"I told you, my life was one of contradictions: My grandfather was still the Head of our family and he raised me in the traditional way. He told me about family honour and the power Dark Magic gives a wizard. At times, I felt literally torn in two. Maybe I would have had the strength to choose a different path with the help of my parents, but they died in an accident when I only was in my fifth year at Hogwarts. After that, I fully lived the life of a Malfoy Heir and my grandfather's influence grew even stronger. By the time I turned seventeen, it did not even enter my mind to refuse my grandfather's wish to join him in the Dark Lord's ranks and even if I had wanted to, I would not have had the power to deny him: the Malfoy family is ruled like a monarchy with the family head as the king, his word is absolute."  
Harry's heart clenched at the sad story. His mate's parents sounded like amazing people, they had not deserved such an early end, it would have saved Lucius many hardships, he was sure.  
"I would have liked to get to know your parents; I would have liked them, I am sure," he mumbled with a small smile.  
"And I would have liked to introduce you to them, especially my mother, she would have loved you, she was very kind-hearted and had always wished for a bigger family, a family full of warmth and love," Lucius said. "But sadly, I cannot even show you their portraits; something must have gone wrong with their soul transportation charm, because they never came to life after their death."  
Harry was at a loss about what to say; his mate had not deserved to lose his parents so early, as someone who had grown up as an orphan for nearly twelve years, he knew how horrible it was to have no parents to turn to for advice or comfort and somehow he believed that his mate did not have a better life with his grandfather than he had had with the Dursley's.  
"I am sorry," he said for the thousands time that day, his heart feeling heavy.  
"It is fine Harry. And now tell me about your new House Elf. What was his name again?"  
Harry smiled at his mate, understanding that Lucius wanted to leave that topic, but now he understood his mate much better. He had always wondered how he had been able to let go of his Death Eater ways so fairly easily, but now he knew.  
"His name is Oscar and he is 75 years old," he told Lucius and gave him a brief kiss on his cheek to distract him a bit after the emotional story. "His former family went bankrupt, that was why he was looking for a new job."  
"How long has he been searching for a new family already?" Lucius asked, one hand coming up to trace soft patterns over his back.  
"For four month; I really can't understand why, he seems nice and loyal."  
Lucius nodded. "He does, he reminds me a bit of you, my little submissive," his mate said affectionately.  
Blushing furiously, Harry admitted: "That is kind of the reason why I bought him; he reminded me of myself when I was younger. I always dreamed about someone who would come and pick me up and take me to a better place. And then that one person came," he smiled and pressed his lips against Lucius'. Lucius sighed into the kiss and for a few moments they kissed gently, before parting again.  
"I think it was a good idea to buy a House Elf considering your plans of a second Headquarters and an asylum for your friends' families."  
"Hermione said that as well; I think that was the main reason why she agreed to the House Elf thing, but it was actually Ron's idea, I never even thought about House Elves," Harry explained.  
"I can even imagine that; you are still quite uneducated in the customs of Pureblood Society," Lucius mused and then added: "You should call your House Elf now and introduce him to his new job."  
"Okay," Harry agreed and then called: "Oscar!"  
Oscar appeared with a very quiet pop, only enough to alert him, but not the deafening sounds most of the other house elves made.  
"What can Oscar do for Master Harry Potter, sir?"  
Harry didn't answer for a moment, instead he watched his mate eye Oscar sceptically.  
"I must admit," Lucius said after a moment "I like the idea of uniforms, it has more style."  
"Thinking about it," Harry mused, whilst Oscar still waited patiently "...it is a bit odd: Purebloods are all about being classy, looking their best and making a good impression, but they clad their servants in rags."  
Lucius chuckled: "You know, my father told me the same once. I was only six and didn't understand what he meant back then."  
Harry turned back to Oscar and motioned for him to sit down as well. Oscar hesitated for a moment, but then climbed onto the arm chair opposite from him, fumbling with his twig like fingers nervously.  
Harry glanced one last time over at his mate, feeling a bit unsure; he had never owned a House Elf before after all, but when Lucius just nodded, he started: "I want to tell you a few things about my life and the work you will have to do."  
Oscar nodding eagerly, but Harry was once again at a loss for words.  
"Um...where do I start?" he asked blushing and with a second hesitant look over his shoulder. Lucius chuckled again, before advising him: "Start with your name, your family, those type things."  
"Okay...My Name is Harry Severus James Potter, my mum was Lily Evans, a Heiress to the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff line and my father is Severus Tobias Snape, a Heir to the Slytherin and Ravenclaw line, which means that I am the Heir to the Hogwarts Founders and to Merlin, who was their great-grandfather."  
Oscar gasped and slapped his hands over his mouth, before exclaiming: "Oscar knew that Mr. Harry Potter sir was the Heir to Hogwarts, but not that he is also a descendant of the great Merlin!"  
"Well, that last bit is not yet widely known," Harry mumbled, feeling a bit flustered, he had never been good with all that fan-like attention.  
"Is it a secret?" Oscar asked. Harry thought about it for a moment and came to the conclusion, that there really was no reason why his connection to Merlin needed to be kept a secret. He would not shout it out to the world, but he would not deny it either:  
"No, you can tell the people if they ask, but you need to keep the identity of my father a secret. Only Lucius, my friends you met earlier, Albus Dumbledore the Headmaster..."  
"Oscar knows who Albus Dumbledore is, sir!" Oscar exclaimed and then grew beet red to the tips of his ears: "Sorry sir, Oscar didn't mean to interrupt."  
Smiling at the childish Elf, Harry replied: "It's okay," before picking up his train of thought again: "You will come to know a couple of people, who belong to the Order of the Phoenix, they all know about my father, but no one else is allowed to know."  
Oscar nodded as a sign that he understood.  
"The man I am sitting so comfortably on is my Bloodmate Lucius Malfoy."  
"Oscar knows the name Malfoy as well," Oscar squeaked.  
"Oscar, do you know what a Bloodmate is?" Harry asked, making his voice a bit sterner sounding.  
The House Elf shook his head. Harry slowly let his glamours go and watched Oscar closely. The Elf's eyes widened and he squeaked a bit in surprise. Harry could see the fear in his eyes and the shaking of his body and wondered whether unmated vampires only drank from humans.  
"You don't need to fear us," Harry tried to calm him down again. "Lucius and I are Soulmates, Bloodmate is only a different term for the same thing. It means that we can only drink from each other, nothing else satisfies our hunger and even though we do enjoy other blood, we don't need it, or go crazy without it. My father is a vampire as well, but he and my mother were Bloodmates and since she is dead, he drinks from me as well."  
Oscar seemed to calm down a lot and settled back down: "Oscar will trust Master Harry Potter."  
Harry nodded and smiled at him, before continuing: "No one besides my father and Albus Dumbledore knows about our transformation into vampires and it is important that it stays that way. Under no circumstances are you allowed to talk about this with anybody besides me, my father, my mate and Albus."  
"So he really knows?" Lucius asked without any real surprise in his voice.  
"Albus? Yes, I found out when he told me about my extra classes," Harry confirmed.  
"I thought as much. The man is too intelligent for his own good," his mate grumbled.  
Harry turned back to Oscar, who took in all of the information with great eagerness and was by now slightly bouncing in his armchair. "This summer, I became the Head of the Order of the Phoenix; it is a group who fights against Lord Voldemort."  
Oscar flinched, so did Lucius, but the man was too controlled to let any of it show; Harry only noticed it because he was sitting in his lap and felt the quick tensing of his muscles.  
"The Order actually has one headquarters, but will get a second one soon and I also plan for a safe house, where people who get attacked by Death Eaters can hide. But being a student, it is difficult for me to keep an eye on all those places; this is the main reason why I bought you: You will deliver mail and orders to the people and the House Elves. I don't yet know how many other Elves there will be, I only inherited my family fortune a few weeks ago."  
"Then Oscar will be Head Elf?" Oscar asked excitedly, but Harry didn't know what a Head Elf was.  
"A Head Elf, is like the chef over all other Elves you own. Considering that you are in charge of not only the Potter and Hogwarts Elves, but also the Malfoy Elves, it would make sense to give the post of the Head Elf to your Personal House Elf," Lucius explained.  
Nodding, Harry told Oscar: "You are the Head Elf."  
The little creature nearly bounced from his chair in joy. "Harry Potter makes Oscar so happy. Oscar was nothing, sitting four months in the Ministry without a job and now he is Head Elf! Thank you Harry Potter, sir!"  
"I think this is all for the moment, or have I forgotten something?" Harry asked with a glance at his mate.  
"I do believe you have covered the most important aspects for now, the rest will occur in the next days," Lucius agreed.  
"Can Oscar ask a question, sir?"  
"Sure," Harry answered with a shrug. "You don't need to ask. If you have a question, then ask; you are still new here and have a lot to learn."  
"How shall Oscar call you, sir?"  
"He means a title," Lucius instantly clarified, knowing by now how Harry's upbringing gave him problems in understanding things in the wizarding world.  
"Do I even have a title?" Harry questioned.  
His mate snorted in disbelief. "Of course you have one, I will buy you a formal letterhead so that you can always look up your many titles," Lucius drawled.  
Scoffing Harry grumbled: "That still doesn't help me."  
"You can call yourself the Heir to the Merlin line, which would include all Founders, or the Heir to the Founders, which would be mostly the same thing, if you want to show that you feel especially connected to a specific Founder, you can call you his or her Heir..."  
"This is still not very helpful," Harry muttered.  
"I am aware of what you mean, I just wanted to make sure that you understand your own name," Lucius smirked arrogantly. "You can rightfully claim the title Lord, but I do not think that you will be very comfortable with that. Master might be an alternative."  
Harry sighed in exasperation; his mate could get really annoying when it came to things like title, birth status and so on. "Then I will stick to 'Master'," he announced with a roll of his eyes.  
"Oscar will call you 'Master', then, Master Harry Potter, sir"  
"Have you found a room for yourself?" Harry asked, wanting to change the topic.  
"No sir, Oscar was not sure if he had heard right, a whole room for Oscar?"  
"Yes, I have enough guestrooms in here, as long as you don't choose one of the Founder rooms, it is okay."  
"Then Oscar will go now," Oscar said excitedly and popped out of the living room again.  
"He will be a fine Elf," Lucius said. "He has the right motivation; you made a good choice by picking him."  
Harry beamed at the compliment and then yawned.  
"Time for bed, it is late enough and you had a rough night," Lucius ordered softly, but without any space for arguing.  
Harry really didn't want to go to bed just yet, he had seen his mate for only a short while today and he wanted to cuddle a bit more. "Only if you come with me," he whined and gave his mate his best puppy eyes look.  
"I need to mark essays," Lucius frowned.  
"Then take them with you," Harry urged him. "Please? We couldn't cuddle the entire day."  
"I do not cuddle, Malfoy's never do something as childish and Gryffindorish as cuddling," Lucius huffed indignantly.  
"Yeah of course not. Then we have not had a chance to lie next to each other with arms wrapped around one another," Harry teased back.  
"That sounds better," Lucius agreed and then called "Oscar," giving in to Harry's request. Harry frowned when there was no pop.  
"Why doesn't he come?" Harry asked in irritation.  
"You made him your Personal House Elf, but you never told him to listen to me. He is only bound to you." Harry winced at the annoyance in his mate's voice; he was probably not used to House Elves ignoring his call.  
"Wait a moment," Harry said hastily and called Oscar himself. This time the elf didn't need a second to appear.  
"Oscar, I forgot to tell you, but I want you to listen and help my mate and father as well; they are my family."  
Before Oscar could reply in some way Lucius ordered him: "You will find a stack of essays on the desk in my private office, bring them to me."  
Oscar, probably having noticed that Lucius was not as lax as Harry was, hastily popped out to retrieve the parchments.  
Suddenly, Harry remembered his accident with Lucius' work desk. He fidgeted nervously and looked shyly up to his mate: "Um...Lucius?"  
His mate lifted an amused eyebrow: "Yes Harry?"  
"I borrowed your chequebook today..."  
"You did?" Lucius smirked, apparently not angry yet.  
"Yes...and when I tried to open you desk, I might have...destroyed the upper drawer a bit..." he fidgeted again, only to be stilled by his mate: "No fidgeting, it is too late in the evening for you to get me aroused."  
Harry flushed. He always forgot the rule. Fidgeting was one of his nervous habits; he had always fidgeted, even as a small kid. The Dursley's were probably to blame for his habit.  
"You are aware, that the desk was from the 17th century?" his mate asked, making Harry feel even guiltier. He had expected that the desk would have been expensive, but it was also an antique.  
"Well I guess I will have to order one of my House Elves to bring me another one from the attic, or the vault in Gringotts. Luckily I own a House Elf who is quite talented with furniture; he will be able to fix it, so no need to worry."  
"It's really okay?" Harry asked carefully, not sure if Lucius had wanted to tell him that with his long speech.  
"Yes, Harry. It is fine, we are wizards, such things can be repaired unless you burn them to ashes and you did not manage that, did you?" Harry shook his head.  
"Good," Lucius said and lifted him up to carry him into his bedroom, where he proceeded to spell his clothing from his body.  
"Much better," Lucius smirked.  
"Hey, Oscar will come back soon!" Harry exclaimed and grabbed for the blanket.  
"And?" his mate only asked.  
"He will see me naked!"  
"He is an Elf, nakedness is nothing strange to them," Lucius drawled.  
"Well, I still feel uncomfortable." Lucius actually rolled his eyes then, a gesture that was so un-Malfoyish that Harry could only gape in shock, until a silent pop pulled him from his frozen state.  
"Here are the essays Lord Malfoy wanted Oscar to bring," Oscar announced.  
"Lay them on the night stand," Lucius said dismissively.  
When the Elf was gone again, Harry wrapped his blanket tightly around his body and wobbled over to Justitius, who fluttered demandingly in front of his bat treats, making little high-pitched sounds every so often.  
"A snake, a bat, an owl and a House Elf; I hope you don't plan on buying a cat or a dog, or we might have to open a zoo," Lucius drawled as he stepped out of his trousers.  
"You were the one who gave Justitius to me," Harry pointed out, opening the Honey Drops and giving one to his little familiar.  
"So I did," Lucius replied nonchalantly.  
Turning around, Harry was happy to see his mate already sitting in his bed, propped up against the headboard and naked with the exception of his boxers. Lucius stretched his right leg out and pat for Harry to lay down. Not needing to be invited twice, Harry climbed onto the bed and settled down between Lucius' legs, his head on Lucius' outstretched thigh.  
The rest of the evening he relished in the closeness of his mate and watched Lucius correcting essays. He loved watching his mate and stayed awake much longer than he had thought. From time to time, Lucius would stop for a moment and trace patterns over his bare back or comb through his hair, but eventually, he fell asleep.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Later in the night, long after Lucius had joined him in his dream, Harry awoke suddenly feeling cold and shaky. The cold feeling which he had thought had disappeared after Lucius had joined him at Hogwarts was once again back, stronger than ever before. It felt like the cold hand of death. Suddenly panicked his eyes searched for his mate in the dark room and found him lying peacefully next to him, or was Lucius too peaceful?  
Not waiting another moment, he shook his dominant who instantly jolted up right, the man's silver eyes looking as panicked as his own.  
"Harry, what is wrong? Did you get some feelings from the Dark Lord again?" His mate asked worriedly and pulled him into his lap.  
Slightly relaxing at the contact and at the knowledge that his mate was indeed still alive, he shook his head, suddenly feeling stupid. How could he explain his sudden fear and the feeling?  
He shook his head again, not able to put into words what he was experiencing for the third or fourth time now.  
The coldness around his heart really felt like death itself, but Lucius was not dead, at least not deader than already.  
An awful thought suddenly came to his mind: Could vampires get fatal diseases? Not the typical wizarding ones, they were immune to them, but illnesses only vampires could get.  
Hoping that he was inconspicuous, he sniffed carefully, but Lucius smelled like always: Strong, and powerful and incredibly sexy. And then the face of his mate's son flashed in front of his inner eye once again. What was the meaning of this? What did his instincts want to tell him? Frowning, he looked down at the strong arms that were wrapped around him. This all made no sense. His mate was there, he should not feel lonely and he had no connection to his mate's son. Glancing upwards, he tried to find out if Lucius looked especially sad right now, as if he was mourning his son in this moment, but Lucius only looked concerned for him. Should he ask his mate? But then again, he would hate to rip wounds open, which might have started to heal slowly. No, he would not concern his mate any more than necessarily. He could still ask him if he hadn't figured out what this feeling meant in a few days, but for now he would keep silent.  
A warm hand grabbed his chin and turned his face up.  
"Harry, please talk with me, what is wrong love? Is it the Dark Lord?"  
He forced himself to answer, to calm his mate's nerves, but his voice sounded hoarse as he said: "No, it was just a normal nightmare."  
Lucius watched him for a second longer and then sighed, pulling him flush against the stronger male's chest. After a moment, Lucius let go of him and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, saying: "Everything is fine, Harry. I am here, nothing will happen."  
Harry smiled weakly and laid back down, somehow knowing, that nothing was fine, because the cold feeling still lingered and didn't seem to leave. His mate joined him again and spooned protectively behind him. Normally, he fell asleep within seconds when his mate lay next to him, but this time, the sun was almost rising before he drifted off again, still shivering and feeling lonelier than he should with Lucius at his side.


	21. Chapter 21: The Unwilling Third One

**Chapter 21: The Unwilling Third One**

 **HP**

The next day Harry found himself sitting in front of an old table in his bedroom, trying to do his homework and even more importantly: trying to ignore the cold feeling that was still nearly as strong as it had been the previous night. Furthermore, the essay about 'The Theory Behind the Transformation of Living Creatures' was immensely boring and it certainly didn't help in distracting him.  
Lucius had luckily believed his excuse that he had merely been plagued by a nightmare and it was a huge relief because he still had no idea what this feeling meant; only that it was somehow important. After thinking about every event at which he had felt the coldness, he no longer believed that he was feeling his mate's sorrow. Sure, Lucius was sad, but it wasn't the reason behind his own distress. No, somehow that theory didn't fit because the coldness had grabbed his heart when he had entered Hogwarts, the place where he had always fought with Draco and the second time it had happened in his father's classroom, where he had always sat in the same room with the boy as well. Furthermore, as soon as Lucius had joined him, he had only seen Draco's face in front of his inner eye, not his mate's anymore. That was why he now believed that his instincts, or maybe his Soulbond wanted to tell him something; but why him and not Lucius who was the dominant and so much wiser than himself, he couldn't say.  
Sighing in frustration, he threw his quill down on his parchment where it left huge, black ink-blotches and buried his face in his hands. He needed to find out what this all meant, he thought as another shiver went down his spine. That this was happening to him was frightening. Not only was it not normal to see the face of a dead person in front of his inner eye, this morning he had also woken up feeling much weaker than he was used to, as if an illness was slowly eating away at his body. But he was a vampire; there shouldn't be any illness with the power to affect him like this. Regardless whether it was an illness or not, he needed to find a solution before Lucius could get affected or infected as well. And he needed hurry before his observant mate could notice anything.  
A shadow appeared in the doorway and it could only be one of two people because he heard everybody else approaching, even before they could enter his private quarters. As he looked up, he saw his mate leaning against the door frame.  
"Lucius," he greeted with a small smile, his eyes fixed on the perfect figure of his dominant mate. Lucius had left his elegant cloak he usually wore to classes in his rooms and wore only his tight black trousers, a white button-down shirt, and a silver waistcoat, which clung to every muscle of his perfect upper body. It provided a sight which was finally able to tear his mind from his gloomy thoughts and his eyes happily roamed his mate's body.  
Lucius really was perfect, but sadly he was not the only student who had noticed it. He growled quietly at the thought of all the Slytherins, boys and girls alike of just about every age, following his mate with lust filled eyes. Pansy Parkinson especially, watched every movement of his dominant as soon as he entered the great hall or appeared in the same corridor as her. The students from the other houses were not as bad; sure, many girls giggled, but they were also weary of Lucius' rather dubious reputation.  
"Is something wrong?" Lucius asked with a raised eyebrow, but Harry didn't hear him, he was too transfixed by the sight in front of him. He wanted to touch, lick and kiss this perfect body in front of him and he wanted to be touched in return. Lucius would surely be able to take away the coldness that clawed at his body and soul with its fiery passion, or at least distract him for a blissful moment.  
'What was stopping him?' he wondered, why was he not unbuttoning his mate's shirt? Lucius would surely appreciate his attention; in fact, Harry was sure that the aristocrat wanted much more than Harry was ready to give just yet.  
He seemed to stand in slow motion, feeling oddly detached from his body whilst every fibre of his being urged and itched to feel the skin of his mate, to press against him and take in his delicious scent.  
Slowly he walked over, not saying anything and only stopped when he was almost touching the aristocrat. He laid his right-hand flat against the muscled abdomen and whispered pleadingly:  
"I...want to touch you."  
Lucius didn't answer him, but as he looked up into those silver-red eyes, he saw a carnal desire flashing in those orbs. Without breaking the eye contact, he started to open one button after the other; first those of his mate's waistcoat, then of his button-down until he could finally touch bare skin.  
He groaned at the sensation of his mate's body heat seeping into him and placed his other hand on the body as well. Lucius' heart was pounding beneath him, making his blood rush wildly through his veins. He traced soft patterns over every single, well-defined muscle of his mate's six-pack, no longer jealous of this body, but relishing in the fact that it was his. He, Harry, was the only one who would ever lay a hand on Lucius Malfoy again and he had been right: The cold feeling was already fading and not as bad anymore.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

Stepping even closer, he pushed the waistcoat and shirt to the side, making it slip from his mate's shoulders, before placing his mouth on his soft skin. His mouth traced small patterns over Lucius' upper stomach and his heart fluttered in ecstasy as a shiver ran down his mate's spine. Lucius liked this, he was making his mate feel good and he was almost feeling better as well. His hands stroked down his dominant's sides before clutching his shoulders and pulling him down a bit so that he could reach those small nipples, which were the same pale colour as the rest of his wonderful dominant's skin.  
He stepped on his tiptoes so that he was able to lick over one of the small buds with his tongue and purred in delight when it hardened instantly, going stiff beneath his wet muscle.  
"Harry," Lucius gasped, but he only continued to tease the erected flesh. When he had the feeling that the nipple could not stiffen any further, he went over to its twin, finding it nearly as hard as the one he had already kissed and pleasured.  
He carefully bit down, not knowing if his mate appreciated pain as much as he did, but still hard enough to draw a small trickle of blood. Lucius gasped and shivered again when he sucked the nipple into his mouth and gathered the blood, which had leaked from the small wound. Lucius had only once sucked, licked and bitten on one of his nipples, but it had made him come on the spot. It seemed his mate liked it as well.  
Letting the nipple go, he kneeled down and carefully opened the button on Lucius' trousers. He waited a moment, but when his mate didn't stop him, he proceeded with the zipper and then pushed the black pants down, revealing long, but strong muscled legs. He had never seen a man with legs as perfect as his Lucius' before. They were bare and smooth and unyielding like steel.  
Leaning forwards, he nuzzled the hairless skin of his mate's left thigh, before nuzzling the clad erection quickly as well. His mate was already burning hot and pulsing beneath him and he could only imagine how the long, thick flesh would look: extremely masculine and a very pale; a pink colour, unlike his own cock, which still looked very much like the sex of a boy rather than the phallus of a man and often grew nearly lilac when he got especially aroused.  
"Your skin is so soft, but your body is so hard," he breathed and placed a kiss on the thigh he had been nuzzling before.  
"So perfect," he hummed, wanting to worship his mate's perfection. Slowly and carefully, he tugged the black boxers down, revealing the treasure behind it. A gasp escaped his lips when his eyes finally landed on his mate's shaft for the first time. It was even more beautiful than in his imagination. There was no hair surrounding the strong flesh, which stood tall and strong. Harry could smell the heavy scent of his mate's sex and started to purr instinctively. His eyes were transfixed on the soft rosy colour and the urge to kiss the cock, to show his appreciation for his mate became unbearable. How was it possible that he deserved to have such a god as his mate?  
Slowly, very slowly he leaned forwards until the tip of his tongue could reach Lucius' penis and gathered the precum there. It tasted bitter and strong and held the very essence of his mate and he could feel Lucius' pulse quicken under his tongue at his touch; but he didn't have much time to contemplate the taste or his dominant's obvious excitement, when he was suddenly yanked from the floor like a puppy by its neck. He could feel his mate's claws piercing his skin, as he was roughly lifted and carried over to the bed. The skin of his neck stretched under Lucius' grip but didn't tear. His submissive side hummed appreciatively at the control his dominant exuded over him, it stirred something in him he was only slightly aware of.  
He knew that he needed his mate to balance his submissive nature, that he needed orders and that he liked to give up control, but only now did it sink in that he quite literally needed to be dominated. Something his father had said directly after their transformation came back to his mind: Vampire dominants were often brutal. Severus had not only meant the scars Lucius inflicted on him during a passionate or loving moment, but quite literally, brutal force during intercourse and he found himself not the slightest bit afraid at the thought.  
In the next moment, he was tossed onto his bed and a wave of magic washed over him, making the last traces of the coldness go away and pulling a gasp from his throat. It only took a glance down his own body to realize that Lucius had dispersed his clothes, and then his mate was on him.  
His face was pressed into the mattress with a brutal force he had never experienced. Blood was dripping from the deep wounds on his neck and the claws which now held his head in place pierced his skin there too. He gave a submissive mewl, which was swallowed by the mattress beneath him, but it was enough to enrage his mate further. Enrage was really not the right word because no anger radiated from Lucius, only wild, all-consuming passion and the need to dominate and take what was his and Harry felt honoured to be Lucius' and to give up his body for his mate's pleasure.  
A mouth descended on his neck, first gathering the flowing blood and then starting to bite and nip at the sensitive place. He gasped and his cock hardened at the feeling of long fangs piercing and bruising the area. The mouth wandered down his spine, marking a trail all the way down to his hips, where Lucius stopped for a moment, before sliding his hot tongue between his arse cheeks, licking a hot trail along his crevice.  
He gasped as the tongue glided for the barest of moments over his pucker and his already hard cock started to pulse in need. Angling his hips a bit, he tried to rub himself against the mattress, but Lucius growled warningly and the grip at his head tightened even more, making him whimper; but apparently the sound was not apologetic enough because Lucius bit harshly and punishingly down on his right hip. Mewling sounds poured from his mouth. Why was he so young? If he had been older at his transformation, he would surely understand better how a submissive was to behave when its dominant claimed it. But as it was he had to learn by experience and Lucius had to bear the burden of an inadequate mate.  
His mewls grew louder and more desperate at the thought of being inadequate for his dominant and finally his mate's anger subsided. A tongue soothingly closed the bite wounds and Lucius answered his distressed sounds with a reassuring purr before the aristocrat turned back to marking his body.  
Harry's need had not subsided during his short panic attack, but he now lay still and just enjoyed the attention he was given. Lucius then shifted behind him and brushed his thick cock against his arse. Stiffening in fear he waited for his dominant's next move. He was not yet ready to take that huge step again, but he would not be able to deny Lucius anything. He would neither have the strength, nor the willpower knowing that it was the aristocrat's natural right to take him whenever and how often he wanted, even without his consent. But Lucius made a calming noise and pressed a soft kiss to his neck, before sliding his cock between his arse cheeks and starting to thrust slowly.  
He gasped once again, when the motion rubbed his cock against the bed sheets providing him with the friction he so desperately needed. Lucius quickened his pace and shifted again, only slightly, but suddenly his shaft rubbed over his opening with every motion, teasing it and sending small shivers of pleasure through his body which combined with the shivers of pleasure emanating from his penis. He lost himself in the astonishing sensations of being used and dominated by his mate and in the frenzy that grew with every moment between them. Soon Lucius was pounding his crevice, drawing blood as the friction intensified. The pain was only a small sensation in the back of his mind, which intensified the heat inside his body. He moaned, mewled, purred, and gasped without control, switching from one pleasure filled sound to the next. His balls tightened, his cock throbbed and his hole tingled under the onslaught of sensations. Only a moment later, his orgasm was ripped from his body, surprising him as hot semen coated his lower abdomen and the covers he was still pushed against. Lucius moved him through his entire release, but as soon as his cock grew limp, he was yanked around by his hair and his mate's thick shaft was thrust into his mouth.  
He was much too enraptured and in awe at the sight in front of him to be shocked: Lucius had intertwined his fingers into his bangs, tilting his head upwards, whilst the claw of his thumb pressed into the flesh of his forehead. He could see the thick flesh sliding in and out between his lips whilst Lucius fucked his mouth relentlessly and brutally. He could also see the strong thighs of his dominant on both sides of his head, his mate's heavy balls, and for the first time, Lucius' own crevice and hole.  
Harry had not thought it possible, but Lucius increased the pace and the force of his thrusts once again, driving his cock with every inward thrust against the back of his throat, bruising it. His mate, usually so calm and collected, groaned and gasped in his own pleasure and a moment later, his head was yanked upwards, pressed against his mate's crotch and his dominant's hot semen exploded into his awaiting mouth. He swallowed it eagerly without a second thought and sucked at the shaft, milking every last precious drop from it, whilst his mate rode out his orgasm.  
When Lucius' cock was limp again, he was released from his mate's grip and his head fell back onto the mattress.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

Licking his lips still in awe of the experience, he watched his mate slowly calm down. The aristocrat's cold silver eyes with their red ring had changed completely to the colour of blood, but as they returned to their original colour, he could see the instincts of Lucius retreating back into the background of his mind.  
Something flickered in his mate's eyes when he looked down at him and Harry, guessing what it was, said:  
"You didn't hurt me."  
They both knew that he didn't mean his words physically, but that he wanted to reassure his dominant that he hadn't gone too far. Lucius' eyes shone in relief and he leaned down to kiss him. Purring, he wrapped his arms and legs around his dominant, pulling him down on top his body. He finally felt warm again.  
Their tongues caressed each other for a moment and when they parted he, for the third time whispered: "I love you, Lucius."  
"And I love you, my little submissive," Lucius whispered back and hugged him to his body. "For a second I was scared that I had gone too far. My lust for you is so strong sometimes, but you are still so young and I do not wish to hurt you."  
"I'm not ready for real sex yet," Harry mumbled shyly, sometimes he really felt bad about his immaturity, "but we can still satisfy our instincts... I know..." he broke up and blushed heavily, sex was still an embarrassing topic for him to discuss, even though as a vampire he should be more comfortable with it. "I know..." he said again "that you need to dominate me and I need to be dominated. As brutal as you were just now, I...I.." he blushed even fiercer and cleared his throat before finally admitting: "I like to be used by you, my body is all yours. If you need me for release, I will be as happy as when you make slow love to me. To be a sex slave for you is not the slightest bit worse than being your lover."  
Lucius stared at him for a long moment, his silver eyes huge with an emotion Harry could not decipher. Then, the aristocrat kissed him again, deeper and more passionately this time before saying: "That means so much to me. You are right; I need both sides of you. I need you as my lover and I need you as my bitch sometimes; vampires are like that, but I will never love or respect you less when you go down on your knees for me to let yourself be used for my physical satisfaction."  
Harry smiled softly at his mate: "I know Lucius and I need it as well, I will not feel degraded when you use me like that."  
Lucius started to absentmindedly comb through his hair and he could see that his mind had wandered far away, debating something. Confident that his mate would tell him as soon as he was ready, he closed his eyes and snuggled comfortably against the older vampire.  
He couldn't say how long he had lain like that when Lucius finally said:  
"I have been taught certain rules and behaviours."  
Nodding, Harry said: "You mentioned that before, it's about how a man should treat his wife or his submissive, am I right?"  
"Yes, Harry. My instincts often go against everything I have been taught. Sometimes, when I am stressed after class, or after I have read a particularly annoying letter from one of the stupid fools at the ministry, I feel the urge to go to you, shove my cock into your mouth or your arse, and fuck you until all my anger has been released or relieved by you."  
Harry thought about his mate's words for a moment; that sounded similar to what he had experienced when he had been without Lucius at Grimmauld Place. Of course, the action Lucius' instincts demanded were quite different, but it still sounded as if he needed something only his mate could give him. Hesitantly, because he really wasn't sure if he understood the whole issue with their mating bond as well, Harry asked: "Could it be that you need to be balanced as well?"  
Lucius blinked at him: "Balanced? You mean like you need me to balance your submissive side?"  
Harry nodded: "When I was alone at the headquarter, I felt confused and as if I needed something only you could give me, what you just said sounded the same."  
He could see his mate's eyes widen in sudden understanding: "Of course! Magic and bonds are all about balance; there truly never is any aspect more powerful or important in a soul bond. How could there ever be when our united souls are the absolute opposite and complement of each other? It's only more obvious with submissives because they break much more quickly under pressure."  
"I am glad that you need me as much as I need you, I had the feeling that you would not get much out of our relationship," Harry smiled happily. "You provide me with clothes, you protect me, and you hold and comfort me..." he broke off, realizing how true his words were. The feeling had been mostly subconscious, but they were there.  
"Never think that again!"  
His head snapped up at his mate's angry voice and he gasped when he met cold, angry eyes.  
"You warm my body, you give me much more blood than you get in return, and I see the effort you make to learn about how to fit into my world and to appeal to me. You taught me what real love is, you brought back the memory of my parents and lifted a huge weight from my conscience, so do not say that I won't get as much from our bond!"  
Harry could only stare in shock at the outburst; he had never added Lucius' changes in character to his list of accomplishments, but apparently his mate had.  
"Harry, promise me!" Lucius commanded harshly.  
"I...I promise," He stammered and gave one of his apologetic sounds.  
"Good," Lucius smiled and pulled him closer.  
Nodding, he mumbled against his mate's chest: "Next time you feel those urges, just come to me and I will be happy to help you."  
"I'll do that," Lucius promised and he sighed contently.  
For a moment they lay like that, content in each other's arms, and Harry was about to drift off into a peaceful slumber when Lucius suddenly asked: "And now tell me why you looked so worried when I came in."  
And with this, the coldness came crashing down upon him again. His heart suddenly ached like it had half an hour earlier, but he determinedly shoved the sensation away and said. "I was only worried about my essay, I couldn't really concentrate."  
"Why not?" Lucius enquired and started to comb through his hair.  
"I..." he started and quickly searched for a good excuse. "... was daydreaming about you," he said and turned his head to smile at his mate. Unfortunately, Lucius didn't seem convinced.  
"Harry, if something is bothering you, you can always talk to me. There is no need to carry your worries on your own any longer."  
Not able to look his dominant in the eyes any longer, Harry averted his eyes, before mumbling: "It really wasn't anything else, just the essay." He knew his excuse sounded weak, but he had sworn to himself that he would not worry his mate unnecessarily; the man already had enough on his mind with being a Professor, a spy, and a Ministry Employee.  
"If you..." his mate made a pause as if searching for the right words to phrase what he wanted to tell him"...realize that there is something else worrying you after all, you can still come to me, I will not be angry with you for your... excuse, at least, not overly so," Lucius finally said and to Harry's relief his mate's voice sounded soft and understanding. He knew of course that Lucius would be at least a little angry for having been lied to if he ever decided to tell his mate about the strange feeling, but the aristocrat had told him as much.  
"If I have any problems, I will come to you," he said quietly and turned on his other side to nuzzle even closer to Lucius and hide his blushing face in his mate's strong chest. He needed a few minutes to fully relax again, but soon Lucius' gentle combing through his hair reassured him that his mate indeed was not angry with him and the content silence fell over them once again, until a voice disturbed them.  
"Harry?"  
He stiffened at the sound of Hermione's voice.  
"Harry, where are you?" Ron shouted.  
"Next time, we will ward your quarters," Lucius grumbled and sat up.  
"No!" He whined when his mate distanced himself from him. "I want to cuddle a bit more!"  
"Harry, how often do I have to tell you that Malfoy's do not cuddle?" Lucius asked irritably and flicked his wand. Suddenly he was clothed again. Pouting, Harry stood up from his bed and smoothed his coat.  
"Go to them and I will be able to sneak out," Lucius ordered and he submitted to the fact that he would not be able to continue his cuddle session.  
"I'm here!" he shouted and stepped from his bedroom with one last glance back at his mate.  
"Oh, did we wake you?" Hermione asked when she saw him.  
"You look disheveled, man," Ron added helpfully with a grin.  
"Yeah," hey faked a yawn and rubbed the back of his neck, only to stop in irritation, when Hermione gasped.  
Retrieving his hand, he saw the blood on his fingers and realized what his friend must have seen. His wounds on his neck from being lifted like a puppy had apparently been too deep to be closed completely by his mate's saliva and his body didn't heal marks inflicted by his mate very quickly either. They would probably close in the next hour but stay there for a few more days.  
Ron, who had now seen his neck as well stared, horrified, at him. "Has Nagini attacked you?" The redhead asked, but before he could give an answer, Hermione exclaimed:  
"Oh Harry, this is even worse than last time! You must put an end to this! This... this can't be good for you! I know you told me how you got them the last time... but this is too much!" she said vaguely, knowing that it was the wrong time to tell Ron that he indeed had a male mate and was the submissive.  
"What's too much? Who injured Harry?" Ron asked in confusion, looking from Hermione to him and back to Hermione.  
"There's no need to worry and it's not your place," he said, meeting his friends' concerned eyes.  
"But, Harry..."  
"No!" He stopped her; he would not let his friends interfere with his mating bond. His bond to Lucius was something sacred, it had to be, and fate itself had given Lucius to him and him to Lucius. Their souls had been made to complement the other; no one was allowed to interfere in their relationship.  
"Harry, please!" Hermione pleaded, but he only glared at her.  
"No! You know I tell you and Ron everything, but this I will not share and I will not justify anything either! You can tell me why you came here or you can go," He declared.  
Hermione looked as if she wanted to protest, but Ron stepped in between them: "Hermione, if this has something to do with his mate then he is right. It is not our place, you should know that there are the oddest courting rituals, you read all those books about creatures and mating after all."  
Hermione sighed and said: "I'm just worried."  
"I know, but there's really no reason to be," Harry reassured her with a smile and then asked: "So, why did you two come here?"  
"I thought, we could go to your library and start researching other possible Horcruxes," she answered.  
"Albus said that he will help me as well, he is collecting memories. I don't think that it will make sense to start researching already."  
Ron groaned as their brainy friend pursed her lips and announced: "You can never start researching too early."  
Knowing that it would not help to argue with her, Harry sighed and said: "I can take you to the library, but I need to do my homework first before I can help you." This seemed to appease her. Exchanging a knowing look with Ron, they followed their friend who was the only one who knew which of the many doors lead to the library; he himself had still not been there, too occupied with everything else.  
"I had hoped that you could talk her out of this, two hours homework was enough for the day, at least you had some rest," Ron grumbled, making Harry blush at the thought of his rest.  
"This is it," Hermione said and stopped in front of a door in the middle of the hallway, her cheeks flushed. Rolling his eyes, Harry followed his brainy friend into the room, only to gasp in shock. Hermione had tried to describe the library to him, but he had not imagined that the room could be so beautiful.  
It really was as if he had stepped into a high tower with books lining every inch of the walls up to its roof. Every so often he could see a wooden gallery and a spiral staircase that seemed to float on its own and connected the different levels. He saw small sitting spaces with one or two wingback chairs and small coffee tables. To his left stood an escritoire and further to the back a long work table.  
Going over to the escritoire, he found the list for the translation spell and swiftly added Ron, Hermione, his father, his mate and Albus to it. Apparently, the spell would end as soon as he crossed one name out; at least, he believed that that was the reason why so many names on the old list had been crossed out.  
"This is awesome!" Ron exclaimed. The redhead stood in the middle of the room, looking upwards.  
"It is," he agreed, but at the thought that he would have to read every book about mating bonds in this room, he felt his stomach clench uncomfortably. It would be days until he would be able to help his friends. Sighing, he went over to the huge work table, where Hermione was already accio'ing books.  
"Oscar!" He called and his little servant popped in with only the barest of sounds.  
"How can Oscar be of help for Master Harry Potter?"  
"Could you bring me my Transformation essay and some quills and ink?" He asked.  
"Of course, Master Harry Potter. Oscar will be right back," the creature agreed and disappeared again.  
Next to him, Hermione huffed in disapproval: "You didn't need to call him for that," she berated him.  
"I know, but he likes to help me," he merely replied and took his things from Oscar as he came back.  
To his surprise, he noticed that he was nearly finished with the essay. He had been rather distracted before and apparently had not noticed how much he had written after all. Ron joined them and sighed heavily before taking a random book from the many stacks around them.  
"What are we looking for?" he asked.  
"Albus said that Voldemort would have used meaningful objects," he told his friend.  
"Meaningful, like valuable?" Ron questioned.  
He shrugged: "Probably valuable and personally meaningful."  
"How should we know what might be valuable to him personally?" Ron huffed in irritation.  
"Just look for special objects and we will figure out if they could have a connection to him later," Hermione said and took a book as well.  
Turning back to his essay, Harry dipped his quill into the ink and started to write. After only twenty more minutes he was finished and sighed in relief.  
"You're finished?" Hermione asked with a look at his parchment. "Then you can help us with the research."  
"I can't," He said and shook his head. "I have to write another essay as punishment for my sneaking out of school."  
Ron winced: "Snape is a really stern father, isn't he?"  
"He was really worried," he shrugged.  
"Well, it's good that he cares so much. A punishment is never nice, but you would feel worse if he didn't care enough to get angry," Hermione said wisely.  
Nodding, Harry lifted his wand only to stop mid air. He could not just say "Accio books about mating bonds and Vampires," that would give too much away, but luckily an idea struck him and he quickly wrote a short note, before calling for Oscar once more.  
"Can you bring me all books you find on this subject?" he asked and gave the elf the piece of paper.  
Oscar's eyes widened in realization and, with a snap of his spidery fingers, dozens of books floated from the shelves and piled around Harry on the floor.  
Harry groaned in desperation, he would have to try to find out how fast he could read with the aid of his vampire powers, or he wouldn't be finished by the end of this school year.  
"What are these for?" Ron asked in horror.  
"I have to read them, dad told me to find all books in my library about a certain topic and read them, before writing the essay."  
"That's crazy, man!" Ron exclaimed and even Hermione looked slightly frightened at the number of books.  
"Well, I'll just start," Harry shrugged, took the first book, concentrated to block his friends out, got a feeling for his supernatural body, and then began reading. The letters flew by and every few seconds he could turn a page. Harry was too deep in concentration and too overwhelmed by the absurdity of his abilities and the written text to notice his friends' incredulous looks. He hadn't even noticed that Oscar was handing him one book after the other and that the stacks of the unread books grew smaller and smaller, whilst the ones he had finished grew bigger and bigger.  
To be honest, the books were fairly interesting. Lucius had told him the basics after his visit to London, but he still devoured the details. Harry had not known that a strong mating bond would never completely stop maturing and that some creatures started to feel strong emotions from their mates, like panic and worry, so that they could come to their aid; he also found out that their assumption that Lucius needed him for balance as well was in fact very true: While submissive creatures withered away in despair and loneliness when their mate didn't satisfy their needs, dominants grew mad with lust and pent up energy until they went on a rampage and had to be stopped, which often ended in their elimination.  
The soul of two soulmates was described like a lock with its fitting key, or two intertwined hands.  
Even more interesting were the specific details about vampires: How their mating bond worked, depended on the age of the wizards and witches. Young men and women experienced an increase in their sexual needs and desires, whilst older people often continued their relationship like it had been before. Harry found that it sounded very logical; he could not imagine Dumbledore suddenly developing a strong appetite for sex.  
To the effect of a transformation, he found only theories, because vampires had fairly early in history agreed to not change people under the age of 21, to make sure that the new vampires were fully developed, because it was assumed that the lack of many hormones and the inexperienced state of mind of a child would at least make the life of the turned child more stressful and might even lead to complications.  
Harry had, just today, experienced that there was a draw back to his early transformation. Often, his instincts were quite thorough, but sometimes he was at a loss.  
Suddenly, a strong hand pat him on his back and he was interrupted in his reading. When he looked up, he saw Sirius smiling down at him.  
"Padfoot!" He exclaimed and hugged his godfather.  
"My, you really were distracted. Can you teach me how to read so quickly or is it a creature thing?" Sirius asked.  
"It's a creature thing," Harry admitted with a grin.  
"But it looks handy," Remus commented from behind his godfather.  
"Can Oscar bring Sirs' something to eat or drink?" Oscar asked from where he stood hidden behind a huge stack of books.  
Remus and Sirius jumped in surprise at the words.  
"You own a House Elf?" Sirius asked and went around the stack.  
"Yes, his name is Oscar, I bought him only yesterday," Harry told them.  
"He looks quite young," Remus said, but his smile was soft and approving. Being a creature himself, the werewolf knew what it was like to be an outcast.  
"He is," Harry admitted. "He sat in the Ministry for months and no one wanted to take him in."  
"Does Sirs want tea?" Oscar asked again.  
"We would like some tea," Remus calmed the small creature who instantly popped out.  
From behind her own wall of books, Hermione suddenly asked: "Have you already created the map?"  
"Oh, you're here, too? Didn't see you," Sirius joked.  
They could hear Ron huff in annoyance and then mutter: "Well, she has gone a bit overboard." The redhead levitated the books in front of him to the ground and came into view.  
"We need another day or two, but the main work is done," Remus said in answer to Hermione's question.  
"How do you create such a complicated map?" The girl asked curiously, making Sirius smirk lopsidedly: "That's a secret. Maybe we'll tell Harry before our passing on, or we'll just take the knowledge to the grave."  
Harry crossed his arms over his chest, not liking the topic, especially not with the coldness getting stronger inside of him again.  
"If you only want to tell me before you die then I don't want to know."  
"Just joking, kiddo," Sirius winked and Remus rolled his eyes exasperatedly in the background.  
Oscar came back and placed tea cups in front of everyone, only Harry got a goblet with the blood mixed pumpkin juice.  
"What are you drinking? Looks awful," Ron eyed the goblet wearily.  
"Blood orange, I really love it," Harry lied and took a sip, groaning in pleasure when the liquid touched his tongue.  
"We can hear it," Hermione scoffed and rolled her eyes.  
Licking his lips, Harry only grinned at her; his friends would never be able to understand how much someone could start enjoying food when nearly everything tasted like paper.  
"It smells really bloody," Remus mused and sniffed the air, but luckily the strong scent of the pumpkin juice seemed to irritate his nose slightly and he couldn't really distinguish the smell. Maybe Harry should be glad that the wolf had never trained his abilities, or he would be having a much harder time right now.  
After taking another sip, he moved the topic away from his drink: "So, you just came by?"  
"Yes, we thought you might be happy to see your two godfathers," Sirius grinned.  
"How far are you with the map?"  
"We have visited Privet Drive, but sadly your family was hiding somewhere," Sirius pouted and Remus poked him in his ribs.  
"Ouch, Moony!" Sirius complained, but the werewolf only rolled his eyes and continued: "We were also at Potter Manor with the twins and at Grimmauld Place; we actually did the necessary spells there the same evening you asked us to make another map."  
"And..." Sirius' grin broadened even more, but Harry wasn't sure if his grin was a good one when he heard Remus groan.  
"You will be able to have more control over that evil bastard, because..." Sirius puffed his chest, whilst Harry wondered which evil bastard he meant "...I convinced Remi to sneak into Malfoy Manor!"  
Harry stared at him in shock, not that it wouldn't be useful to see his new home on the map as well, but what had his godfather been thinking?  
"How did you get into Malfoy Manor?" Ron asked baffled. "My father once told me that it's the most warded place after Hogwarts, Privet Drive and probably You-Know-Who's home."  
The animagus chuckled. "I am a Black and the Blacks are still keyed into the wards."  
"Lucius will have a fit if he finds out," Harry groaned in exasperation, he could only imagine the temper tantrum his mate would have. Hopefully, his godfathers had been sneaky enough and had not left any signs of their intrusion.  
Instead of scolding them, because that had obviously not helped in the last thirty years, he popped one of his Blood Drops into his mouth and asked: "Do you know how far the twins are with those special Portkeys?"  
"We placed the destination object in the entrance hall of Potter Manor when we were there yesterday, but they still have to find a way to produce so many Portkeys in so little time," Remus answered.  
Harry grinned, not really worried: "I'm sure they will have a solution by Sunday at the latest."  
Remus nodded. "They will. They are really excited that they're finally allowed to help in the fight against Voldemort. I think it was a good idea to take them in, they are a big help already."  
"I can understand why Molly doesn't like to see her children fighting," Hermione mused. "But we need all the help possible if we want to succeed and it's better that they get a specific task than taking the risk that they will someday blindly run head-first into a fight."  
Sirius sighed: "You are all close to Harry or another Order member; sadly there is no real chance of keeping you out of the whole war thing. Fred and George are in nearly as much danger as you three are." The animagus watched the three of them and then changed the topic by asking about their first few school days.  
"It's boring like always in the first week," Harry shrugged.  
"I still can't believe that Malfoy followed you to Hogwarts, I bet he only did it to annoy you, or me, or both of us," Sirius huffed irritated.  
Shrugging, Harry only replied: "He's a good teacher, so I won't complain and it means more help at Hogwarts."  
Remus lifted a questioning eyebrow at his comment and looked at his friends for affirmation. Hermione and Ron shrugged before nodding.  
"He really is a good teacher, but still a bastard," Ron said.  
"He certainly will know what we can expect from Voldemort," Sirius sneered and glared at the door as if Lucius stood just behind it.  
"I still think that his reason for changing sides sounds somewhat like a lie," Ron mused, arms crossed and glaring at the same spot Sirius did. "Voldemort has always killed his followers or their relatives whenever the bastard felt like it and Lucius Malfoy is not stupid enough to have not realized that."  
Sirius nodded in agreement: "Exactly. Something smells foul with the whole issue. Harry, are you sure he's not a spy for Voldemort?"  
Feeling affronted for his mate's sake, Harry glared back at his godfather, only saying: "I am."  
Hermione, who was obviously not sure which side to take in this argument, chewed on her bottom lip and then said: "Harry, have you ever told them how Lucius saved you at Privet Drive?"  
Harry knew that Hermione had only asked to make him tell the story; she knew that he had not told anybody else aside from her and he didn't really want to because he didn't believe that it would help. So he said: "No I haven't and I don't see the point, they won't change their opinion."  
"You can't know that," his friend replied and glared at him.  
"I can, because I know Ron and Remus and Sirius," Harry huffed in indignation.  
"Pup, Mione is right, you can't know that until you try," Sirius prodded him, but Harry clung stubbornly with his decision. Hermione, who knew him well enough to recognize the hard gleam in his eyes shook her head and said: "Well if you won't tell the story, I will."  
That made Harry angry. He had told her the story, trusting that she wouldn't give his secrets away to anybody else. He bared his fangs, an instinctive gesture and started to growl threateningly. His friends and guardians froze in shocked surprise and Harry saw Remus again sniffing the air, but his glamours, together with his status as a blood-mated submissive vampire, gave him enough protection and the werewolf only looked confused after a moment; but his instincts must have warned him of something, because he cleared his throat and said: "If Harry doesn't want us to know, we should respect his wish."  
Suddenly, Harry felt very guilty, as if he had just behaved like a stupid child. Sighing he said:  
"I had a vision during my two days at Privet Drive."  
His guardians and Ron gasped and Sirius asked: "Was it bad? What did you see?"  
"I witnessed Voldemort torturing his followers. It was really bad. He cast the Cruciatus simultaneously on all of them and I could feel their pain. But Lucius used Legilimency to enter my mind and erected a shield there. He saved my mind."  
Harry watched the two Marauders and Ron exchanging looks, obviously not sure what to say. Finally, Ron asked carefully: "Maybe he just helped you to earn your trust?"  
Hermione shook her head: "He could have done nothing and You-Know-Who would have most likely won the war, so that doesn't make sense."  
"Okay, maybe he is not as evil as I thought, but he is still a sick and twisted bastard and I don't like him and I still believe that you should be careful when you deal with a Malfoy. They only think about their own wellbeing; they would sell their own mother to the devil," Sirius said and Harry had no idea how to reply. He knew that his mate could be ruthless, but in contrast Sirius didn't know why he was safe with Lucius, so he just agreed: "I will be careful.  
"Thank you, pup," Sirius said and kissed him on his head.  
Sirius and Remus stayed for another hour before leaving again. He and his friends worked until dinner and another hour after that. When they finally left, Harry refused to even look at another book and took a long bath in the whirlpool before going to bed to meditate for another half an hour before his second class of DADA the next day.  
The meditation had become more confusing with each day. Harry had understood that he would start to see a shadow, which would morph into a shape and then at last into the picture of his animal, but up until now only many fuzzy shadows danced in front of his eyes whenever he started to meditate. He had wanted to ask his mate; Lucius would surely have been able to tell him what he was doing wrong, but he had forgotten and now it was too late. Hopefully, they would meditate for another few classes, so that it would not be so bad that he hadn't asked earlier.  
When he was finished, he undressed and hoped that his mate would join him soon. They had not discussed whether they would actually share a bed every night, but Harry had simply assumed it, they both craved the contact.  
The little silver bell around his flaccid cock made a little sound as he stepped out of his trousers and climbed into his bed. He touched the soft silk band for a moment, smiling at the thought that this was his collar. Turning onto his side, Harry closed his eyes, but as soon as he had done so, loneliness joined the growing coldness in his bones. Nagini slithered onto the bed and curled up in front of him, joining him. Fortunately, he was too exhausted by the day's events to be kept awake by these feelings, and so, shivering and shaking, he slowly drifted off. He was almost asleep when the bed dipped and a warm, naked body slid in next to him and pulled him against a strong chest.  
"Sleep well, my love," Lucius' deep, baritone voice whispered into his ear.  
He only succeeded to mumble a tired "love you," before he finally drifted off to sleep, content in his dominant's arms.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry woke up before the alarm could go off. Still feeling lazy, he turned onto his side and scooted a bit closer so as to snuggle back into Lucius. In his drowsy state it took him a while to realize that his mate was apparently not there anymore. Frowning he sat up and rubbed his eyes, before scanning the room tiredly.  
He found Lucius sitting on the far edge of their bed, still naked like the man had climbed in the night before, but he seemed to be crouched over something.  
"Lucius?" He called out silently, not wanting to startle his mate. He had never seen the strong aristocrat like this: His back was bent, his shoulders slumped and his head hung down. Worriedly, he pulled the cover from his legs and scooted over and sneaked one arm around his mate, but it seemed as if Lucius didn't even notice him. Pain and anguish were radiating from the aristocrat, calling out for him and with horror, he recognized the cold feeling of pain, anguish, and loss which emanated from the older male and leaked through their bond, mixing with his own and grabbing at his heart again. And then he felt it; felt their soul bond quiver, before a small piece crumbled off of it, dying forever.  
His heart clenched painfully and panic overtook him. With their bond dying, they were dying as well. Lucius, his one and only love was dying. His heart clenched painfully again. He could not let this happen, his beloved dominant couldn't die. His own death would mean little to him as long as Lucius could live on, but they were connected through the bond. And their bond was dying and pulling them along into a cold and lonely grave. Following his instincts, he scooted even closer. Maybe together they could fight this feeling of death off. They needed to, otherwise they would be doomed; he just knew it. Another picture of Draco flashed in front of his inner eye and as he carefully leaned over Lucius' shoulder to find out if his dominant was distressed for the same reason as he himself, his eyes landed on a small picture frame with three pictures in it:  
The first showed a much younger Lucius, stern like always, but with pride shining brightly in his silver orbs as he held a small, blond toddler on his knees. The second picture showed Draco with a huge trunk in front of a dark wooden front door waving happily at his parents as he was about to go off to his first year of Hogwarts. The last picture showed a much older Draco, sitting lazily on a patio lounge in a beautiful garden, an old tome on his knees, a delicate teacup in one hand and smirking arrogantly into the camera, but not as arrogantly as he knew the older boy from Hogwarts could be.  
A searing pain went through his heart as he looked down at the picture of the dead blonde and his sad mate and suddenly everything clicked into place, as all the little dots and hints his instincts had given him throughout the last few days, connected into a picture. Maybe he still did not understand the whole gravity of what was happening, but enough to realize one thing:  
Draco's death was indeed the source of their anguish. Why the loss of the blonde boy left such a gaping hole in their souls, he didn't quite understand, but then again, Draco had been his soulmate's son; he could only imagine how torturous the pain of losing one's child must feel.  
And to be honest, the exact reason didn't matter, the only thing that mattered was the fact that the death of the youth was ripping their souls apart and that it would continue if he didn't find a way to stop the process. It didn't matter that he had never liked the boy, or that he still didn't, because he knew suddenly that he would move heaven and hell and everything in between to bring Draco back and to mend his and Lucius' dying soulbond. He didn't dare to think about what it could mean that their soulbond was affected by this; he would not consider the only logical explanation, because it would just be too crazy and scary and he could not afford the luxury of panicking even further, not when Lucius needed HIM this time. Not when his instincts told him that he was the only one who would be able to make everything right again because the submissive's duty after all was to keep the family together.  
His mate had still not moved or noticed him as Lucius' well suppressed pain washed through their bond, threatening to overwhelm him. Sudden panic grabbed his heart and mind and he scrambled to his feet, nearly falling from their soft mattress as he desperately tried to get away from the scene in front of him and tried to think rationally at the same time; an attempt, he utterly failed at. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, but he refused to cry, he needed to be strong right now, this was not the time to be a whining submissive.  
He ran out of their bedroom, someone must be able to help him. He knew so many wise and powerful people, someone...  
"Boy, what has you so upset?" a harsh voice stopped his racing thoughts and his frantic search at the same time.  
Looking up, he realized that he had fled into the living room. Merlin and all four founders stared with concern down at him, but to his surprise, it had been Salazar who had spoken.  
"I...I need to do something! I need to bring him back! It hurts so much, we are hurting so much!" He exclaimed, not making any sense to the portraits.  
"Hush my boy," Merlin said, grandfatherly concern shimmering in his green eyes. "Take a deep breath and then tell us what happened. You have the five most intelligent and powerful wizards in history in front of you, we will find a solution to your problem."  
"He does not breathe," Rowena muttered, but Harry tried to calm down nonetheless. Merlin was right, panicking would get him nowhere.  
Between stutters, stammers, sobbing and sniffing he told the story about Voldemort's curse and the murder of Draco. He had told them about his and Lucius' transformation before, but he had never mentioned Draco until now. The portraits grew more worried by the second; Merlin, Helga, Godric and Salazar glancing over to Rowena as if needing to affirm an assumption, and every time the witch gave a curt not.  
"...I...I just don't know what to do, Draco is dead and no one can bring the dead back, but I have to!"  
He ended his short tale. The tears which had threatened to spill a moment before had dried and instead a determined fire had replaced them in his eyes. He would not give up, not until he had tried everything possible and everything impossible as well.  
Merlin looked thoughtful. The old wizard was stroking his beard and musing loudly: "Bringing back a dead person? That is quite the task, my boy." Harry watched the wizard exchange a look with Salazar and Godric, who both nodded.  
By now very nervous, he shuffled absentmindedly back and forth, making scratching noises with the claws of his toes on the expensive wooden floor.  
"Now, now lad, calm down," Salazar said and Harry's head instantly snapped up.  
"Do you know something?" He asked hopefully, and a feeling as if the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders overwhelmed him, when all three portraits nodded.  
"We may have a solution to your problem if you are lucky, that is, but Gryffindors are always unbelievably lucky," Salazar said and the other two portraits nodded again.  
Not daring to trust his ears, Harry blinked in confusion. Had he heard right? Did Merlin, Godric, and Salazar know a way to bring a dead person back to life?  
Merlin took his disbelieving look as his prompt to elaborate; luckily the man didn't like to keep people waiting like Albus did:  
"There is an old artefact that might be able to help you, together with a ritual, but I have to warn you: it is dark blood magic and we have never actually tried it, we only developed a theory about the topic."  
Harry nodded, willing to try anything, only as long as it would give him and Lucius Draco back. Or Lucius at least, he was still not sure why he needed Draco, currently he assumed that he just needed the blonde because he was Lucius' son and that he himself was only indirectly affected.  
Merlin continued then and he quickly concentrated back on the wizard: "In the last gallery of the library tower, you will find a locked cabinet. Tap it with your wand and take the book with the stone archway printed on the cover. The last chapter should be helpful."  
Trusting the three old wizards, Harry nodded and went to the library and started to climb up the endless spiral staircase. The feelings of loss and anguish still echoed through the bond and it became more difficult by the minute to say which feelings came from him and which from Lucius, but his determination kept him upright and going; he would not be overwhelmed by this, he would find a solution and bring the blonde boy back, regardless of his personal feelings for him, and to be honest, right now he could not even clearly say anymore what he felt for Draco. How could he still hate Lucius' son as his school nemesis and wish so desperately to bring him back?  
His feelings were swirling and confusing him, so he decided to push them to the side for now and just do what had to be done. Realizing that he would need hours to climb up all the stairs if he didn't use his vampire speed, he picked up his pace.  
The height nearly made him dizzy with every new step, but at last, he stepped onto the last landing. It was a beautiful balcony that greeted him, but he currently had no appreciation for the comfy looking armchairs or the breathtaking view the tower provided.  
He found the cabinet to his left in a corner and quickly went over. It was not very big and about only ten books were locked inside. Pulling out his Elder Wand, he tapped the doors which swung open soundlessly. Merlin had said that he should look for a black book and luckily the cabinet held only three black books. Pulling them all out, he found the right one quickly. It was the thinnest of them and it had no title, only the picture of the stone archway as an indicator. Locking the cabinet again, he returned to the living room, thinking that he would most likely have questions and would need to come back down anyway.  
The portraits watched him as he sat down on the cream-colored leather sofa and skipped to the last chapter. At first, he didn't understand anything he was reading about even though it was written in Parselscript. It described some kind of ancient veil, a huge stone slab and a gruesome ritual with sex, blood, and magic, but Merlin had already warned him, that the ritual was a dark one. It needed 95% of the blood of a submissive magical creature, an amount not even a Veela would survive. The submissive had to be taken forcefully and cut during his or her climax and he would need Draco's bones; hopefully, Voldemort had not killed the boy with fiend fire or there would be no bones left.  
This almost all sounded like the resurrection ritual he had witnessed just before summer.  
Suppressing a shudder, he asked: "Where did you get this book? Who wrote it?"  
"It is a collective work of myself, Godric and Salazar," Merlin explained. "You are lucky that you are a vampire, or you would not survive the ritual.  
"Will you try it?" Salazar suddenly asked with a challenging gleam in his eyes.  
Crossing his arms, he answered: "I will," before calling Oscar. His little servant had the best chance of finding Draco's bones without suspicion due to his different magic; and furthermore, this way he would not have to disappear from school grounds again.  
"What can Oscar do for Master Harry?"  
Only hesitating a moment, he asked: "Oscar, can you try to find a skeleton for me? But it has to be complete, not even a single bone can be missing." He chewed nervously on his bottom lip as he waited for a reply from his little servant. If Oscar told him that he would not be able to find Draco, then his plan to get the blonde back ended even before it had really started.  
Oscar tilted his head and asked: "What kind of skeleton, Master Harry Potter, sir?"  
"The skeleton of Draco, Lucius' dead son," he explained.  
"Oscar will have to go to Malfoy Manor and retrieve an item which belonged to the late young master. Is Oscar allowed to do that?"  
Harry nodded, he was sure that Lucius would not be angry about the removal of a brush or shirt or something, especially if he succeeded.  
His servant nodded fiercely: "It will be a difficult task but Oscar will try his best, Master Harry Potter, sir!"  
Taking the small leather book from his coffee table he asked: "And can you try to find this stone slab as well?" He pointed at a picture and Oscar nodded again.  
Smiling in relief, he ordered him: "Come to me as soon as you have everything."  
"Oscar will do that, sir!" Oscar disappeared and he slumped back onto the sofa, all adrenalin suddenly leaving his system. Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to pull himself together.  
The extent of what he was trying to do slowly started to catch up with him. He had no doubt that he would try everything to make the ritual possible, but if he succeeded, it would undoubtedly have a huge impact on his relationship to Lucius.  
Draco surely would not be happy to find his school rival mated to his beloved father; the next few weeks would not be easy. But as he thought about it, the excitement mixed with a strange, fluttery feeling in his stomach, as if he was about to find a mysterious treasure.  
Frowning, he decided he would not dwell on the matter right now, just to make sure he would not back out of it suddenly, he stood up with a huge sigh and turned to Salazar, Gryffindor, and Merlin: "Thank you for your help. I will try my best."  
"I hope you will succeed. As I said, we never actually performed the ritual, it is all merely a theory," Merlin admitted, but Salazar only huffed: "None of our theories have ever been wrong."  
"Don't be so arrogant," Helga scolded him. "There is always a first time."  
"Well, he is right," Godric defended the other man with a glare, obviously wanting to see the outcome of this and not letting him be discouraged by one of the witches.  
He smiled at the bickering portraits and conjured a tempus. With some shock, he noticed that he had only had 10 minutes until he had to be in Flitwick's class and he was still naked and dishevelled.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

"Thank you again!" he exclaimed and ran back into his bedroom. When he entered, Lucius was just tying his tie around his neck, looking as if nothing had happened this morning, but the sadness was still radiating through their bond.  
"Are you feeling better?" he asked carefully and a look of surprise flashed over his dominant's face.  
Knowing that Lucius still hated to admit any weakness, even to him, he hastily said: "You seemed upset, so I left you alone for a moment and went to the library." He decided then that he would not yet tell his mate about his plan, only when he had all items he needed to actually perform the ritual would he do so, and maybe not even then. If he could convince his mate to take part in the ritual without having to explain, he would actually prefer that, because then Lucius would not be disappointed if it failed after all in the end.  
Lucius' shoulders relaxed at his words and his mate lifted an elegant eyebrow and scanned his still naked body: "You went to the library like this? I hope you mean your private one."  
Flushing, Harry scoffed and turned to his cupboard, muttering: "I would never go out like this perverted old man!"  
Lucius merely chuckled and pressed a kiss to his head, sounding almost happy as he said: "I will go ahead," but Harry knew better.  
"Okay," he answered and pulled out a clean set of school robes. His mate left and five minutes later he was dashing down the corridors to his charms classroom.  
"Hey man, did you oversleep? We waited for you, but when you didn't come we went ahead," Ron greeted him.  
"I did," he admitted falsely and fumbled with his small velvet sack to get one of his blood drops. With dismay, he noticed that he only had a handful left; he would have to ask his father to make him new ones.  
"Really Harry, you should be mature enough to not oversleep as soon as you live in your own rooms," Hermione scolded him.  
Flitwick opened his classroom door then and they went inside to take their usual seats.  
"Well, I am still on time and I never eat with you anyway, so everything is fine," he replied dryly.  
"Did you at least eat something in your quarters or did you sleep so long, that you didn't even have time for breakfast?" his friend asked sternly.  
"I ate," he huffed, not saying when exactly the last time was that he had eaten.  
"Good morning!" Flitwick chirped and thankfully interrupted their conversation. Hermione instantly turned her attention to the small professor and Harry did the same with a roll of his eyes. Really, she was always consistent when it came to some topics. It wasn't even worth bothering to try and change her mind.  
"This year we will start with a bigger project, so you should all listen attentively because it will be a big part of your score for the first trimester." Flitwick flicked his wand and the headline: Magical Artefacts appeared on the black board.  
Hermione gasped in excitement: "Ron, do you think we will charm our own Magical Artefact?" Ron only shrugged, not very interested in the apparently very interesting topic, at least if you asked Hermione, and Harry had to snicker. Sometimes it was a mystery to him how Hermione could have fallen for Ron of all people, but then again, she certainly needed him as some kind of balance or she would work herself to death someday.  
"We will start with the theory of the Charms part, but later on this class will be combined with your Transfigurations class because a Magical Artefact always consists of a Charm and a Transfiguration. Please take notes," Flitwick instructed and then asked:  
"What is the difference between a Magical Artefact and a Charmed Object, like the dancing teapot you charmed last year?"  
Hermione's hand shot up and without being asked she answered: "A Magical Artefact is an object which holds its magic on its own, whilst a Charmed Object only contains magic for a defined period of time or in some cases only as long as you hold up the spell actively with your wand."  
"Correct, Ms. Granger, 5 points to Gryffindor!" Flitwick squeaked and went on with his lecture.  
The lecture was surprisingly interesting considering that Harry hated the theoretical part of his classes. It made him twitchy to just sit for two hours in one spot, but now he at least knew that it was a side effect of his young age, it had gotten even worse after he had gained so much knowledge magically this summer, because most of the time the Professors couldn't teach him anything new nowadays.  
With a long sigh, he finally tried to concentrate. He succeeded in not drifting off to the memories of this morning, but the pained feeling never left him, even though it grew weaker as his mate was obviously distracted with his own lesson as well.  
After Charms, he and his friends went to Transfigurations.  
"This was so interesting!" Hermione exclaimed as soon as they had left Flitwick's classroom. "Can you imagine what we will be able to create with this knowledge?"  
Harry shrugged. Sure, it was interesting to learn how Magical Artefacts were made, but he honestly had no idea what artefact he would like to make and considering the experience he had with the Philosopher's Stone and Voldemort's Diary, no one could blame him.  
Hermione, obviously only seeing the positive side of their last lesson, babbled on: "Especially you, Harry!"  
"Why me?" He asked astonished, not seeing the connection.  
"Because you are so powerful and intelligent, I am sure you will be able to create something special!"  
"Maybe," he answered without commitment.  
They stepped into the corridor where their Transfiguration classroom was located and Ginny, who obviously had her next lesson in the classroom next to theirs, came over to attach herself to his arm.  
He sighed in a mixture of irritation and annoyance; he really didn't need the girl clinging to him after the morning he had:  
"Ginny, let go of me please!" He pleaded, trying to tug his arm away.  
"Don't be so shy, Harry! Malfoy isn't even around," she giggled and somehow managed to scoot even closer, making him feel as if she was trying to somehow fuse with him, it was rather uncomfortable.  
"Ginny, I don't think it has anything to do with being shy and more with him being mated," Hermione said sternly and gave Ron's sister a rather disapproving look.  
"He isn't mated yet," Ginny huffed and tightened her grip on his arm. Getting annoyed, Harry tugged again, but to no avail.  
"But he will be as soon as he turns 17, you have no chance, Gin," Ron tried to reason, but Ginny didn't even listen. She had seen a small group of four girls, obviously friends of hers and waved them over: "Hey, I promised to introduce you to Harry!" she shouted and the girls instantly ran over to join them, only one girl with long blond hair sauntered more slowly behind, it was the girl they had met by the carriages, Luna.  
"You know, I never noticed before, but you're a real Cutey!" One girl with black curls gushed and another girl squealed:  
"And as soon as you grow a bit more, I am sure you will become damn hot!"  
To Harry's shock, Luna said: "But he won't grow," in a dreamy voice, but luckily none the three girls nor his friends spared her a single glance. Luna really was an odd girl, like Albus she seemed to know things, only she was even more mysterious; sadly Harry had no more time to figure her out because the black haired girl suddenly offered: "If you aren't interested in Ginny anymore, you can always come to me,"  
"Or to me, if your taste goes to blonds," Ginny's honey-haired friend suggested.  
Something was definitely wrong with these girls if they offered themselves to the supposed boyfriend of their friend he decided and tried again to get free. By now not only Ginny was clinging to him, but the girl with the black hair as well, whilst the blonde laid an arm around his shoulder and the third one, a brown haired and very tall girl, laid her hand on his back, far too low for his taste. Lucius would certainly rip their heads off if he could see them right now.  
Having enough, he finally exclaimed: "I am not in a relationship with Ginny! And I am not interested in any relationship!" but his second sentence was drowned out by the excited squeals of his annoying additions, who jumped up and down excitedly whilst still clutching his body, yanking him back and forth.  
"Please, guys!" he pleaded with a look to his friends, panic seeping into his eyes and voice. He was honestly starting to feel suffocated and his body and mind were starting to scream for his mate.  
With a violent tug, Hermione and Ron freed him of the two girls clinging to his arms and shoved them away. A nasty glare of the brainy witch was enough to scare the third one away as well, but Ginny only glared right back.  
"Ginny, I am your friend, but if you don't leave Harry in peace I will tell his guardians about this, all of them!" She snapped, making Ginny flinch; they all knew who she meant by all of them, even though she could not speak Severus's name out loud in the middle of a corridor in Hogwarts.  
"You'll see, Harry will end up unhappy and it will be your fault!" Ginny snapped, but turned and went back to her own classroom just in time with her friends, before the rest of their classmates arrived and McGonagall opened her door. Harry quickly straightened his robes, which had gotten rumpled, and quickly fled into the classroom, Ron and Hermione hot on his heels.  
He slumped down into his seat, relieved that he had gotten away from the girls. Professor McGonagall started their lesson with a short lecture and the collection of their essays, but luckily started them on their practical practice portion after half an hour.  
"Please try not to forget to raise a barrier on your desks before you get your mice," she reminded them and levitated a huge terrarium onto her desk. "I do not want to catch white mice the whole afternoon."  
"Ernie McMillan told me that there was an accident in their Transfigurations Lesson yesterday," Ron had lowered his voice to a whisper. "Apparently McGonagall assumed that they would cast a barrier, which of course no one did," the redhead snickered and earned himself a stern look from their Head of House.  
Harry snickered as well but pulled out his wand to cast the barrier, but instead of conjuring a translucent barrier where his spells would be able to go through, a thick wall, which looked like it was made of bricks of light, suddenly surrounded his desk top. Frowning, he dissipated the barrier and cast the spell anew with the same result. He had never had problems with this particular spell; it was a common tool in all their classes. Thinking about it, he realized that this was not the first time his magic had behaved oddly.  
"Hermione, could you cast the barrier for me, please?" he asked and ended the spell again.  
Hermione had already opened her mouth to lecture him about proper concentration in class when her eyes landed on his barrier for a moment before it vanished. With a frown of her own, she cast the spell for him and then asked: "Could it be that you put too much magic into your spell?"  
Shrugging, he answered: "I did nothing differently, but I noticed some problems since I began to use the Elder wand. It is possible that the Wand channels more magic?"  
Hermione shook her head: "Normally not. The magic that goes through a wand depends on the strength of the wizard it belongs to, but the Elder Wand is no normal wand. You should probably keep an eye on it."  
Sighing, he went over to the Terrarium and collected three mice for himself and his friends, before returning to their places and placing one on each desk.  
"What kind of animal do we have to transform them into again?" he asked and watched the mice carefully sniffing around on his desk.  
"A chicken, Harry," Hermione answered and lifted her wand.  
Harry was just about to do the same when a silent pop sounded suddenly and Oscar appeared with a rather huge and heavy looking leather bag next to his chair. He jumped in surprise and McGonagall gave him a stern look: "Mr. Potter, students are not allowed to bring House Elves to Hogwarts and especially not into my classroom!"  
"Sorry, Professor, I think I phrased my order wrong. I've never had a House Elf before," Harry quickly apologized and turned to Oscar.  
"Oscar has everything! And he has found the stone slab!" Oscar squeaked proudly.  
"Thank you, Oscar, would you please take everything back to my room and keep an eye on it?" he quickly asked with a look at McGonagall, whose scowl deepened.  
"Of course, Master Harry!" Oscar exclaimed and luckily disappeared with another pop.  
He tried his best not to grin widely. Oscar had found Draco's bones and the stone slab as well, the chance that something would go wrong from this point on was small; this meant his and Lucius' bond might be fixed by this evening, the cold feeling would be gone and his mate's son back. They would get Draco back, he could just feel it. Nothing would go wrong.  
Suppressing an excited squeal, he looked down at his desk where the mouse was still sniffing it's surrounding. He felt so giddy, his instincts were purring in pride and his soulbond was humming happily, he just wanted to run to Lucius and throw himself around his mate's neck, he was that happy.  
"Well, if Mr. Potter finally has time for his classes again, we may continue," McGonagall said with a pointed look at him and his curiously watching classmates, her lips pressed into a thin line.  
Harry forced himself to concentrate back on the task at hand, even though it was difficult. If he could, he would just go to the stone slab and the archway, wherever they were, and do the ritual, regardless of how gruesome it sounded, but he had to be patient.  
Next to him he could feel his friends' questioning gazes on him for the rest of the Transfiguration Class, but they knew better than to ask their questions when others were likely to listen in on them, but as soon as they were seated at the Gryffindor table in the great hall an hour later for lunch, Hermione cast a Privacy Barrier around them and they both started to question him about Oscar's sudden appearance:  
"Harry, why did Oscar come to you in the middle of class?" Hermione started.  
With a sigh, he admitted: "I needed him to find something for me and made the mistake of telling him to come to me as soon as he had gotten the items. I didn't think that he would be so quick." He was careful not to say bones because that would send Hermione straight into a lecture about all the evil things wizards needed bones for and she would not be far from the truth.  
"Did you tell him to find a pile of gold? What heavy stuff was in that bag?" Ron asked curiously.  
"No, it wasn't gold," he replied and chewed on his bottom lip. He just didn't know how he should tell his friends what he was planning to do, maybe this evening already. Finally, he said: "If you could bring someone..." but he broke off, sighed again and then took his goblet in frustration; he couldn't tell them. They would never understand why he was willing to not only participate but play the virgin sacrifice in a Dark Ritual, especially not if it was for Draco Malfoy's benefit.  
"I can't tell you right now, but maybe you will already see it tomorrow."  
"Harry, we understand that you have to play a different role now, but we are still your friends, we would never betray your secrets!" Hermione told him and placed a hand on his.  
"I know Hermione," he said truthfully. "But you wouldn't like what I am about to do and you would try to stop me and I can't let that happen."  
"Can we at least accompany you?" Ron asked before their friend could argue some more. With guilt heavy in his stomach, Harry shook his head: "I need to do this alone." He took a sip of whatever the liquid was in his goblet and his eyes widened at the taste of fresh and still slightly warm blood. He groaned in satisfaction; this was so good, it even had a slight magical spark, indicating that it hadn't belonged to a normal animal, he would thank Oscar later.  
As he looked up again, he saw his two best friends looking at him in amusement.  
"Someday you will have to tell me what tastes so good that it makes you orgasm from one sip alone!" Ron snickered and earned himself a slap on the head from an indignant Hermione.  
"Ron!" she exclaimed, her cheeks pink.  
Harry snickered at her expression, but said: "You wouldn't like it, trust me."  
"I will only believe that after I tried. It has to be good stuff," Ron grinned.  
'I know better stuff', Harry thought and gazed over to the head table, where Lucius and his father looked at him from the corner of their eyes.  
Their last class for the day was potions. He had finished reading the potions book his father had given him and was now about to brew his first potion this year. Severus had given him a piece of parchment with instructions for a Mild Pain Potion and he went into the storeroom to retrieve the necessary ingredients.  
He was too distracted with searching for the things he needed and it was too noisy in the class, so he didn't notice Pansy entering behind him until she shoved him into the shelf to his left:  
"Out of the way, scar head! What are you trying to pull off this year? You will never be as beautiful as a real girl so just stop trying!"  
He glared at her and his Gryffindor character quickly got the upper hand over his skittish submissive side: "I would never want to look like a girl, these are traditional school robes for the Heir of Hogwarts and my other clothes are from the Council!"  
Pansy huffed. "As if any of that is true! You always were Dumbledore's golden boy; he probably got you both positions even though you deserve any of them!"  
"Keep being jealous, if I had a shitface like you I would be jealous of everyone as well," he countered with a very Malfoyish smirk.  
Pansy's face grew red and Harry could see her clenching her hands into fists. He decided to add another insult; no one who tried to get their filthy hands on his mate would get away easily:  
"You are hot for Malfoy, aren't you? Do you really believe you have a chance, I heard he's into boys."  
"Of course I have a chance. He needs a Heir again and the alliance with my family will be good for him, the Parkinson's are nearly as old as the Malfoy's, but you will never understand what it means to be a true wizard!"  
Harry wanted to roll his eyes at the platitudes; Parkinson just wasn't fun, Draco at least had been somewhat quick-witted. At least he would have a proper rival again soon if everything went well. Snorting, he replied: "A true wizard? You are no more a true witch than I am a true wizard; thinking about it, you are rather weak for such an old Pureblood family. Too much incest maybe?"  
He realised that he had maybe gone slightly too far when Pansy suddenly pounced on him and shoved him back against the Potions Ingredients shelf. Glass vials rattled and some fell to the ground with a loud crash. But the girl had no chance of harming him further because it didn't take even ten seconds before his father was there, his black eyes with the inhuman red ring flashing in anger:  
"Potter, Parkinson, what is going on here?" he snapped.  
"Potter insulted me, Professor," Pansy said much too sweetly and let go of him.  
He huffed and snapped: "You were the one who just shoved me into the shelf!" He knew that his father could not defend him openly, but he would at least make sure that Severus knew the truth.  
"Enough! Out, both of you!" his father snapped and repaired the shattered vials with a flick of his wand, before levitating the right ingredients to his and Pansy's desks.  
"That will be twenty points from Gryffindor, Potter!" His father announced as he stepped back into the main classroom, but the malice with which he had eyed him in the past was not there.  
"What happened man?" Ron asked him silently when he sat back down in front of his cauldron.  
"Pansy happened," he growled in annoyance.  
"She is taking on the spot of the Slytherins' leader," Hermione said matter of factly.  
"I know, but she isn't even nearly as much fun as Draco. He at least was intelligent enough and had his wits together," he grumbled and started to slice two daisy roots. Oh, the girl would have an unpleasant awakening when Draco found out that she had just jumped to his father as soon as he had been dead. Thinking about it, had Draco and Pansy been a couple? Well, it didn't really matter; he was not really interested in the prat, only so far that he needed him back to save his soulbond.  
"She even called me scar head just like he always did!" He suddenly spat and then halted with his slicing. He wasn't interested in Draco Malfoy further, was he? No, he decided that he surely wasn't. But why was the whole issue upsetting him so much? He had the feeling as if those words belonged to him and Draco and that no one other than the blonde boy should ever use them to insult him.  
Well, he probably was just stressed out with the whole resurrection issue, because he really didn't like the blonde boy and wasn't interested in him. There was no reason for him to be.  
Ron gave him a confused look and then pulled him from his muddled thoughts by saying: "She is just stupid, man," the redhead said helpfully and turned back to his own cauldron.  
"I know," he replied as soon as his friend's words had registered in his mind. Not really paying attention to his work, he brought his knife down with much more force than necessary, cutting the slat into two as well.  
"Potter!" His father snapped and came over to glare down at him, but Harry could see worry hidden in his eyes. "Stay after class," he finally commanded and left again.  
Sighing, Harry went to get a new slat and threw the old one away, not thinking about just repairing it with a Reparo, before forcing himself to shove all that had already happened today to the back of his mind and concentrating again.  
Unfortunately, the depressing feelings he received through the bond from Lucius grew stronger again, maybe his mate had a free period right now and was not able to distract himself from his sorrow anymore. It got harder and harder for him to concentrate again. As if it hadn't been hard enough before.  
He worked in a daze and was surprised when his Potion turned out the exact right colour despite everything and was only slightly thinner than it should have been. Proud and satisfied with himself he filled a glass vial with his Potion at the end of the lesson and waited for the others to clear the classroom before going to his father. Pansy gave him a smug smirk, obviously confident that she had gotten him so agitated that he now had to stay for detention and scrub cauldrons, whilst Ron and Hermione told him that they would wait for him in his library.  
As soon as the last student was out of the door, his father locked and warded it and waved him over. Harry rounded the desk, but stared in shame at his feet; he shouldn't have provoked Pansy so much, he had just behaved like a typical Gryffindor and he knew that his father didn't like it.  
To his surprise, two strong hands lifted him into his father's lap, where he was cradled against the man's strong chest. Severus sighed deeply, before asking:  
"What was this all about? Even you are normally not this agitated, not even in Potions."  
Shyly, Harry mumbled: "This morning... something happened and I think it threw me off more than I realized," and snuggled into the comforting embrace, he had missed the closeness of his father.  
"What happened?" his father asked and started to comb through his hair.  
Frowning, he tried to find the right words to describe his feelings and all that had happened, but he had never been good at putting such things into words.  
"Tell me, Harry. I wish to help you, I am your father," Severus urged him softly.  
Harry's heart fluttered happily as he realized that this would be the first time where he could go to his father with his worries. He had never done anything like that before.  
"I...started to feel this cold feeling..." he started hesitantly, hoping that it was the right point to begin his tale.  
"When did you get this feeling? Was it because of Vo... Voldemort?" his father asked softly and Harry could hear how much courage it cost him to speak out his former master's name.  
"No, it has nothing to do with him at all. It has more to do with Draco..."  
"With Draco?" his father echoed in astonishment.  
"Yeah," Harry confirmed with an uncomfortable feeling. "I first felt this... coldness when I entered Hogwarts. It suddenly pulled at my heart and I saw images of Lucius and Draco in front of my inner eye. The castle felt so awfully lonely that evening," his voice broke at the end of his sentence and he sniffed. His father started to rub his back soothingly and waited patiently until he felt strong enough to continue. Just speaking about the loneliness he felt since Monday made him so sad again and the joy over having found Draco's remains vanished from his heart.  
"At first I thought the feeling would disappear after Lucius came to Hogwarts," he finally continued silently.  
"But it didn't?" his father asked.  
He shook his head. "No, it didn't. It grew even worse. One night ago I woke up because I suddenly felt as if someone had died next to me, but Lucius was alright and then this morning..." he broke off again, unable to tell his father what had occurred that morning, it still frightened him.  
"Harry, what happened this morning?" his father asked calmly and hugged him closer against his firm chest.  
"I..." he tried to tell him, but his voice left him and he buried his face into the black folds of Severus robes. "I... could feel our... our soulbond dying..."  
Harry felt his father's arms tighten around him, they both knew what a dying soulbond meant; it was a sure death sentence, even for vampires if no one could find a way to stop the process. Gathering all his strength he forced himself to continue speaking.  
"These last few days, I always thought about what the feeling was and what those pictures meant... and then suddenly, when I looked at Lucius holding the pictures of his son... it all made sense. He saw his father's eyes widen in something like disbelief, but the man only asked: "What made sense suddenly?"  
Instead of answering directly, Harry asked a question himself, needing to know the answer, because he would not be able to do anything if his father disapproved of his plan:  
"What would you do to save the one person you love?"  
"Everything," his father answered without missing a beat.  
Sighing in relief, Harry explained further: "I don't know why, but I can feel that our soulbond is dying because of Draco's death. Maybe it's because he is Lucius' son and he is in pain..." he broke off, looking up at his father again, who was now frowning deeply.  
"I cannot answer the question either, but normally your bond should not be affected, at least not unless..." his father shook his head."Forget what I said, it doesn't make sense. It can't be possible, not even for you..."  
Harry only nodded and sneaked his arms around the Potions Master's middle. After another moment in which his father seemed to ponder on saying something or not, he asked: "What do you want to do? Do you want to search for a way to stabilize your bloodbond?"  
Shaking his head, he answered: "I found a way to bring Draco back. It is a ritual, invented by Merlin, Godric, and Salazar."  
His father stiffened beneath him: "Harry, you are aware that this will most likely be Dark Magic?"  
Closing his eyes for a moment to gather all his strength, Harry replied: "You told me yourself that you would do anything to make the person you love happy again and I have to do this. Lucius and I will both wither away and die a slow and horrible death if I don't do the ritual."  
He met his father's worried look with a stern one, not willing to yield in this matter until Severus sighed and hugged him even tighter. "I am proud of you, my son."  
Harry's heart skipped a beat at the praise and he returned the hug equally forceful. "Thank you dad. Thank you for being so understanding."  
"How couldn't I, if I would have done the same to bring your mother back?" his father whispered, nearly inaudibly.  
Sitting back again, Harry frowned and then said: "But Draco isn't my soul mate."  
His father hesitated a moment and then said: "But I would even have done this ritual to bring James back if she had asked me."  
His father had looked as if he had wanted to say something else, but Harry would not pressure him, instead he said: "You are the best, daddy, you know that?"  
Severus chuckled amusedly: "I know that I am a slimy bastard and the dungeon bat and a greasy git, but I didn't know that I am the best."  
"But you are!" Harry grinned and gave his father a kiss on the cheek, before hopping from his lap: "Thanks for listening, I will send you a message when we start, now I have to go to Ron and Hermione, or they will start to believe that I have to scrub old cauldrons after all."  
"Cheeky brat!" His father teased and shook his head.  
"I know, but I am your cheeky brat and you love me."  
"I do," the man agreed and opened the classroom door with a second flick of his wand.  
At the door he stopped again, remembering his nearly empty candy sac: "Dad?" He asked, his eyes huge and pleading.  
His father snorted at his all too innocent look and lifted an eyebrow. "Yes, Harry?"  
"Can you make me some more of those candies?"  
Severus smirked and asked: "A preferred taste?"  
Shrugging, Harry admitted: "Not really, but I liked the ones from magical animals better."  
"I'll try to find the time after class."  
"Thanks!" Harry exclaimed and was halfway out of the door when his father stopped him again:  
"Let me come with you this evening or whenever you plan on performing the ritual."  
Nodding, Harry promised: "I will send Justitius to you." He could understand that his father wanted to be present when he planned on doing such dangerous magic.  
After a last wave, he ran up to his rooms and sneaked into the living room to talk to Oscar before he joined his friends. He called the little elf and asked him: "So you found everything?"  
"Yes, Master Harry, Oscar found every single bone. It was not an easy task because the bones were buried near an evil house, Oscar could feel it and he was trembling all the time in fear, but Oscar found every one of them."  
Harry winced; he had not wanted to force Oscar to do such a scary task. "Did anyone notice you?" He inquired worriedly, thinking that Oscar had indeed gone to Voldemort's hideout.  
"No sir, no one had noticed Oscar. Oscar is a good elf!"  
"And the stone slab and the veil? Where are they?"  
"Stone slab and veil are at the Ministry in the Department of Mysteries, sir."  
Harry frowned, that sounded like a department where the Unspeakables would work. Hopefully, Lucius would know a way to get in there. Taking the Black Book from the coffee table where he had left it, he scanned the pages again, checking whether he had everything: "I need a ritual dagger made of pure silver as well. Can you get me one?"  
"Of course, Master Harry Potter, sir," Oscar answered.  
"Then ward the bag with the bones, before you go and get the dagger," he told Oscar and the little creature left with a bow.  
Following a strange urge, he stood up and went to his bedroom. The huge, but fairly innocent looking leather bag stood there in front of his bed. Slowly, as if in trance he stepped closer until he stood directly in front of it. The bones inside seemed to call out to him and without thinking he opened the back and grabbed inside. A spark of magic went through his body as his fingers came in contact with the pale skull that looked nothing like the proud blonde. Looking into those black, empty caverns where once ice-blue orbs had resided, he stroked the head softly. How he had hated those eyes only two months ago. They had always looked at him with disgust, but right now he wanted nothing more to see them once again.  
"I will bring you back," he said softly and then snapped from his daze. Realizing where he was and what he was doing, he nearly let Draco's skull fall to the floor. Hastily he put it back into the bag and practically ran from his room. What had he been doing? Caressing Draco Malfoy's lifeless skull? A shiver ran down his spine and he shook his head in disgust.  
Quickly deciding that he needed to join his friends, he went into his library. He couldn't do anything before it was evening and the Ministry was emptier regardless. The time till dinner was spent with research on Ron and Hermione's part and working on the essay for his father on his. Hermione wanted to continue researching after dinner for at least another two hours, but Harry told her that he had promised to meet with his father, but instead of going down into the dungeons, he used the door in his quarters to find his mate in his office, the book with the ritual in one hand. Hopefully, he could convince Lucius to go with him to the Ministry without a lot of explanation; he still didn't want to tell him too much, in case the ritual didn't work in the end.  
He was careful when he opened the door just in case a student was just visiting the aristocrat, but to his relief no one was there with the exception of his dominant who sat behind a new desk and was marking homework.  
Harry knew that the man had heard him, but was pondering what he would do. So he went over and slung his arms around Lucius' neck, hugging him from behind.  
"Lucius?" he asked, leaning his head against his dominant's strong shoulder.  
"Yes, Harry?"  
Biting his lower lip and mentally crossing his fingers, he asked: "If I were to ask you to do something without asking why, would you do it?"  
"I trust you with my life, Harry," Lucius answered, honesty in every word.  
"Then would you go with me to the Department of Mysteries this evening?"  
Lucius turned around with a raised eyebrow and a thousand questions in his eyes, but all he did was nod curtly and say: "I will."  
Harry smiled brightly at him and pressed a soft kiss to Lucius' lips. He had feared that Lucius would demand more information, that he would not yet trust him enough to follow him blindly, but he did and it made him so unbelievably happy.  
"Then meet me in 20 minutes in my living room and until then, read this, but only the marked pages. I trust you," he said, pressing the small book into Lucius' hands and gave his mate a second kiss. This one quickly grew deeper, their tongues dancing with each other and he could smell arousal in the air. With a last lick of Lucius' tongue he stepped back; he wanted to go this evening and if they didn't stop now they would go nowhere before tomorrow and he could not bear the feeling pain and the coldness of death which was slowly destroying their bond any longer.  
With a wink, he left again and called for Oscar once more when he was back in his own rooms.  
"Did you get the dagger?"  
"Yes sir, Oscar brought family dagger," Oscar announced and gave him a heavy, silver dagger with an emerald embedded into its handle and an elegant **M** engraved into the base of the blade.  
Harry eyed the dagger in astonishment: "Where did you get it?"  
"Master Harry Potter is bound to Master Lucius and Oscar is bound to Master Harry. Oscar can enter every estate and Manor that belongs to young Master!" the elf answered happily.  
That sounded logical; after all, house-elves often fetched items for their masters.  
"Would you accompany Lucius, my father and me to the Ministry?" he asked.  
"Oscar will carry heavy bag. Master Harry does not need to carry it himself and neither does his mate and father!"  
Sitting down at the coffee table, Harry quickly scribbled a note for his father and called for Justitius. The little bat needed a few seconds to flutter around the corner and land on the desk in front of him.  
"Are you ready for your first delivery?" He asked with a smile and watched his bat puffing out his tiny chest. Chuckling, he carefully attached the note to his leg and then said: "This is for my father, he lives in the dungeons."  
Justitius fluttered away, probably back to his bedroom where Harry always left a window open for him. Watching his little familiar disappear around the corner, it occurred to him that he was planning something huge; hopefully, it would be successful as well. A fluttering feeling spread in his stomach as he once again thought about what it would mean to be successful. It was a mixture of nervousness and something else which he didn't dare to examine closer.  
Luckily, only ten minutes later soft strides announced the arrival of his father and Severus entered the living room, not giving him much time to wind himself up.  
"So, where are we going?" His father asked with a raised eyebrow.  
"We will go to the Department of Mysteries. Lucius is coming as well," Harry answered as nonchalantly as possible, but he was nervous. Severus disliked anything that could be called Gryffindor rashness and stupidity and gaining entrance into the department that was meant to be secret, clearly belonged to both categories.  
His father groaned: "Is there no way to do the ritual elsewhere?"  
"No, only if you can bring a huge stone slab and archway inconspicuously to Hogwarts," Harry smirked cheekily.  
"But why the Department of Mysteries of all places? Sometimes I believe you are a magnet for trouble," Severus said exasperatedly.  
"Maybe I am," Harry huffed in mock offense.  
Sighing, his father flopped rather ungracefully down into an armchair. "Then count yourself glad that you have a mate who sometimes helps the Unspeakables out and has access to the department. You know, your godfather and his pet wolf would either kill me for allowing you to go on such a stupid mission or throw me a party for acting like a true, stupid Gryffindor."  
Harry grinned, but corrected him: "I think they would black out from the sheer shock of finding out that you accompanied me in the first place."  
"Well, then I should consider telling them. Do you think the chance of shocking them into a heart attack is high?" his father snickered and Harry grabbed a pillow to throw at him. Severus caught it mid-air and glared unconvincingly at him.  
A second set of silent footsteps announced the arrival of Lucius and they both stood up before the blonde vampire could enter.  
His mate's eyes landed on him and he could see the turmoil in those silver orbs. Without preamble, his mate asked: "You know that this means that we will have to have sex?" holding out the book Harry had given him. Harry saw how tightly Lucius was grasping his snake cane.  
Harry stiffened, he had been so overwhelmed by the anguish of Lucius' feelings, his own and the slowly dying bond, that he had not realized it, but didn't hesitate a single moment before saying: "I know," sounding much more confident than he actually felt at the thought of actually having sex so soon again.  
"You said you were not ready to take this step again," his mate said sternly.  
Harry gulped, he would not back out of this; they needed to do this if they didn't want to come to a horrible end. He would not let the loneliness and coldness destroy them both and the grasp death already had would continue to eat away on their bond until nothing would be left, he could not let that happen.  
So he just met Lucius stern gaze with his own determined one, whilst his father watched them silently.  
When his mate didn't budge, Harry declared: "This is more important." His voice was so steady and his look so fierce, that Lucius finally sighed and said:  
"Then I will perform a spell on you which will make the intercourse as blurry as our mating, you deserve something better than this as your first time memory." The aristocrat shook the book agitatedly, a disgusted look of nausea on his face.  
Despite the gravity of the situation, a small smile appeared on Harry's lips; Lucius really tried to make everything perfect for him, or at least as good as some things could get.  
"That's okay," he said and went over to Lucius and gave him a quick, but deep kiss. His father was still silent in the background only watching them, and for a moment, Harry got lost in the sensation and he forgot that Severus was even there. He needed a moment and the kiss to calm his nerves, needed the heat of his dominant seeping into him and needed to feel Lucius' strength under his hands as he laid them against the older vampire's chest.  
When they had finally parted again, Lucius handed him a rather fancy looking black cloak with some sort of silver fur at the hem and the sleeves and ordered: "Put this on."

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

At his questioning gaze, Lucius said: "We have to get you into the Ministry without someone noticing that it is you, especially none of the Dark Lord's followers should see you in my presence outside of Hogwarts or they will ask me why I didn't take you to him."  
That sounded rather logical, so Harry pulled the cloak on and fastened its silver clasps, despite the sweet heavy scent of perfume clinging to it.  
His father wrinkled his nose and asked: "Did it belong to Narcissa?"  
"It did, even though she had not worn it in the last 19 years," Lucius answered without any expression on his face, before stepping in front of Harry and pulling the hood up. To Harry's surprise a black veil lowered in front of his face.  
"I feel like a woman," he huffed and conjured a mirror only to add: "Forget that: I look like a woman!"  
It was true, with his high boots, his small posture and the elegant cloak he really didn't look like a boy any longer, but he could see why Lucius had given him the disguise: No one would be able to recognize him. The cloak reached down to his knees, where his high boots started and the beautiful veil with a flower pattern hid his face.  
"That is the purpose. This is a courting cloak. Young witches use it when they get courted by a prominent Pureblood. It is rare, but a marriage contract can still be broken off by the wizard if he deems the young witch inappropriate, so it is common for witches to hide in these cloaks to spare themselves the shame if the marriage does not take place at the end of the courting period," his mate explained.  
Harry couldn't say that this piece of information made him feel any better. "So everybody will think that you are courting someone?"  
"Yes," his father answered with a scowl.  
His mate sighed. "I do not like the idea either, but everything else is too much of a risk."  
Knowing that Lucius was right, Harry nodded reluctantly. Hopefully, someday they could bring their relationship out into the open.  
Lucius grabbed his snake cane, which he had leaned against the sofa when he had pulled the hood over Harry's head, and stepped in front of the fireplace. "We will floo to the Leaky Cauldron," he said and disappeared into the green flames. Without a word Harry followed him and a few seconds later exited the fire at the other end. His father was only a step behind him, and so was Oscar who carried the leather bag, then Lucius offered him his arm like someone would do for a lady. Feeling odd, Harry placed a hand lightly on the aristocrat's arm, he had read about this in one of the two books about House Ladies.  
The pub was full and many eyes followed them on their way out, but as usual when a Malfoy was involved, no one dared to speak and Harry was thankful for it. Maybe, he thought, his life would get quieter as soon as he could start to live with his mate officially.  
The streets in muggle London were already very quiet, only the sound of his mate's cane echoed through the street. It was too late for the usual customer and too early for the young folk who would come out to have fun in the many clubs and bars.  
"Severus, do you know exactly how we can enter the Ministry?" Lucius asked nonchalantly. Severus gave his friend an incredulous look, which made the blonde huff: "I never used the visitor's entrance. I am an employee and normally floo directly from the Manor, and when I was younger, my father took me on the same way; we Malfoy's have always worked for the Ministry, it proves to be rather useful."  
Harry snorted: "I can imagine what you mean by useful."  
Lucius huffed and looked pointedly down at him: "You already experienced the advantages of having a mate who works at the Ministry."  
"Really?" Harry asked, but his grin was lost behind the black veil.  
"Remember," his father said. "Lucius was the one who signed the adoption papers. It would have been a very long and tiring matter if I had been forced to prove that you are indeed my son."  
Harry blushed and mumbled: "I forgot about that," before falling silent.  
Oscar trotted silently behind them as they took the way Harry had already taken with Ron and Hermione two days earlier. Finally, they reached the little telephone box and his father opened the creaking door.  
"I hope you are joking, Severus," Lucius sneered and pulled Harry to a stop before he could enter the telephone box.  
"He isn't. This is the visitor's entrance," Harry explained calmly. Sometimes it was a real hassle to be mated to a Malfoy.  
"I will get you an employee badge as soon as everybody is able to know about our bond," Lucius sneered and finally let Harry enter the box.  
The same female voice from two days ago greeted them: "Welcome to the Ministry of Magic, please state your name and business."  
"Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy," Severus' eyes flickered over to Harry before saying: "and Minerva McGonagall. We are here to fetch some documents for Albus Dumbledore." Harry snorted rather unladylike at his cover name and grinned up at the tortured looking face of his beautiful mate. With a fond sigh, he quickly nuzzled Lucius arm, even though a veil, a cloak, and a white button down separated their skin, but the appreciative purr he got in return was reward enough.  
"Please register your wands at the security check point."  
The silver badges fell into the money slot and a moment later the box started to lower itself into the ground. The entrance hall was empty this time of night and even the security point was vacant.  
"Where is the department?" Harry asked but Lucius only made a shushing sound and led him to the elevators. Severus pushed the button of the first in the row and when it arrived and the door slid open Harry was glad that he wore the long cloak with the veil. A plump wizard with gray hair stepped out and greeted them with a nod. His small blue eyes darted from Lucius over to him.  
"Minerva McGonagall, ha?" the man said pointedly and Harry could feel his small blue eyes trying to get a glimpse of his face, but the veil was probably enchanted and his mate quickly led him into the now empty elevator, whilst his father graced the man with one of his nastiest glares for good measure. The wizard squeaked and quickly made himself scarce. As soon as they were inside his father pressed the button for the 13th floor and Harry let out a sigh of relief.  
When they reached the last floor, the elevator door stayed closed and a light appeared on it. Lucius pulled his wand out and pressed it against the door, which instantly slid open at the touch.  
Harry stared in wonder as he found himself in a round room, with many identical looking doors. As soon as the elevator had closed again, the door looked exactly like all the others and in the next instant they started to spin around. He could not have said through which one they had entered, let alone which one they needed to take to get to the stone slab, but Lucius went confidently to a door a bit to their left and they stepped into the next room.  
Harry's eyes instantly spotted the stone slab under the stone archway. Something like a black veil seemed to float in a non-existent breeze and on the ground, encircling everything was a rune circle.  
"This is it," he breathed in awe, his skin tingling from the magic that radiated from the artefact or whatever the archway was.  
"Yes, indeed," His mate confirmed. "I have no idea what powers these objects have and as far as I know even the specialists of this Department know fairly little, but I assume that you got more information from the book?"  
"Merlin told me about the veil, he wrote the book with Godric and Salazar," Harry answered, still in a kind of daze and took a step closer. Severus kept staying outside the runes and leaned against a wall. A strong hand lowered on his shoulder and when he looked up, he saw Lucius looking down on him with concern: "What is so important, that you are ready to... do this... or who?"  
Harry only shook his head, he would not explain anything; Lucius had promised to help him without explanation and he didn't want to disappoint his mate in case the ritual would not bring the results it was supposed to and he would stay firm to his decision.  
The aristocrat sighed and gave a curt not.  
"Oscar, place the bones on the stone slab so that they are in the right order again," Harry ordered and with a snap of Oscar's fingers a whole skeleton lay on the ritual stone slab. Harry avoided the sight in front of him as he pulled off the heavy cloak, he didn't want to think about whose bones laid there. They were unnaturally white, considering that they had lain in the cold earth in front of Riddle Manor for only a month.  
Turning his back to the stone slab, he proceeded to undress. He would take on the role of the submissive sacrifice; the fact that the vampire magic made him an eternal virgin would only help his goal. Oscar took the cloak, his high boots, and all the other garments, whilst his mate only had to take off his own cloak and dragon hide gloves. It was important that Lucius as the initiator stayed dressed to show his power over the sacrifice, but he had to touch the ritual dagger with his bare hands, so that the magic between Harry, the stone slab and himself could flow later on.  
"Severus, are you sure you want to watch this?" Lucius asked his friend, who only nodded.  
"We are vampires, I neither have a problem with watching you fuck my son nor with the spilling of blood; those are human concerns which we have all overcome by now."  
Harry watched his mate's gaze flicker over to the stone slab for a split second, before asking: "Do you know whose bones are laying there?"  
Severus' eyes flickered over to Harry as well, who shook his head in a pleading gesture. He had told his father what he would be trying, but even if he hadn't the man was intelligent enough to have it figured out by now.  
"I know who it is, but Harry asked me to not tell you."  
"Then let us begin," Lucius said and raised his wand and that was the last thing Harry clearly thought before his mind grew fuzzy and Lucius' spell took effect.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius did not want to do this. For one thing, he hated having sex with Harry so early again when his little submissive was not yet ready for it, but at least the spell would protect his little submissive's mind. Their intercourse would feel like a muddled dream, Harry would only know what he had done, but not how it actually had been and that at least lessened the sickening feeling a bit that he was about to rape his submissive. He really should not do this, his duty was to protect his mate and right now he was doing the opposite, but Harry had asked him and he knew that the boy would lose trust in him if he backed out now. For another thing, he still didn't have his raging jealousy completely under control. What had made his mate want to do this horrible ritual? He could not understand it and he did not even dare to think about what would be the cause for their visit to the Ministry, or who, after all there was a skeleton lying in front of them.  
He would not hesitate to kill the person if one of Harry's ugly relatives were to come back to life at the end of their ritual. Pushing the thought to the side, he reminded himself that even his good-hearted submissive was not good hearted enough to bring one of those ugly excuses for human beings back.  
But who could it be then? A former lover? No, that was impossible; his little mate had known nothing about relationships or physical pleasure before their bonding. But maybe a former crush, someone he wanted to bring back now that he was more educated in love affairs?  
Jealousy bubbled like a poisonous potion in his gut and he had to quickly push those thoughts away before he could do something immensely stupid. Harry was counting on him and he would not disappoint his beloved mate, regardless of who was laying on the stone slab.  
He carefully nudged Harry and the boy turned around as if he was a mindless puppet. As Lucius glanced into those emerald green eyes he loved so much, they were glazed over as if the boy was sleepwalking. At least his virgin mind would be protected.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

Taking a deep breath he did not need, he shoved Harry roughly against the stone slab. Generally, he liked the idea of taking Harry roughly, but not like this, not when he would have to cut his mate at the end and let him bleed like a pig being slaughtered.  
Harry did not even groan as his frail body collided with the hard surface. With one fluid motion, Lucius unzipped his trousers, freed his cock and slammed Harry's face forcefully into the stone slab top, before entering him with one, violent thrust. Harry gave a muffled sound, a mixture of a pain filled scream and a lust filled moan and the tight channel around his pulsing flesh tightened even further.  
Until now he had not been able to produce more than a semi-hard erection, too disgusted by what Harry wanted him to do, but as he forced his thick flesh into his little submissive and Harry's tight channel gripped around him, he had a hard time not coming on the spot. Moaning loudly and unrestrained, Lucius wondered in his lust hazed mind how anyone could be so tight. Had he not known better, he would have guessed that not even a finger would fit in the child's rear end and as he looked down, he saw a thin stream of blood trickle onto the floor whilst lilac bruises were already spreading between Harry's arse cheeks, but fuck it felt so good! How had he not remembered this feeling? It made him want to pound into his cute little submissive after all, and despite the circumstances, lust was quickly building up inside of him and it threatened to cloud his mind.  
He slid a hand to Harry's front and noticed that his invasion indeed had been enough to make his mate hard. Groaning again, he moved slowly out and adjusted his angle before thrusting back inside. He would need to be careful, because in contrast to Harry, he was not allowed to come during the ritual. Lucius suspected that it had something to do with the execution of power over a submissive. He as the dominant would force the weaker being to climax, regardless of his willingness, whilst he himself stayed clear of the embarrassment of a forced and unwanted orgasm. That the sacrifice in this case was his mate and that his cock was pulsating with the wish to come, did not matter.  
Harry started to moan and arch beneath him as he hit his young mate's prostate with every thrust and the magic of the veil began to swirl around them as his little submissive neared his climax with rapid speed.  
Lucius was not too disappointed that Harry would not last long, because with every thrust he made, he came closer to the edge and the danger of coming grew. He was a controlled man, but being back inside his beloved mate after so many weeks just felt far too good. Lucius had not been prepared for the tight, pulsing heat around him or the way Harry clutched his penis as if the boy wanted to draw him in even deeper. How had he been able to restrain himself in the past? How had he not given into the urge to push his little mate against the next wall and take what was his by right?  
A gasp alerted him that Harry was about to climax and with a trembling hand he brought the ritual dagger up in front of the boy's unprotected throat. It took only two more thrusts and Harry exploded onto the stone slab. As soon as Lucius felt Harry's channel tighten even further around him, he slid the blade across his mate's throat, cutting him wide open. Harry screamed in agony, the magic of the artefact stopping the quick healing ability. Lucius watched in horror as blood sputtered out of the deep cut and Harry's head which, now only hung barely onto his neck, rolled limply to the side. With a quick reflex, he grabbed Harry by his bangs and held his head up, whilst forcing himself to not push it back down onto the gaping wound so that it may close quicker. They had come so far, this was so important to Harry and the boy was beyond noticing the pain as he sagged lifelessly in his arms; he would not ruin their efforts now.  
Lucius barely realized that he had grabbed Harry around his waist to at least keep him upright, or that he had pulled out of his unconscious mate, as he watched in fascinated horror as his beloved's blood pooled around the skeleton and muscles and flesh began to form.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

Still, dead eyes formed in the empty eye sockets of the skull just as Harry sucked in a gasp. He took that as his sign to let go of his head so that it could start to connect again with the rest of his body.  
The jealousy for the person Harry was ready to endure this torture for came back with a vengeance, as he finally realized that they had indeed brought somebody back from the dead or were at least in the process of doing so and it was obviously none of Harry's relatives.  
His rage that was rapidly building inside of him came to an abrupt stop when a slightly familiar scent reached his nose. He knew this scent, or he had known it, but he could not distinguish the scents of the people he had last seen as a human very well; his senses had not been keen enough to memorize the details needed to distinguish people by only their smell back then. As skin started to stretch over the gruesome looking body, his eyes roamed the young and lean form in front of him and a new growl formed in his chest as the sex became visible: It was a boy or a young man.  
The youth's body seemed at first glance nearly perfect: well defined, parallel abs were forming on the male's stomach, his legs were long and muscled and his shoulders, even though not as broad as his own were strong looking as well, and the pale skin looked immensely soft.  
Despite the slightly familiar smell, his growl grew louder, his vision went blood red and he was about to step closer and kill the young man on the stone slab again. But in the next instant his growl quickly died once again and his vision returned back to normal, all jealousy disappearing from his system when the person suddenly sat up and he came face to face with someone he had never imagined seeing in his life again, someone he could never feel jealous over: his former late son, Draco.  
Lucius nearly dropped Harry's still lifeless body as the realization hit him: Harry had seen his anguish this morning and obviously searched for a way to bring him his son back. But why? Had Harry done this merely for him?  
Draco looked utterly confused; his normally cold, ice blue and guarded eyes were wide open and showed a thousand emotions rushing through him, mirroring his own feelings.  
How Lucius could not have recognized him earlier was a mystery to him, but then again, he had never watched his son undress or in the shower.  
"Father?" Draco asked, only to gasp as his face suddenly contorted in pain.  
"Draco?" Lucius croaked out, sudden fear that something might have gone wrong and he would lose his son yet again gripped his heart. Following his instincts, he took in a breath to find out what was happening with his son and the second shock of that evening hit him, as his brain put the information of Draco's scent and what was happening together to form one unbelievable picture:  
Draco screamed in anguish as long fangs broke through his upper gum and for a moment his blue eyes went completely red, before the colour retreated with the exception of a thin red ring around the ice-blue orbs. His son's hands cramped as his nails morphed into claws, whilst his body stretched until he was taller and more masculine than he had been before his death, his heart stopped beating for a moment as Draco died once again, only to start again at a much slower, sluggish pace; his skin grew even paler and the shadow of a mark like the one on his and Harry's hands appeared and finally his scent grew stronger, taking all lingering doubts from Lucius: Draco was Harry's second dominant, they were all bloodmates.  
Lucius saw his son opening his mouth to say something, but in that moment Harry's body twitched in his arms and suddenly their little mate jumped him and attached himself to his throat to drink hungrily from his veins.  
For a moment he was in a state of frozen shock, not able to take everything in that was happening around him, but then Draco's shaky and slightly panicked voice pulled him out of it:  
"Father, what is the meaning of this? Why is Potter here? Why is he naked and why... what is he doing?"  
For the first time in his life, Lucius felt totally overwhelmed and looked helplessly over his shoulder to his friend for help.  
"Draco," Severus started, hesitant to explain, his eyes leaving his son's frame only reluctantly. "The Dark Lord murdered you and cursed your father and Harry."  
"Why are you calling scar head by his name? Why haven't you brought him to our Lord?" Draco sneered and Lucius winced inwardly at his son's current thick-headedness. Had he not yet picked up on the scent? Were Draco's instincts not yet strong enough? But then again, his son's brain had always stopped working as soon as the young hero of the wizarding world appeared on the horizon. Meanwhile, Severus had stepped next to him with a face hard as stone:  
"You will not talk like that about him. When your father was cursed to become a vampire, Harry turned as well due to a connection with Lucius, he went through a lot these past weeks and still he moved heaven and hell today to bring you back from the dead!" Neither Lucius, nor Draco had ever heard the man sound so angry and Draco flinched visibly, but being a Malfoy, he quickly composed himself:  
"I owe him nothing. I did not ask him to bring me back to life and he had no reason to!"  
Severus sneered. "Oh, he has. He and your father are soulmates and apparently, you are the third part to this mating bond!" The man pointed at Draco's hand where their mating mark had appeared as a sign of their connection. It was still more gray than black, due to the fact that they had not yet consummated and completed it.  
"Me, soulmate of Harry bloody Potter? Together with my father? Never!" Draco sneered. "We should take this opportunity and take him to our Lord, we could finally win and he would reward us highly!"  
Lucius sighed inwardly, they would need a small miracle to get his son over the animosity between himself and Harry, and it probably wouldn't be much easier with Harry. Speaking of his little submissive: he was still gulping down his blood and Lucius was slowly getting dizzy from the amount of blood the exhausted and drained child had already consumed. He quickly tugged on Harry's hair to signal for him that it was enough and to his relief Harry let go of him with only a protesting sound, before slumping weakly against his chest, his eyes drooping.  
Severus came over and took his son from him so that he could concentrate better on Draco, but he still pressed a soft kiss on Harry's forehead before letting go of him. Harry had been so brave and he probably had saved their two souls, because a soulbond needed to be complete, or the participants would slowly wilt away. Had Harry known that they needed Draco, or had he brought the boy back only for his sake? Lucius could not answer that question and right now was not the right time to dwell on it either.  
Sighing, he nonchalantly tucked himself away and closed his trousers again, before opening his mouth to explain the situation further, but Severus stopped him: "You will not betray Harry's secrets as long as your son wants to hand him over to the Dark Lord. Right now his mate status doesn't count. His instincts are not yet strong enough to show him the truth of your words. They will need a while before they will be able to overcome this denial."  
"I am not in denial!" Draco snapped with an angry glare at his godfather and supposed mate.  
Sadly, Lucius suspected that Severus was right, Draco was unpredictable right now. His transformation had been even more unnatural than his own or Harry's; the fact alone that their souls recognized each other as bloodmates, even though Draco had been turned weeks after them, should not be possible. Normally bloodmates only arose when the mates were turned simultaneously, but then again Draco had been brought back with Harry's blood and Harry was prone to defying the odds.  
Instead of giving an explanation he finally said: "Let's go Draco, we will have time to talk at Hogwarts, this is not the right place."At his son's questioning look he added: "We are in the Ministry, in the Department of Mysteries, to be precise; certainly not the right place for any discussion."  
Luckily he still had a say in his son's life and Draco climbed from the stone slab without asking further questions for now. Lucius asked himself how their relationship might change now that they were not only father and son, but also mates. Why was there a second dominant in their mating bond in the first place? And how did he feel about it being Draco? Was he jealous? Did he have a problem sharing his little submissive? He could not honestly say that he was jealous because his heart had already accepted his son, knowing that there was a reason why Harry would require two dominants; he only had to find out why fate thought that Harry would have the need for more than one powerful dominant.  
He watched Oscar giving his son a long cloak, which would cover his entire body before the elf snapped his fingers and magically putting Harry's clothes back onto his now sleeping form.  
Lucius could not imagine how exhausted his little mate must feel right now, and he wished that his son would appreciate what Harry had done for him.  
Harry had been exhausted a few times before, after the Knowledge Ritual and after the Purification Ritual, but this time he had pushed his body to its very limits by letting himself be drained of nearly all of his blood.  
Had Harry known that Draco was also a part of their soulbond and that they would never feel truly complete without him? The question kept returning to the front of his mind, regardless of how often he pushed it away again.  
Submissives were often more susceptible to the subtle feelings and shifts in a bond, their duty was to keep the bond together from the inside, whilst the dominant protected it from the outside. Maybe for once, a visit to the meddling old coot of a Headmaster would be in order, as loathe as he was to admit that. Next to him, Severus's thoughts seemed to wander along the same lines because he said: "We should hurry, we have a lot to discuss before this night is over."  
Draco glared once again at Harry, who was oblivious to it and only cuddled closer into his father's embrace.  
"I understand that you have a lot to deal with right now, but do not forget that we are Malfoy's," Lucius advised, and to his relief his words had the desired effect on his son: Draco's features smoothed out and he gave a curt nod, before they all made their way back to the elevators. Draco would not make a scene in the midst of the Ministry; he would at least keep himself together until they were back at Hogwarts and that left time for Lucius to think about the question of if he should treat him like his son, or more like the mate and the equal dominant he now was.  
That Draco clearly ignored Harry the whole way back to Hogwarts and did not spare him a second glance, only added to Lucius' irritation. He wanted to snap at his son for treating his mate like this, or more accurately for treating **their** mate like this whilst his instincts were quite happily humming in joy at finally having the last part of their blood bond back. He could not deal with conflicting emotions, mostly because he rarely experienced them. He was a man who made up his mind easily, or just did what was necessary without regretting something afterwards. Not that he was currently regretting having his son back, but he would have appreciated a little warning from his slumbering submissive.  
They stepped out of the telephone box and onto the small side street in muggle London and hurried to get back to the Leaky Cauldron. Luckily the pub by now was nearly empty and Tom, the barkeeper, quickly went into the backroom when Lucius stepped in first and gave him a look that could not be misunderstood.  
"You go first," Lucius commanded his son, who glared at him and asked: "Where shall I go?"  
"The Founders Quarters of Hogwarts."  
A smug look crossed Draco's features, and he didn't need to guess to know what his son was thinking. What would he say when he found out that he was not the owner of the quarters, but that Harry Potter had outmanoeuvred them all? He motioned for Severus to follow his son with Harry next, before stepping into the floo as well. As soon as he stepped into Harry's living room, an all too happy voice greeted them:  
"Ah, my boys, and good to see you again Draco." Albus Dumbledore sat in one of Harry's armchairs; a tea set in front of him and his eyes twinkled happily up at them, whilst Draco was glaring at the wizard and he himself wanted to throttle the grinning old fool at the moment. Sure, he had planned on paying the man a visit and asking him some questions (slyly of course, because Malfoy's never needed to ask anybody, especially not old coots of a Headmasters), but only tomorrow after he had settled things with his son and his mate and after they all had gotten a good night's rest.  
Severus grumbled something about meddling, all knowing old fools and threw the Headmaster an annoyed look, but gave in with a sigh and sat down with Harry still in his arms on the armchair opposite Dumbledore.  
To Lucius' surprise, Harry had opened his eyes, but a look of complete shock marked his features.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry had forced his eyes open again when the sound of Albus had reached his ears. He felt so tired, but he had the feeling that he needed follow this conversation, but as soon as he had turned his head a peculiar smell invaded his nose. Frowning, he sniffed actively and tried to figure out why this scent seemed so special. It reminded him of his mate, not only that it was quite similar in itself but it also seemed to have the same significance.  
Suddenly it hit him like a bludger to the head: A scent similar to Lucius' could only come from Draco, and the significance in their similarity could only mean...  
Harry's mind blanked for a moment. Holy fuck! That was not possible, fate could not be so cruel; Draco Malfoy could not also be his mate, that couldn't be! That was just wrong; he already had one dominant and didn't need a second one and especially not Draco Malfoy. But sadly, his instincts were quite clear, so was his soulbond, which was humming contently.  
Still, this was Draco Malfoy, he had not brought back the ferret to find himself bound to him; he had done it for Lucius because his mate had been sad and that had made him sad and their soulbond had been dying, not because he wanted a second mate. How should he even have guessed that the boy would turn out to be his second soulmate? He didn't want him as his second soulmate.  
Sighing, Harry took another sniff. As little as he wanted to have to do with Draco, he had been a vampire long enough to realize that it would not be that easy. They would not be bloodmates if fate didn't think that they needed each other and were perfectly matched.  
Pushing his usual dislike for the boy aside, he tried to examine the situation more neutrally:  
Maybe Draco would be more similar to his father than he currently thought, after all, his scent indicated as much. Focusing his vision a bit more, he tried to find the similarity of Draco's and Lucius' scent in their appearance:  
The last time he had seen the blonde boy, he had been a head or two smaller than he was now. Maybe his dominant vampire genes had helped him with that, but Draco was almost as tall as Lucius, maybe only a one and a half inch shorter. His legs were as endless and strong as his father's as well, but he was a bit leaner, not as broad shouldered as Lucius, but still much broader than Harry, which wasn't really surprising.  
Draco's hair was still rather short, with a few longer bangs hanging sexily in his eyes, which were the same shape as Lucius' as well, but more of an ice blue than silver. Harry could also find the high and very aristocratic cheekbones, but his chin and nose were a bit more pointed than his father's.  
Looking downwards, Harry's attention was caught by the gray mating mark, which confirmed his suspicion; it probably would become darker and more noticeable after they had consummated their bond, or rather if they consummated their bond. His hands also looked similar to Lucius'; long and elegant with well-kept nails. The biggest difference Harry could detect seemed to be their auras:  
Whilst Lucius was the embodiment of calm and aloof, Draco's feelings seemed to be closer to the surface. Of course, he had mastered the Malfoy mask perfectly as well, but his eyes shimmered and flashed with his feelings and mostly his anger, but maybe that was only an impression won by his past experiences with the young blonde.  
Frowning, Harry remembered something Lucius had told him shortly after their mating: Draco was already 17 and he could certainly see it: He was no longer as clumsily tall and disproportioned as Ron or many other boys in their year and he surely was not as childlike as Harry himself anymore. Draco's face was one of a young man whose body had formed well due to the years of Quidditch and his Veela genes. Thinking about it, he still did not know how Lucius had gained his perfectly muscled body.  
So, he thought after his secret inspection, at least he could see some physical similarities between his two mates. That gave him a bit of hope, but he still didn't know Draco at all; for all he knew, he could be the total opposite of his father, even though that sounded highly unlikely.  
Then there was the point that his two dominants were indeed father and son, how would they feel about the fact and how was he feeling about it? Frowning again, Harry came to the conclusion that he would have no problem with having a relationship with father and son, as long as Lucius and Draco could live with it.  
What would a relationship with the two of them be like? Would they share a bed, or would he have to sleep one night with Lucius and the other with Draco? That sounded very odd and he honestly could not believe it, after all: He was their blood mate and that meant that Lucius and Draco were as well and besides, he still wanted to have time to stay at least one night the week over at his dad's place. But the sleeping arrangements were not all they had to consider. Blushing, Harry wondered if Draco and Lucius would kiss, not like a peck on the cheek a father would give his son, but a real kiss, with tongue and everything. Were they first and foremost mates or relatives? This was all so confusing! All Harry could do was hope that everything would fall into place automatically.  
Lucius motioning for Draco to sit down, which he luckily did without another rant. Really, the older boy should just accept their fate; they would not be able to stand against their destiny after all.  
His father narrowed his eyes at Albus, who continued to smile and said: " You see, Severus, as the deputy head of the Wizengamot and the keeper of the Department of Mysteries, I have quite the inside connections."  
At least that explained why the Headmaster had awaited them, Harry thought, and made a mental note to ward all his doors before he left his quarters the next time. As much as he liked the crazy man, he didn't need him waiting for him in his living room close to midnight.  
He also could see how much will power it cost Lucius not to rant and sneer at Albus' smiling face, but Draco had either extreme self-control, or just didn't care, Harry thought the last option sounded more likely.  
Neither of them had the chance to begin the conversation or ask one of the many questions which surely swirled around in all their minds, when the Headmaster opened his mouth again, having obviously anticipated their need for answers:  
"It is quite rare to find a soulbond that consists of three people. It normally only occurs when the dominant male is so strong, that he needs two submissives to sustain his magic. Blood Drops?"  
Harry almost snorted at the irritated look Lucius and Draco gave Albus as he pulled out a candy bag from one of his many pockets, but after a moment it seemed not only to dawn on Harry what the old wizard had just implied and all stares settled on him, even Draco's, only that his stare quickly twisted into a sneer,  
"Are you implying that Potter might be magically strong enough to need a second dominant?" Draco scoffed and his face twisted into a sneer that was a mixture of disgust and delight to hear that Harry Potter needed to get it up his arse. But to Harry's and the young blond's surprise, it only gained him low and very threatening growls from his father and godfather. Somehow it calmed Harry down that both men would protect him from Draco's insults and snide remarks.  
"We will see," Dumbledore said sounding rather joyful, a feeling Harry currently did not share with his mentor.  
An uncomfortable silence stretched over his living room then, but luckily the Headmaster possessed the gift of endless chattering and continued: "We will need a believable story to explain Draco's return, but I think the story that you, Severus," Albus gave his father a pointed look, whose arms tightened in annoyance around him, "...found him still alive and thought that Tom spared him on purpose to ensure the old and very noble Malfoy bloodline, will be the best way to go about this," the old man ended his little story with a wink at everybody.  
The Slytherins were scowling heavily, but nodding regardless; Albus had the talent to phrase things in a way that left no place for arguing.  
But to be honest, it actually was a good story: Voldemort could keep his face in front of his Death Eaters, or more precisely: would be forced to keep his face, because otherwise the ugly snake man would have to admit that he had overlooked the fact that Draco had still been alive and they could also tell the students that the blonde needed recovery time from an illness, which would be close enough to the story they would tell the evil wizard to not make the parents of the Death Eater children suspicious.  
"Very well, Albus," his father said and looked down at him. Harry could feel the concern radiating from the dark man and sure enough a moment later he announced: "If that would be all then I would like to take Harry to bed."  
"Actually, my boy, that is not all," Albus smiled, turning back to Draco, and Harry could actually see the urge to throttle the Headmaster in Lucius' eyes. His mate was not an impulsive person, but Harry suspected that the older dominant wanted some peace to clear the mess their mating bond had become.  
"As I see it, we should find a way to provide young Mr. Malfoy with his own private quarters," Albus continued with a look at Draco's pale mating mark as if he didn't notice the tightly clenched jaw of Lucius.  
"It would be suspicious if he suddenly starts to sleep elsewhere, but luckily the current head boy had been found in a very inappropriate situation with..." Harry found the suddenly flustered look on Dumbledore's face fairly funny: This was something new, nothing had ever made the old Headmaster blush, not even finding his twelve-year-old favourite student bound to two older mates, but as soon as he continued, Harry could understand what had the man so embarrassed: "...with Mrs. Norris."  
Harry gasped in shock: "The head boy was found with...Mrs. Norris in a compromising situation?"  
His two mates seemed too shocked themselves to even gasp and his father muttered something about unhealthy kinks.  
"Quite right my boy, but let us forget that quite disturbing incident and return to the matter at hand."  
They all nodded in unison, even Harry and Draco agreed in this particular instance and Dumbledore continued after he had turned back to the young blonde and a sip of tea: "As you are already of age Draco, I would offer you the post of Head Boy. It would give you more privileges, like a later start of the curfew, entry to the prefect bath and of course your own room. What do you say, my boy?"  
Harry absentmindedly wondered if Dumbledore actually called everybody who was under the age of 100 my boy, but pushed the thought away in favour of listening to his new mate's answer, even though he could already predict it; a Malfoy never disregarded the chance of more glory and respect and Head Boy was most likely an important first step.  
"Of course sir, I could never refuse such a request," Draco drawled smugly and took the silver badge Dumbledore handed him. Harry couldn't suppress his bemused snort at the Slytherins sudden politeness, which earned him another nasty glare; he didn't even start to count them all, even before Draco's resurrection it had been the only expression with which the blonde ever looked at him.  
"Good. I will let the House Elves prepare the room; until tomorrow evening, maybe you could stay with your father or mate, or maybe both of them tonight?"  
Lucius, who apparently knew in which direction his son's answer would go, quickly interjected: "We will find a place for him, Headmaster."  
"Then I wish you all a good night," Albus said and finally left the room with a last twinkle and wink at Harry, who was only able to stare back, too tired and too overwhelmed by everything.  
As soon as they heard the door shut behind the annoying fool, his father let go of a loud groan: "Finally! I thought he would never leave!"  
"Yes, the Headmaster is certainly not known for his convenient timing, but at least he cleared up some questions," Lucius agreed and Harry watched him coming over to him, but before his mate could take him into his arms and kiss him Draco's angry voice interrupted them:  
"I will not stay with Potter! And I cannot believe that you would voluntarily spend more time than necessary with him father!"  
Harry wanted to groan at the restart of the rant he had to endure back at the Ministry, but at least now they were in a private setting. Lucius openly defended him:  
"Draco, besides the fact that we both are Harry's bloodmates, there is no other place for you this evening. I have no second bed in my private quarters and Harry's rooms are certainly big enough, I am sure he will let you stay in Slytherin's old quarters, so cease this complaining, it is unfit for a Malfoy!"  
Harry was just about to open his mouth and tell his new mate that he could of course have Slytherins quarters, when said mate sneered and snapped: "I will not take anything from scar head!"  
Sighing, Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation; this evening they would get nowhere if it continued on like this. Weren't Malfoy's supposed to be more logical and less hot headed than Gryffindors? In some way, Harry could even understand the blonde, that was the reason why he had stayed so calm until now, but it was starting to get on his nerves.  
"Draco! You will at least cease insulting our mate; I can understand that you do not like this situation right now, but..." Lucius was cut off by Draco's scoff:  
"Not like this situation? Mother and I have been murdered by our Lord because of your betrayal and when I somehow come back a few weeks later, you are fucking Harry bloody Potter and tell me that I have to do the same!"  
"The Dark Lord does not care about the lives of his followers! You should know that better than I! When he murdered you and your mother he had no possibility of knowing whether I had actually betrayed him or not and in fact, he even killed you before I even decided to change sides!"  
"That still doesn't change anything! Mother is still dead!" Draco snapped and Harry could see the hurt in both of his mates' eyes. Deciding that he needed to interfere before any more hurtful words could fall, he cleared his throat:  
"You... you can have my rooms for the night, I will just leave for now," he said and motioned to Severus in way of explanation. His father still held him in his arms, rather protectively since the argument had started, but at his words he sighed in relief, even though it was clear that Lucius didn't like the idea very much. To be honest, Harry would have liked to stay and settle things at least with his older mate as well, but they all knew that Draco would not be able to be reasonable with his father about anything as long as Harry was still in the room and was provoking him with his mere presence.  
"Thank you for everything," Lucius whispered softly, his voice conveying all the feelings he could not put into words right now and with two steps he was back by his side. "I love you. Sleep well and try to recover." Ignoring the glare from Draco, Harry coiled his arms around his older dominant's neck and accepted the soft kiss he had yearned for the past hour. Lucius' lips were soft but firm against his and unbelievably hot because his skin was still colder than usual after his immense blood sacrifice.  
He was so exhausted, but he had needed this so desperately and Lucius' touch was always so comforting. He sighed into the kiss and opened his mouth to let his mate's tongue slide inside. This was like heaven, Lucius' hot muscle caressing his, his soft but demanding movements.  
Harry's heart gave a little flutter at the reassurance; he had been scared that everything would change now that they had a rather unwilling third mate in their bond.  
Draco was Lucius' son and he knew that the older dominant loved him, but that also meant that Draco could drive them apart if he wanted, but this loving kiss and Lucius' defence of him earlier had calmed his nerves.  
Lucius parted far too soon from him, but Harry did not yet let go of him, instead whispering: "I love you too, Lucius."  
The mood was interrupted when a loud snort came from behind them. Sighing, Harry said his goodbyes and was hoisted up a bit higher in his father's arms again.  
"Sleep well," Lucius said with a look of regret on his face; he did not want to spend the night apart anymore than Harry himself.  
"Good night," Harry smiled, before letting his eyes shift to the fourth vampire and adding "You too, Draco."  
Draco had not graced him with any sort of reply, but Harry was honestly not expecting any and only shrugged, before snuggling deeper in his dad's billowing robes. They left the living room together and Severus carried him silently through the dark hallway, where a pale moon was visible in the night sky.  
"Take this door, it's a short cut," Harry said as they reached the exit and pointed to one of the three extra doors, he would have to add a fourth one for Draco, but not today.  
"Ah, I wondered where the new door in my quarters lead to, but I thought better of it than to go through a corridor to an unknown destination in a magical castle," his father drawled.  
Harry only snickered: "It makes things easier."  
"It certainly does and less suspicious," Severus added, pushing the door to his rooms open as they arrived at the other end.  
"So, how are you feeling?" his father asked as he carried Harry into a comfortable living room. Harry didn't answer, instead he looked around and was seeing the rooms his father was living in for the first time:  
It was rather gloomy, with no windows and only some candles and the fireplace illuminating the quarters, but the candles bathed everything in a soft golden light, giving the otherwise cold looking room with the stone walls and dark wooden floor a warm appearance. To his left stood a small sitting area, with a small coffee table, a black wingback armchair, and a matching sofa. He saw a soft looking blanket in one corner of the couch; it looked rather odd in the otherwise neat room.  
"Your mother made the blanket herself when she was 13," his father explained and followed his gaze to the colourful crazy quilt.  
Harry grinned. "I wondered why you had a blanket with so many gold and reds," his eyes lingered on the blanket for a while, before he examined the many bookshelves and cabinets with what looked like ancient or especially expensive cauldrons and potions utensils. He saw a golden cauldron and even one that looked as if it had been carved out of a gigantic emerald.  
"This room looks like you, it's beautiful," Harry said happily.  
"Really? Minerva always says it looks too much like an office," his father huffed.  
"No, it doesn't. I can see you living here," Harry said, his eyes landing on a small chest where some photos of a much younger Severus and a girl with fiery red hair stood.  
"I would never have guessed that I would find so many things from my mom in your private quarters, at least not before I got to know you better."  
"She is still very important to me," Severus said, his eyes fixed on his own faded mating mark. "I miss her, but I am also extremely glad that she gave me you."  
A single tear rolled over Harry's cheek at his father's words. "Thank you, dad," he whispered, his throat dry.  
"Come on, I will take you to bed now," Severus said and carried him to a door at the far end of the room. The bedroom had a similar feeling to the living room, but instead of a sitting area, there was a huge four poster bed, a cupboard, a drawer and a silver framed mirror hanging on the wall.  
His father laid him down, transformed his clothes to a long nightshirt and went back into the living room, only to return with the quilt, which he unfolded and handed to Harry.  
Harry snuggled into the comforter; it was even softer than it looked.  
"And now tell me how you are feeling," his father prompted as he transformed his own robes and slipped beneath the quilt as well.  
"I...I honestly don't know," Harry said truthfully and turned onto his side to snuggle closer to his father. "My instincts have already accepted Draco, so I guess I will give him a chance, but to be honest, I am not thrilled. I didn't like Lucius either, but we had not seen each other a lot before our mating, so there was not as much animosity between us," he sighed tiredly.  
"I don't see you two getting along very soon either. Draco can be as childish and impulsive as he can be mature and composed. He is not as balanced as Lucius and for him, there is not just animosity between you," Severus mused.  
"What do you mean?" Harry frowned.  
"Draco is one of the richest people in the wizarding world and comes from an old and respected Pureblood line, but the shadow of Lucius is huge and he always was envious of your fame. Draco has always had the feeling that he never got the attention he deserved."  
Harry frowned and thought about his father's words.  
"And then he comes back from the dead, not only to find me having stolen his father but also mated to me, his biggest rival as well?"  
"Yes, he will probably think so," Severus confirmed.  
"But if he was always so envious of me, why did he offer me his friendship at the beginning of our first year?" he wondered, watching his father lift a questioning eyebrow.  
" Did he?"  
"He did. We first met at Madame Malkins and then a second time on the train," he explained.  
"Why did you refuse his offer?" his father asked.  
Harry shrugged: "He insulted Ron."  
"That explains a lot," his father smirked, but Harry didn't understand what he meant and frowned. Sighing, Severus elaborated: "You have most likely crushed his ego quite thoroughly; I don't believe that he had ever been rejected before. Furthermore, you would have made a good acquaintance and Lucius would have been proud to hear that his son had managed to form such a good alliance on his first day at Hogwarts, but with your refusal, he lost the chance to make his beloved father proud."  
Harry thought that his father's explanation sounded rather Slytherin and wondered if most of them functioned like that.  
"What kind of relationship do Lucius and Draco have?" Harry wondered out loud.  
His father was silent for a moment, obviously thinking how to phrase what he wanted to tell Harry, but finally he said:  
"Lucius and Draco always had a very close relationship, even for father and son. Lucius loves his son like nothing else; at least, it was like that until your bond with him formed. Draco adored him like a god, especially when he was younger and he did everything to get praise from his stern father. Lucius' demands were always very high, but it never scared Draco off, he saw it as a challenge and I think he still thinks like that." His father stopped again for a moment, before continuing: "There was never anything sexual between the two, they are both too dominant, neither would have been able to take on the submissive position which is needed to make a couple, and as humans it wouldn't have been proper, but it honestly does not surprise me that they are soulmates as well, it rather fits that they are both your dominants."  
Harry sighed, that sounded as if he had no chance between father and son, not if they really had such a close relationship.  
His father interrupted his depressing thoughts sternly: "Do not worry. They do not love each other in a sexual manner. As mates they will probably kiss and be more intimate, but they both need you and they will both adore you, Lucius already does and Draco will as soon as he realizes that you two are indeed soulmates."  
"Are you sure?" Harry asked, still feeling sceptical.  
"Yes, they will never be real lovers, they will always hang in a state between father and son and lover," Severus reassured him.  
"That sounds odd and complicated," Harry mused.  
"A bit," his father admitted.  
"So, they will be like father and son who have a bit too close of a relationship to call it proper?"  
"Yes, I think that is a good description and now you should try to sleep, you need the rest," his father ordered and extinguished the lights with a flick of his wand.  
"Sleep well, dad," Harry said and stretched to place a kiss to his father's cheek.  
"You too, my little impossible vampire brat. Really, going to the Department of Mysteries to bring Draco Malfoy back... I am immensely proud of you. You honestly have your mother's heart."  
Harry chuckled and nuzzled Severus's neck, before laying his head down on his shoulder. An arm lay protectively down on his hip, and Harry closed his eyes contently.  
Sadly, after fifteen minutes he was still not asleep and shifted nervously. The scent of his father's blood teased his nose and he could feel his stomach rumbling in hunger. Even after the amount he had taken from Lucius, it had obviously not been enough to satisfy his hunger after his blood sacrifice.  
Severus' blood didn't smell as sweet as Lucius' or Draco's, at least as far as he could tell without being anywhere near the blonde boy. His father's scent reminded him of herbs and the man's beloved potions.  
His hunger grew and his tongue flicked out without his permission, licking over the spot where his father's carotid lay hidden.  
"Harry, are you still hungry?" his dad's voice asked softly.  
Harry answered with a pleading mewl and as Severus turned his head to the side to give him better access, he sank his teeth into the vein.  
The Potion Master tasted as Harry had imagined: tart and like herbs and, with the blood, a feeling of coming home flooded his system. Sighing contently, he took another gulp and another, until his hunger was finally sated. By then Harry felt utterly relaxed and ready to fall asleep on the spot. With his last strength, he pulled his fangs out again and closed the pinprick wounds. The last thing he noticed before drifting off to sleep was a soft kiss being pressed to his cheek.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

As soon as he heard the front door close for the second time that evening, Lucius finally rounded on his son:  
"I do accept that you cannot yet accept this situation, but you will refrain from insulting our mate." Normally, he saw himself beyond physical actions, but he grabbed Draco by his cloak that was still covering his body and pulled him to his feet: "Whether you like it or not, Harry has brought you back because he felt the anguish of our bond. I certainly know that it is not an easy task to grow accustomed to the new body of a vampire, or the fact that you are not human anymore, or mated to someone you always saw as an enemy, but I will not stand by and watch you hurt him!"  
He saw that his son wanted to say something, but he gave him no opportunity and instead conjured a mirror and shoved Draco in front of it:  
"Look at you. You are not a stupid teenage boy anymore! You are 17, an adult and you are a Malfoy. Malfoy's respect their spouses and treat them with the uttermost care, regardless of whether it has been a love marriage, an arranged marriage, or a mating. I expect you to start behaving worthy of the family name you carry!"  
"So, do you just play the lovey-dovey couple because of your sense of honour?" Draco asked and glared at him through the mirror.  
"Now, I love Harry with all my heart and you will as well as soon as you realize that he is your bloodmate!" Lucius snapped.  
His son only snorted: "I will never love that ugly scar head"  
"Ugly?" Lucius sneered. "Do you really think that?" sadly, his son didn't rise to his bait.  
"I hate him!" Draco spat and his face contorted into an ugly mess. "He is not worthy to share a bed with either of us!"  
"You will not speak like that about the person who brought you back to life!" Lucius tried another approach.  
"I did not ask him to bring me back and I owe him nothing!"  
"But you do, we all do," Lucius replied and watched the young man, who was so similar to him, not only in his appearance but in his magical power also:  
The only reason why he had been able to overpower his son right now was due to Draco's exhaustion after his resurrection and transformation. Even for Malfoy's, they were extraordinarily similar. A test of Draco's magical power before his fourth year had shown that his son would have the exact magical power as he himself had, and Lucius assumed that the release of the dominant vampire genes had already given his son access to all his powers; something which normally required a few years after maturing, to ensure the safety of their submissive.  
"I cannot believe that you fell for Potter," Draco sneered, interrupting his musing.  
"You will soon come to understand," Lucius answered confidently and ignored the irritation in his son's eyes, he was certain that Draco would soon enough see how lucky they were that Harry was their mate; his son's instincts would hopefully soon drive him in the right direction. "I will show you where you can sleep tonight," he said, ending the conversation for the evening, it was late enough.  
Draco followed him silently to the door opposite of Gryffindor's quarters, where Harry usually slept and he would stay tonight. That his beloved submissive would not be there bothered Lucius more than he was currently willing to admit in front of his son.  
"Oscar will bring you clothes for the night and for tomorrow, sleep well," he said, his strength drained for the night as well; never had he been so tired since his transformation, he could not even start to imagine how his little submissive felt right now.  
"This will be the only night I will stay here," Draco sneered behind him.  
"We will see," he only drawled in answer and left his son alone.  
Once in Harry's room, he slumped onto the bed, burying his face in his hands. What had Harry done? Sure, he was happy to have his son back and to have their mating bond complete, even though he had never really realized that something had been missing to be honest; the thought that there might be a third person involved in their bond had never even occurred to him. This was a mess. His feelings went in thousand different directions and he did not know on which one to act: he wanted to embrace the son he had thought lost forever and greet the other dominant with a kiss, whilst he wanted to rip Draco's head off for his attitude towards Harry; all at the same time.  
After a moment he decided to just lay down and go to sleep, he was never one who believed that the next day would be better only because the sun had set and risen again, but hopefully, tomorrow would bring some clarity and peace to their bond.


	22. Chapter 22: An Endless Friday

**Chapter 22: An Endless Friday**

 **DM**

Despite everything, Draco had slept well. The room his father had shown him to was certainly worthy of a Malfoy. Currently, he still lay in the soft bed, which once had apparently belonged to Salazar Slytherin, glaring up at the canopy. His eyes took in details of the stone wall above him; he would not have noticed them before his death and involuntary resurrection, things were sharper and colours seemed brighter. The same enhancement applied to his ears: His father as a vampire himself was too silent, but he could hear muffled conversations and movements from everywhere around him. How could his father stand to live like this? Not only were they were not Purebloods any longer but they could not continue to live in peace either.  
Eying the room closely, he did not understand how scar head could have gotten these rooms, but he was sure that he had no real claim to them. More likely that the old fool of a Headmaster had given them to Potter, Draco could not imagine any other possibility. The furniture was made from an expensive dark wood and ancient silver and green velvets and tapestries took away the coldness of the stone walls. Some bookshelves stood in one corner and he had even found some old documents from Slytherin himself in his desk drawer, but to his dismay, he had not been able to read anything. His jaw clenched in annoyance at the thought that Potter was able to read the Parselscript. A Gryffindor, what a disgrace! And certainly not something he would have been able to do without his infamous connection to the Dark Lord.  
But the ability to speak Parseltongue was not the only thing Potter had stolen anymore. The Gryffindor had moved into quarters that he, Draco Abraxas Malfoy, as a descendant of Salazar Slytherin definitively had more rights to it and he also had the guts to allow himself to be clad in the council robes by his father. How dare he?  
His father had been married until recently and if ever Lucius should marry, it should be another Pureblood witch, but seeing as he was back there was no need for an heir any longer. He could stay a widower and honourably mourn the loss of his beloved wife, as was proper for a man, but no, his father had to start shagging Harry bloody Potter, the boy who still refused to let himself be killed and do the world a favour.  
He had known all along that his father had a thing for younger males, many Pureblood wizards and witches with an arranged marriage had lovers on the side, or one kink or another, he himself had quite the experience with girls, but he had always believed that his father had loved his mother at least in some ways and fucking Harry Potter so quickly after her death was not only improper, it was also very ridiculous.  
Scarhead looked like a fucking child and there was nothing remotely attractive about him. He had certainly not noticed the huge, bright and very vivid emerald green eyes as their eyes had met for the first time after his resurrection. He had also not let his eyes stop when they fell on those soft and certainly very kissable looking deep red lips either, nor had he taken notice of the unbelievably delicate and small looking raven with his thin frame and faintly glowing, nearly translucent white skin. And the last thing he had not felt was the sudden urge to jump the boy, claim him and fuck him senseless in front of his father and godfather. No, he had not experienced all those things and he surely had not noticed the small boy's beauty even years before their supposed connection arose!  
His godfather was another crazy matter. Severus and scarhead's hatred had always been mutual, almost rivalling the loathing Potter and he felt for each other, but something had obviously changed. They had not looked like mates or lovers, but they had been very close yesterday and Potter had even gone with his godfather to spend the night sleeping in his private quarters.  
It almost felt as if he had been dead for far longer than merely a month. To be honest, he did not have many memories of his weeks behind the veil, the only thing he remembered had been the agonizing pain of his death, or rather, the hours before it; the death itself had been a deliverance after the hours of torture he had endured at the hands of his parents former Lord. But the worst part had been watching his mother being burned to ashes by fiendfire in front of his eyes. There had been nothing left of her, the fiendfire even burned the ashes in the end.  
In that regard his father was at least correct: The Dark Lord was an evil maniac who did not care for his followers, regardless of how loyal they always had been, or how pure their bloodlines were, they were only tools for him. But Draco still believed in the beliefs of the Dark Cause, the superiority of Purebloods and even after having seen his father kissing that stupid Gryffindor, he could not believe that his beliefs had changed so much either. It was more likely that Lucius just liked to fuck that tight looking arse until it bled, than that he had actually changed sides.  
Regardless of his father's relationship with the golden boy or what Lucius believed, he, Draco Malfoy, was certainly not Potter's mate and he would never touch the boy or even think about it; that was just revolting.  
Casting a tempus, he stood up and went over to the cupboard where the small House Elf had put some clothes of his father in, and pulled them on. Frowning, he realized that he did not have his wand to transform them into something that at least looked like school robes. What had that blasted House Elf's name been again? Snapping his fingers, he waited for a moment, that was always enough to get some of his family elves; they had too many after all to remember every single name of his servants, but when the thing did not appear he huffed in frustration and tried to actually remember the name of a elf for the first time in his life.  
It had been something with O he believed. Ozzy? No, the name had not ended on y like was typical for the creatures, at least that he had noticed. Then he remembered and called: "Oscar!" But again, nothing happened. Getting seriously annoyed he called again and when he still received no answer he stormed out of his room in search for his father. This bloody creature would get clothes after it had brought him his wand, he would make sure of it!  
"Father?"  
The door opposite of his was opened with a spell and without asking twice, he stepped into his father's bedroom. Draco did not know what repelled him more; the red and gold colour scheme, or the fact that Potter and his father's scents hung heavily in the air, mixed with some lingering aromas of arousal and sex; he scowled at his father, but seeing his raised eyebrow he decided not to comment and instead said: "Our House Elf is not answering my call."  
To his annoyance, his father's second eyebrow lifted up and the shadow of a smirk appeared on his face: "Oscar is not our House Elf, he is Harry's and he has not yet told him to listen to you. What do you need?"  
Growling, he answered: "My wand. I need to transform these robes."  
"I am afraid your wand is lost," Lucius thought for a moment and then called: "Oscar!" The little elf appeared instantly to Draco's annoyance and bowed deeply: "What can Oscar do for Lord Malfoy?"  
"Bring me my grandfather's wand. You will find it in the safe in my private office at Malfoy Manor."  
"Yes sir," the elf said and popped out.  
At his questioning look, his father explained: "My grandfather's wand was made from the same wood as yours and has almost the same core; Unicorn Heartstring instead of Unicorn Hair, but I think you will manage until we can buy you a new wand."  
"I hope you are right, if I have to pick up my life again, I do not want to ruin it further with bad marks due to an unsuitable wand," Draco scoffed, trying to ignore the glare of his father, but it was not easy. His father was an impressive man, even now when he was nearly as tall and broad shouldered as him. And furthermore, he hated to disappoint or anger his father; he was the most important person in his life.  
"Do not forget to put a glamour on before you leave for classes and you have to think about some way to hide your Mating Mark, it cannot be hidden by any spells," his father said just as a pop was heard and Potter's small elf returned, a light brown wand in his hands.  
"Oscar has found wand, Lord Lucius, sir."  
Draco sneered at the ugly wand, but took it and waved it at the pillows on the bed, trying to levitate them. It felt as if the wand did not really want to obey and he had to put much more magic into his spell than usual, but the pillows lifted up.  
"Not perfect, but I will manage for now," he announced and transformed his father's robes into school robes. They did not fit as perfectly as the ones he had worn in the past, which had been custom made for him, so he would need to go to Diagon Alley after classes, but it was better than showing up in regular clothing and looking as if he had not bothered to prepare.  
"I expect you to try and not provoke Harry today, especially not in defence;" his father said suddenly.  
"What is so special about defence?" he sneered back. "Because its Potty's favourite subject?" he sneered back.  
"Because I am the teacher and do not want to referee a fight between you two."  
Oh, the day had just gotten even better and it was not even eight in the morning. Only a month ago Draco would have been delighted to hear that his father would be a teacher at Hogwarts, one more person to torment Potter without the boy having any chance of doing anything against it, but not anymore.  
"Great," he just said and left without as much as another glance at his father. His life had turned into hell.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table with his friends and watched them eating breakfast. He had managed to run up to the tower this morning and catch them before they could come into his quarters and stumble not only on to one, but two Malfoy's.  
He still felt a bit exhausted and his friends had asked if he had nightmares again, which he had answered with: "Not a nightmare like you think now, but you will see at breakfast."  
He would not deny that he had been present when Draco had suddenly appeared again, but he would not tell them that he was the reason why the prat was stalking around Hogwarts again either.  
At least with the help of his father, he had made up his mind and decided that he would neither grovel in front of him like a good submissive nor would he openly be hostile. For now, he would just try to ignore his second mate until the boy had calmed down. His father had also told him that he and Lucius would go to their Master directly after classes had ended for the day to tell the snake man that Draco would be able to step into his service after his graduation after all.  
At that moment the door to the great hall flew open and said boy strode in, arrogant smirk in place, his appearance perfect as ever and drawing all eyes to him. A loud gasp went through the hall, even the teachers stared in disbelief, with the exception of Albus of course, who smiled as if he had gotten a year's supply of his beloved Lemon Drops and his father, who scowled at his godson.  
A loud squeal drowned the gasps and the silent whispers that had arisen and Pansy Parkinson literally leaped over the Slytherin table, ran over to the blonde Headboy and flung herself around his neck.  
Harry's lips lifted into a sneer and a low, possessive growl threatened to rise in his throat, which he quickly squashed, denying that he felt jealous and hurt.  
"You can say it, Harry," Ron muttered with a look at his sneer, thinking that his friend was sneering at the return of the arrogant prat and not his attitude.  
Harry barely listened to him as he watched his younger mate offer his arm to Parkinson, like a proper gentleman and lead her back to the Slytherin table where he was greeted like a returned king, or like the prince of Slytherin he was.  
Parkinson leaned into Draco's side after they had sat down and Harry had to fight the rising urge to rip her head off. His claws itched as if they wanted to elongate. Trying to distract himself he reached for his blood-filled goblet Oscar had once again prepared for him and took a sip. At least he noticed that similar goblets only stood in front of Lucius and his father as well; apparently his little servant was not fond of the young Malfoy Heir right now either.  
"How can he...?" Hermione started to ask, but then stopped and shook her head.  
"Yeah, I was happy that he was dead as well, but I suppose you can't kill weeds so easily," Ron muttered darkly.  
Harry finally turned back to his friends. Hermione was currently frowning at the blonde Slytherin as well. "This is a really different kind of nightmare. Harry, did you seen him arrive yesterday?" she asked him.  
"Something like that," Harry admitted.  
"How can he still be alive?" Ron scoffed and pierced a piece of bacon angrily with his fork.  
Sighing, Harry told them the story Lucius, Severus, Draco, and Albus had agreed on: "Apparently my father found him still alive after Voldemort's torture." His friends flinched at the name of you know who, but he continued nonetheless: "He was barely alive and thrown outside to garbage like all the other victims of Tom's wrath, but Severus took him with him and managed to patch him back together. He told me that he had said nothing in case he would not be able to save Malfoy. I guess he didn't want to raise Lucius' hopes. Better a surprise than a disappointment."  
"Yeah, what a surprise," Ron scoffed.  
Harry wanted to say that he wasn't thrilled either, but couldn't, because deep down he was unbelievable happy about his mate's return.  
"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "We should be happy about his return..." she scowled, "...or at least, about the fact that he is not dead."  
With that Harry could agree; he certainly would prefer Draco being home tutored right now, not dead, but far away to calm down or rant in silence until he was starving and needed to look the truth in the face, and then come to him for blood.  
Bloody hell, he had not thought about it yet, he would have to feed the prat! Harry groaned in annoyance and banged his head on the table. His friends gave him an odd look and he said in way of explanation: "We have Defence with him today."  
Now Ron groaned as well and even Hermione looked slightly tortured.  
"At least not until after lunch," she tried to cheer them all up, but without much success.  
An owl landed on Harry's plate then, distracting them all for a moment. He untied the rolled up parchment and read the short note. It was from Albus.  
"Albus wants to start my lessons with him tomorrow after breakfast. He says that he will come and pick me up in my quarters," Harry frowned.  
"Where do you think he will train you?" Ron asked, shoving some eggs into his mouth.  
"I don't know yet. Albus said something about a room called the room of requirement, but he thinks that the magic of the room will not be strong enough to hold both our powers as soon as we start duelling in earnest and he also said that the Great Hall will not be an option either, or we might frighten the other students."  
"That sounds reasonable, but I guess he has figured something out," Ron said.  
"Well, you have to tell us about your first lesson afterwards," Hermione said and rose to her feet, before adding: "Hurry up Ron, we have to be at the Greenhouses in less than eight minutes."  
They followed her out of the castle, but only when they reached the waiting group of students did they realize that they had nearly every class this year with the Slytherins and that their blonde nemesis was not far behind them:  
"...apparently the last Headboy had been caught in an improper situation with Filch's cat and he immediately offered me the position," Draco just drawled as he passed them with Pansy, Zabini and his bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle.  
"Yes and do not forget to mention that Albus offered you the position because of me," Harry grumbled and turned his back to his mate.  
"Why is that?" Ron asked, looking irritated.  
Sighing, he explained: "Albus believes that he will somehow become a supporter of the Light Side and join the Order like Lucius has."  
His friend snorted, but Hermione chewed on her bottom lip: "Say, Harry, do you believe that Lucius will stay loyal to you now that his former master had not killed his Heir after all?"  
Harry blinked a few times before answering: "That doesn't change the fact that it had been Voldemort's aim and that his wife is dead." There were, of course, other reasons as well, but that had to be enough.  
"I hope you are right," his brainy friend worried and eyed the blonde Heir with mistrust.  
"I still can't believe that Malfoy...the older one..." Ron frowned, "has really joined us and I will never believe that ferret face will turn all Light."  
Harry had to admit that he could not imagine it either. With a sigh he nodded and involuntarily perked up when Draco's voice reached his ears again:  
"I will have my private rooms in the dungeons. Dumbledore promised me that they would be ready this evening."  
"Oh Draycy, then I can visit you!" Parkinson cooed and to Harry's horror, his mate answered: "Of course you can, darling."  
Ron made a retching sound, whilst Harry turned around, not longer able to contain himself at the hurtful words: "I thought you found Lucius sexier," throwing Parkinson's words back at her from their first day of class.  
To his satisfaction, he saw something flashing through his stupid mate's ice blue eyes and the annoying girl at his arm blushed in anger and embarrassment, but he had celebrated too early when Draco sneered at him and replied: "Are you jealous scarhead? I must disappoint you, but I would never choose someone as ugly as you, who cannot even provide me with an heir."  
Now it was Harry's turn to flush in furry as the gathered Slytherins snickered. Without thinking he shot back: "What does a sterile ferret face like you need a wife for?" hinting at the fact that Draco was now dead and unable to sire anything, regardless whether he decided to acknowledge their bond or not. Fury rose like a toxic smell in the air and Harry saw Draco's muscles flex as the boy made himself ready to probably hex the living hell out of him, but luckily Professor Sprout arrived at that moment and called for their attention.  
With a last filthy sneer, his mate turned his back to him to listen to their teacher and pulled Parkinson provocatively closer. Parkinson giggled in delight, her black curls bouncing as she flipped them over her shoulder.  
Growling, Harry silently promised himself that he would use the next given opportunity to pay the prat back. Ron, who could not understand the meaning of Draco's gesture pat his shoulder and congratulated him: "Good reply, mate!"  
The growl was about to rise at Ron's accidentally used title, but then he saw Draco's back stiffened, and a wide grin spread over his face. He didn't notice Hermione's confused expression as he did not go ballistic like the last few times someone had called him mate accidentally and just grinned.  
They followed Professor Sprout to Greenhouse number four, where dangerous Potion Plants grew, the main topic of fifth-year Herbology. Harry was relieved to find himself much too distracted by the aggressive plants to have enough time to watch or listen to his second dominant.  
After Herbology they went to Transfigurations, where McGonagall had a stern eye on the newly reunited enemies and gave them no chance to come even remotely close to each other. Somehow having predicted or noticed or gotten a hint from Albus, she moved Draco to the opposite end of the room first thing after her class had started. They continued their unsuccessful attempts at transforming mice into chickens, with Harry not being able to get the mice to a reasonable size. The little animal always turned into a perfect chicken, but much too large, fluctuating between the size of a cat, a dog or once even a horse, which had destroyed some desks and sent the girls in their class into a panic, until his Head of House had been able to reverse the spell.  
When he arrived with his friends at lunch they were covered in brown feathers and looked rather ruffled, having stood right next to the little mouse as it exploded into the monster chicken. Hermione quickly cast a vanishing spell and then a Scourgify to clean them of all lingering grime, before anyone could reach for a plate with food.  
Slumping down, Harry threw his candy bag on the desk and fished for one.  
"Harry, you really should talk with Dumbledore about your new wand tomorrow, this is not normal," Hermione said sternly and even Ron nodded instantly.  
Sighing, he admitted: "You are right, something is off." His nerves calmed a bit at the taste of blood and he leaned back in his chair to close his eyes and relax for a moment. This day already felt endless and as things stood right now, he would not even be able to return into Lucius' arms after classes had ended. Lucius and his father would go to Voldemort and even if they didn't, Harry doubted that Draco would give him a chance to come near his father; the blonde boy had seemed very keen on keeping them apart yesterday.  
Harry kept his eyes close, ignoring the wild chatting of his housemates, who were all annoyed by Draco Malfoy's return. Only when Hermione shook him and told him that they had to get going to DADA did he opened them again and took his bag, not as happy to have Lucius as his teacher as he had been at the beginning of the week.  
Draco already stood in front of their classroom, giving him the cold shoulder after their little dispute before Herbology, at least Parkinson was not clinging to his arm right now, but standing between Zabini and Nott. Harry thought that Draco may be avoiding her on purpose because they were standing in front of his father's classroom and the older blonde had made it very clear what he expected from his son. Lucius sure would not be happy if he ever found out how they had fought today.  
"Man, have you gotten a handle on this meditation thing?" Ron asked him suddenly.  
He had indeed practiced for at least 15 minutes every day, not wanting to disappoint his mate, his older mate, he corrected himself mentally, but until now all he had gotten from the meditation was a wired feeling. Instead of the many shadows he always saw as soon as he started his meditation morphing into one, they had become even more.  
"Not yet," he said, making Hermione frown.  
"But you looked as if you had no problems with your trance last lesson," she said.  
"I don't really have a problem, but what I see is all fuzzy and unfocused," he replied.  
"That sounds better than what I see, man," Ron grinned sheepishly.  
Rolling her eyes, their brainy friend snapped: "Maybe you would be more successful if you practiced each evening as Professor Malfoy has told us to do."  
Ron cringed: "please don't call him that."  
"Call him what?" Hermione asked irritably and Harry answered for Ron: "He means Professor."  
"Yeah, I still try to ignore the fact that the bastard is our teacher now," Ron added helpfully.  
Harry sighed; he did not even have the energy to be angry at the new insult to his mate.  
"Maybe you just need some more time. Finding your animagus form is a difficult task," Hermione mused, coming back to their original topic.  
"I guess," he answered and turned around when he heard the door opening.  
He waited a moment until Draco was safely inside and had enough time to sit down, before entering the classroom as well. Sitting down, he pulled out his black journal and waited for his mate to start the lesson. Ron was not as attentive and Hermione reminded him to get his stuff onto the table as well, but she instantly fell silent when Lucius stepped in front of them:  
"We will continue where we left on Monday. I hope you all have done your homework, or I will notice it today."  
Harry assumed he looked rather nervous at his mate's words. He stood up with the others and when the desk had been moved to the side again and the pillows conjured, he grabbed one to return to the place under the staircase where he had sat the last time.  
"I guess I can just relax for a while, seeing as I have already managed the full transformation," Draco's voice sounded loud through the classroom. "I am a multimagus, you know. Father already taught me the year after our third year."  
"Arrogant prick!" Ron muttered and threw his pillow carelessly onto the ground.  
"He is," Harry agreed, wondering what a multimagus was, but if his younger mate's tone of voice and the surprised gasps of his friends were anything to go by, it had to be something bloody awesome. He guessed that even Draco was a Malfoy after all and closed his eyes.  
As soon as he had closed his eyes and entered the meditative state, the fluttering shadows were back. He frowned in annoyance at them; he really didn't need to make a bloody fool out of himself in his supposed best subject on top of it all. To be honest, he hoped that it was just the light dancing in front of his closed eyelids and that he could see the blood flowing through the thin veins in them, now that his eyes were so much better than those of a human.  
Sighing, Harry tried to relax even more and sink deeper into the trance. But the shades grew more solid, his hope fading rather quickly. He forced his mind to relax deeper into the meditation; he would accomplish nothing as long as he still thought about the matter consciously. He felt his heart slowing down until it almost stopped completely, only beating one or two times for a whole minute and he lost the feeling of reality. It was as if he was released from his body, or in a dreamlike state. The feeling of the cold stone against his back and the softness of the cushion had faded and his body felt utterly light.  
Suddenly, the shadows changed into solid pictures in fractions of a second, skipping the second practice phase of shades completely and he gasped in shock and surprise: There in front of him stretched an endless picture of thousands and thousands of animals. They filled his field of view completely and Harry would have sworn that there would be even more if he was only able to go to the black horizon.  
His eyes fluttered open and met the silver-red ones of his mate, who watched him intently.  
"Professor, I think I doing something wrong," he said, barely loud enough to pull his friends from their own meditation and make them look at him in question. He heard Draco snort contemptuously near the classroom door and threw him his filthiest glare, which the boy answered with a mocking sneer, as if telling him that he would never be good enough for a Malfoy.  
"Come over here, Mr. Potter and we will discuss your problem and try to find a solution," his mate said smoothly, pulling his attention away from his second mate and making a shiver ran down his spine at the deep, drawling voice.  
Standing up, he shuffled over to Lucius' desk, ignoring yet another snort from Draco and the eyes he could clearly feel on his back from the young blonde. At the pointed look from Lucius he started to explain; by now every other eye was on him:  
"I don't know which one of them is my animal!" he blurted out, suddenly feeling very shy and nervous, knowing that his second dominant was scrutinizing him and wanting to make a good impression despite everything. Really, he could kick himself in his butt!  
The blinking of Lucius' eyes told him that his mate clearly didn't know what he meant and so he elaborated: "I did everything like you told us to in the journal, I swear it, Professor! But there are animals everywhere!" Harry needed so desperately for Lucius understand that he had done his best and that he followed his instructions, that he had practiced every evening and that it was not the aristocrat's fault that he just could not get the hang of it and somehow, he needed Draco to understand it as well. Oh, how he hated this feeling!  
Something flickered in Lucius' eyes and then they suddenly drew wide in something that looked like realization.  
"Please follow me to the Headmaster's office," Lucius commanded and rose to his feet. The Slytherins snickered in amusement, Draco being the loudest because he surely would get punished for whatever stupid thing Harry had done wrong and the Gryffindors looked worriedly after him, as he left with the known Death Eater.  
As soon as the classroom door closed behind him, Harry asked: "What is wrong, Lucius?"  
"I should have known after I found the destroyed drawer of my work table," His mate said in way of answering, but without clearing any of Harry's questions.  
"I used a detection spell to find out how you had succeeded to destroying it so thoroughly and found out that you had used an Alohomora."  
"I did, that was the first spell that came to mind. I know it is not a very advanced or powerful spell, but it worked," Harry defended his action, not really sure if he should be defending breaking into his mate's top drawer in the first place.  
"That is exactly the point: Alohomora is a basic unlocking spell you learned in your second year and not very powerful, it should not have been able to open my desk drawer," Lucius explained.  
"And why did it succeed then?"  
"Because you put so much power behind it, it even left a trace of lingering magic; an occurrence that only arises if someone nearly drains himself with a spell or is immensely powerful. But at a minimum I should have suspected something after we found out that my son is your second dominant, or your father should have."  
Harry's eyes widened as he remembered Albus' words from the evening before:  
It is quite rare to find a soulbond which consists of three people. It normally only occurs, when the dominant male is so strong that he needs two submissives to sustain his magic.  
And then Draco had asked:  
Are you implying, that Potter might be magically strong enough to need a second dominant?  
"So I am powerful and that is why I have so many problems with my animagus form?" he asked, frowning.  
"You are not only powerful and you have no problem with your animagus form, you are a multimagus like Draco and myself. They only occur if someone's magical strength is more than average, but we should delay this conversation until we have reached Dumbledore's office. He is your mentor and as much as I hate to admit it, he is probably more powerful than myself, thus a multimagus as well and has a great amount of knowledge," his mate told him and gave the Gargoyle in front of the Headmaster's office the password.  
Albus' warm voice, like always, invited them inside before either of them could even knock.  
"Ah, my dear boy, what can I do for you on this fine day?" Albus smiled and waved them closer.  
"Headmaster, I think it is necessary that we check Harry's power level. The boy is a multimagus," Lucius said and Albus' eyes widened as his mate's had before.  
"Of course, his magic is already maturing due to his transformation," Albus mused. "I had assumed he would still need some more time to reach this level of maturity."  
"What is a multimagus?" Harry finally asked. Lucius had told him that he would get his answers as soon as they were in Albus' office, but instead of one man talking in riddles, he was currently listening to two.  
Luckily Dumbledore finally explained: "A multimagus is a wizard who is technically an animagus, only that he can take on the form of every animal he wishes and always has at least one magical creature he can transform into."  
Harry blinked in confusion, that sounded awesome, but he didn't understand what this had to do with his Magical Power level. The power level described the magical strength of a wizard or witch, that whole multimagus thing sounded as if it had nothing to do with it.  
"But that is not all there is to it," his mate explained further. "The normal strength of a wizard is about 80-110%, strong wizards have 111 to 179% and wizards with 180% of magic or even more, are always multimagus and considered not only strong anymore."  
"That means," Harry concluded in awe, "...that I have at least... that my Magical Power is at least ...180%?"  
"Yes, my boy," Albus smiled at him.  
"How high exactly?" he inquired, but Albus only shrugged his shoulders and Lucius also didn't give him an answer.  
"There is a simple spell we can do to find out how high your magical level will be when it has completely matured," Albus said and went over to an old looking book shelf.  
"How high is your power level?" Harry asked curiously and looked from Albus to Lucius, remembering that his mate had told him that he, his son and probably Albus as well were multimagi.  
" Draco and I have a magical strength of 253%," Lucius answered.  
"287%;" Albus told him.  
Harry gaped at the two wizards; he had known even before today that his mates and Albus were strong, but that was incredibly strong! He would never be able to come even remotely close; he assumed that he most likely only had the required 180% a wizard needed to be a multimagus.  
Albus flipped through the pages of the book until he stopped at one page and quickly read over the spell: "The last person I used this spell on was your mate... your older one," the headmaster smiled and then lifted his wand: "Pars magicae!"  
Harry felt a tingle go through his body, but he could not see anything. Looking at his mate in confusion, he noticed that Lucius' silver orbs were fixed on a point above his head.  
"So, what does it say?" He huffed in irritation when, after a moment the two men were still staring in silence. Maybe Lucius was wrong for the first time in his life and he wasn't a multimagus after all and even weaker than anybody would ever have guessed. His throat became dry at the thought and he shuffled nervously.  
But then Albus said: "321%," his voice sounding amazed.  
"321%?" Harry exclaimed, not believing that he had heard correctly.  
Lucius smirked lopsidedly at him: "Yes. No wonder you destroyed my drawer, such a high increase of magic in such a short amount of time makes it nearly impossible to control without difficulties."  
"But...that can't be possible...I am not that strong!" he protested weakly, knowing that the sentence 'that can't be possible' had never stopped anything.  
Albus only chuckled: "We can count ourselves lucky that your magical increase was noticed before your first practical lesson, or you could have blown up the classroom."  
Harry flushed, admitting: "I already nearly destroyed Professor McGonagall's classroom with a giant chicken today."  
His mate snorted and he elaborated: "We were practicing the transformation of mice into chickens and my chicken suddenly grew as big as a horse."  
"The best practice for you will be to concentrate on sending as little magic as possible through your spell. Only cast spells when you are completely calm in the next few days, the meditation technique you learned to find your animagus form will help you. It might sound good to be able to produce such strong spells, especially in defence, but without control the danger of unintentionally draining yourself is high even for you and even with being immortal it would be a rather unpleasant experience, " his mentor advised him softly.  
"Okay...I will try my best," he answered.  
"We will return to our class then," Lucius said and laid a hand on his shoulder.  
"You do that, my boys. And we will see each other tomorrow after breakfast," Albus winked at him.  
They left the office again, with Harry deep in thought. He still couldn't believe that he was more powerful than his dominant mates and even Albus Dumbledore, and was quiet during their journey back to the DADA classroom. Lucius left him to his musing, a reassuring presence at his side, but after all he had come to know about himself in the past few weeks, this was really not a big issue.  
The first thing he noticed upon entering the classroom again was that Draco had apparently taken on the job of supervisor. His second mate was strolling arrogantly between their classmates, ignoring Ron, who was silently glaring daggers at him, whilst Hermione next to the redhead tried her best to not say anything and disturb the silence with her reprimands.  
"Thank you, Draco," Lucius said and motioned for his son to sit back down again.  
Draco smirked his most arrogant smirk and replied: "No problem, father. Were you able to clear up all problems Potter had with his transformation?"  
Harry threw his younger mate a warning glare and then one at Lucius for good measure; he would not put up with both insulting him, even if Lucius was only doing it for appearance in front of the Death Eaters children.  
But Lucius only said: "Yes, Draco. Everything is fine now."  
Casting a tempus, he saw that the lesson would thankfully be over in ten minutes and sat back down between his friends. Hermione opened her eyes and asked: "Could Professor Dumbledore help you with your problem?"  
Nodding, Harry told her: "It is not a real problem, I am a..." but he was cut off by Lucius stern voice.  
"No conversations during class. 10 points from Gryffindor."  
Growling in annoyance, Harry crossed his arms stubbornly and glared at his older mate, who was pretending to not notice anything. It probably was better that way, or Harry would lose some more points, but somehow that bugged him even more.  
Luckily, only five minutes later Lucius announced: "Those of you who have already discovered your form will write an essay about the animal. It should include its character traits, its abilities, and its habitat. I expect it to be at least 4 foot long." He turned to Harry then and added: "And you Mr. Potter will write an essay about multimagi, the same length and pay special attention to your core animals."  
Gasps went through the class again and Harry watched in delight as the smug smirk vanished from Draco's face as the blonde boy went over to his father and asked him silently, but still loudly enough for Harry to hear: "Scarhead a multimagus? How high is his Magical Power?"  
His older mate only smirked and said: "You will have to ask him yourself."  
Ron burst out into loud laughter next to Harry and earned himself a filthy glare, but it didn't impress the redhead much. Ron was the only other boy who easily matched Draco's height, with the difference that Draco, like his father, only looked tall and damn sexy if Harry was honest and Ron somehow looked lanky. Ron was not so well proportioned as Harry's two blondes.  
"Let's get out of here before Malfoy actually has the chance to ask you," Hermione scoffed and went ahead.  
"How was the prat as the supervisor?" Harry asked as he followed her.  
Hermione only sighed: "Luckily silent due to our task, otherwise I might have broken his nose again after his shit at Herbology."  
Harry exchanged a look with Ron, Hermione was not one to swear, but then again, she was not one to punch someone straight in the face either and she had done that as well in their third year.  
"You have your last double period free as well, Harry?" his female friend asked.  
"Yes, I have," Harry answered and hoisted his bag a bit higher on his shoulder.  
"You know, man," Ron complained, "that is so unfair."  
"No it isn't, we've had this conversation before. Tomorrow when you see Harry after his first training lesson, you will probably be glad that you only have to sit in History of Magic and Divination," Hermione reminded him and then turned back to Harry, asking him: "Do you want to do something now?"  
Harry nodded instantly. He could do with some company to distract him from thoughts about where his older mate and father would soon be heading, and maybe he could even talk a bit about what was on his mind if he was careful.  
"Shall we go to your quarters then?" she inquired.  
"Sounds good," Harry smiled and waved at Ron who frowned and said: "I will join you in two hours and if I don't show up, come and look for me in the History classroom, because then I have fallen asleep there and no one woke me up."  
Harry snickered and promised: "I will do that!"  
He and Hermione departed from Ron and headed straight in the direction of Gryffindor tower. Harry honestly hoped that his new mate had not liked Slytherin's rooms enough to come back anytime soon. The door opened without hesitation for them and once in his long hallway, Harry's eyes instantly fell on the door to his gigantic bath:  
"Want to take a relaxing bath? I really need something like that right now."  
"Sure," Hermione agreed and placed her school bag on the ground to pick it up again later.  
The air in the bathroom was foggy from the hot steam of the whirlpool and even though Harry could not really feel its heat, the atmosphere alone was soothing.  
Hermione transformed their clothes once again but stopped with a little shriek as she was about to climb into the pool.  
Following her curiously, Harry saw a long, black shadow moving beneath the surface.  
"Harry, what is that?" his friend asked, just when the shadow emerged and Harry had to laugh:  
 _"Hello Nagini, enjoying the water?"_  
 _"Hello little master,"_ the reptile hissed back and laid her heavy head on the tiles, apparently not planning on leaving the water anytime soon. _"I came here this morning after your new mate threw a tantrum I luckily did not completely understand,"_ she explained.  
 _"You have been in here since this morning?"_ he asked baffled.  
" _Yes, I had to restrain myself from following and poisoning him. I know he is like you, but I at least would have tried,"_ Nagini muttered darkly. _"I don't like his attitude; he is not a good mate,"_ she added.  
 _"Maybe,"_ Harry mused _"The shock of seeing you with me is what he needs."_  
 _"Then I will make sure to search you out one of these days,"_ his familiar promised.  
 _"Will you let Hermione and me in?"_ Harry finally asked. His snake curled her body together and nodded.  
He slipped into the water and after an odd look, Hermione did the same.  
"She wants to relax as well," he said as way of explanation.  
"Well I guess we all need some relaxing today," his friend mused and slid into the water until only her face stuck out, sighing deeply. "So, tell me Harry, what is bothering you? Even with Draco suddenly back, you seem more on edge than I would have guessed. He never riled you up like this. Sure, his return is sudden, but he is the same stupid prat as ever."  
Harry sighed to himself. He should have foreseen that Hermione had noticed something, she was always quite observant. He thought about how to tell her what he wanted to tell her in a way that would not give too much away:  
"Draco's return was not the only thing that happened last night."  
Hermione frowned at his words: "What else happened? Something with...Vo...Voldemort?"  
Harry smiled at her brave use of the evil wizard's name. "I found out that I have a second dominant."  
Hermione's eyes widened in disbelief and her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. Harry snickered, musing that she probably just realized what a second dominant implied. After a moment of stunned silence, where she visibly tried to catch her breath she asked: "But isn't that good? I mean, that means that your bond would have been incomplete otherwise which usually drives creatures to insanity?  
"It is if you see it like that and I can't say that I am only unhappy, but he is... he is an arrogant prat like Malfoy." Harry didn't have to say whom he meant with Malfoy, Hermione knew that he had formed a friendship with the older one. "He doesn't accept our bond and is a right arse, at least the last time I saw him."  
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed in sympathy and swam over to hug him. "I am so sorry!" she said honestly.  
"I am too," Harry sighed and let his head fall on his friend's shoulder, sagging against her in utter mentally exhaustion. "My other mate knows him as well, quite well even and now he is torn. My bond is a complete mess right now and to top it off, my father and Lucius are now on their way to Tom; they need to explain Draco's return and I am worried about them."  
Hermione hugged him tighter: "I am sure everything will turn out fine," she said to him, but her voice sounded weak.  
"Well, my second mate has to come around eventually. Our kind is different from other creatures; I am kind of my dominants power source, so he will have to come to me sooner or later."  
His friend frowned at the new piece of information, probably still trying to figure out what creature he was, but Harry wasn't worried knowing that she would search for a normal creature inheritance and not an infection induced one.  
"But is your first bond coming along well at least?" Hermione asked worriedly.  
Harry smiled softly and nodded: "It is and I hope that the new situation will not influence it too much...or at least not for too long."  
"What is it like to have two mates? I could not imagine having two boyfriends..." Hermione looked a mixture of horrified and very curious, her intelligence preventing her from having any prejudices.  
Harry was silent for a moment and stroked Nagini under the water. "I really can't say right now. My instincts are telling me that it is good that I have found him; you know that the souls of soulmates grow so close together over time that their souls are considered one?" He asked Hermione.  
"I do... to be honest, you never told us openly that you have not only have found a mate, but a soul mate, but I figured as much," his friend said and drew her legs up in front of her chest. "So, you would be really happy if it weren't for your second dominants stupidity?"  
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "All my instincts are quietly humming with joy, but the rest of me is just annoyed right now."  
"You know, Harry," Hermione snickered. "Sometimes boys need time or a good smack to the head."  
Harry shook his head in amusement: "I don't know if that will help, he is quite stubborn; I'm pretty sure he doesn't even find me attractive." At the last words, his face fell a bit. His friend pat his shoulder reassuringly: "He does, I am sure of it, everybody can see how beautiful you have become; he only doesn't want to admit it yet." Then she burst into giggles as well and said: "I am so happy that I finally have someone for some girl talk."  
Harry didn't know if he should be offended or not, but he guessed she was right; with Ron, they certainly could not hold such conversations, the redhead would be horrified.  
"You must just try and show him the beautiful sides of you," Hermione said with a suggestive wink, making Harry blush at the mere thought of seducing Draco Malfoy. He was sure his friend would never have suggested something like that if she knew whom they were talking about.  
"Say, Harry, if I someday want to seduce a boy, would you give me some tips? I am sure you have already gained some experience."  
Harry was surprised by the question, but nodded regardless, fighting the blush Hermione couldn't see anyway. "Never let Ron hear you talk like that," he advised her with a flustered grin.  
"Of course not, boys like innocent girls or submissives I guess, even though we are often anything but, we are only good actresses and actors," his friend smiled kind of wickedly. "If you think about it, it is rather sick," the girl continued with her lecture voice and Harry swam over to a particularly great fountain in the middle of the pool to let the water massage his back.  
"If we take you as an example, you told me that your dominant finds you very attractive, but you still look almost like a child; in fact, you are a child, but as a submissive, you will probably not mature much more than that and I once read in a book that some submissives with soulmates retain their virginal scent, even after their mating, to attract their mates even more and together with their mating marks, as far as I can remember, it also functions as an warning for other dominants who might be interested in them."  
Harry, of course, knew all that, but he didn't say anything and only made a surprised face and waited for Hermione to continue, which she did:  
"It is really quite sick, it's almost as if these dominants were actually fucking children, or at least want to believe that."  
Harry flushed again and cleared his throat, feeling fairly uncomfortable with the topic. He knew that Lucius at least thought something along those lines and even liked it, even though he had never taken someone as young as Harry before their mating and never would have, not only out of propriety, but because the aristocrat honestly thought it wrong to bed children, which it was, but the sudden appearance of their bond had taken matters out of the dominant's hands. Even as humans they would have discovered their connection sooner or later, but as creatures, they had not been able to stop their urge to mate.  
"But this thing with the smell, isn't that something only vampires experience?" he asked after a moment, trying to sound unsuspicious whilst fulfilling Hermione's wish to continue their conversation.  
"Now that you mention it, I believe it really was in a book about vampires that I read it in," his brainy friend mused.  
"Well," Harry said, looking everywhere but at Hermione "Vampires are dark creatures, they are not like Veela's."  
"They aren't," Hermione agreed.  
Harry duck under the water then to end that particular conversation; it hit much too close to home to be comfortable. The water was clear, he could see Nagini's long body floating between the rising bubbles and wondered how long he could stay underwater as a vampire. Probably forever. This ability would have been handy last year during the second task of the Tri-wizard Tournament, he mused and came up again.  
Suddenly the door to the bathroom swung open and the loud voice of his godfather shouted: "Harry, are you in here?"  
"Yes, Padfoot, we are in here," Harry cringed and covered his ringing ears. Hermione gave him a sympathetic look.  
"Oh, a whirlpool!" Sirius exclaimed and came closer, before shouting again: "I have found him!" and transforming his robes into swimming trunks, before jumping between Harry and Hermione into the hot water, splashing water everywhere.  
"Padfoot!" Harry exclaimed and ducked when the animagus shook his head in a very dog-like fashion.  
The shadows of three other people appeared in the misty room and to his horror, he heard Fred's voice saying: "Look, George, a whirlpool!" and then the incantation of yet another transformation spell and a second later two identical redheads joined them.  
"Then I guess I will join you as well," Remus' soft voice echoed in the room and Harry had to scoot aside quickly when the werewolf jumped into the pool as well. It was getting crowded rather quickly, he mused and a silent, but very evil and very eager voice wished that Draco would come in and see him sitting half naked in the pool with one girl and four other males. Maybe that would get a useful reaction out of his second dominant; at least it was worth a try in Harry's opinion.  
"Ah, I always had the feeling that we already know Harry's mate," Sirius teased and swung an arm around Hermione's shoulders, who grew bright red at the man's carefree touch and quickly ducked away from his embrace. Wanting to save his friend from the embarrassment, Harry quickly asked: "So, what brings all of you here?"  
"We finished the map," Remus explained and George added: "And Gred and I have found a solution to our Portkey problem."  
"That's great!" Hermione smiled.  
"It is," Fred agreed proudly. "We came by to give you a demonstration."  
Harry narrowed his eyes at the twins: "You would not send me dripping and clad only in a pair of swimming trunks up to Albus' office, would you?"  
The twins looked sheepish as they replied: "At least you would be wearing more than Dumbledore when he showed up in your bedroom."  
"Showed up in your bedroom?" Sirius asked with a grin, but Harry ignored him: "He didn't show up, you two kidnapped him from under his shower!"  
Remus spluttered at his words and even his godfather grew red now.  
Hermione saved them from their disturbing fantasies and told them: "He wore a towel."  
"Ah, thank Merlin!" Remus exclaimed, still sounding very tortured.  
"So Harry," Sirius said after a minute of silence. "We ran into a blonde prat on our way up here, don't know what he was doing near Gryffindor tower, but I definitely know he was supposed to be dead."  
Harry made a face, what was Draco doing near his quarters? He had quite enough of the ferret for one day or even a week. Hermione seemed to think along the same lines and luckily saved Harry from telling the whole story again, doing that herself, not leaving out any of the blonde's foul words or annoying behaviour during their school day and describing it quite vividly, something that was rather rare for her.  
Fred and George, who hadn't heard the story yet either listen attentively and in the end, they all wore the same face of annoyance. And Sirius asked: "Why do the wrong people always survive somehow?"  
"Padfoot!" Remus scolded him but then stopped himself and shook his head.  
"Don't worry, Harry," Fred started and leaned over to pat his shoulder.  
"We will prank the living daylights out of him if he doesn't stop annoying you," George ended their promise.  
"Thanks, guys," Harry grinned and even the always rule-abiding Hermione smiled approvingly.  
They lounged in the steaming water for the next two hours, somewhere in between Ron arrived and joined them as well. Now with five large men in the pool, it was rather cosy.  
"I think we should get out so that you guys can show me what you came up with," Harry finally said and started to get up, but his godfather waved him off: "It's much too nice in here and I can just summon everything."  
"But should we not be more careful with the map?" Hermione asked sceptically.  
"The thing has more protection spells on it than Hogwarts, it is nearly indestructible," Sirius explained and waved his wand: "Accio Harry's map and Fred and George candy bag."  
Harry watched as a folded map, which looked much thicker than the marauder's map and a small plastic bag flew over to them and Remus caught them mid-air.  
"With which one shall we start?" his godfather asked with a look at the twins, but before they could answer a high pitched and clearly annoyed sound came from the hallway.  
All their heads turned to the door as a voice followed the high sound, muttering: "Oh for Merlin's fucking sake, piss off you bloody thing!"  
Harry winced as he recognized the voice of his second mate, now calling: "Potter, where the bloody hell are you?"  
His eyes widened and he quickly pressed a finger to his lips, suddenly not thinking that it would be so funny if Draco found him with all the other men in his pool, but in that moment the door to his bathroom flew open for the third time that day and it was too late. He heard Draco draw in a sharp breath the boy did not need anymore, but Harry knew that it took some time to get used to the new body of a vampire.  
"Potter, what the bloody hell are you doing there?" Draco snapped, sounding rather possessive and as the boy stepped into sight, Harry could see his eyes blazing with barely restrained anger. Justitius was fluttering and chirping around him, glaring angrily at Harry's new mate, obviously as fond of the Slytherin prat as Nagini, who choose that moment to rise from the water.  
 _"Shall I eat your impudent mate?"_ The snake hissed, her tongue flickering out threateningly.  
 _"No, it is not worth the stomach pain he will cause you,"_ Harry replied dryly.  
Draco stumbled backwards in shock and Sirius, Remus, Fred, George, Ron and even Hermione burst into laughter; that seemed all that was needed for Draco to compose himself again and step angrily to the edge of the pool, Justitius having fluttered off to land on a stone bench to watch them from a safe distance:  
"Potter, where is father?"  
"Hasn't he told you?" Harry asked and wondered if he should tell the boy anything if Lucius hadn't. Maybe his older mate had kept silent on purpose and Harry didn't want to make a mistake, but as luck had it a second voice reached his ears from the hallway, calling for him as well and a second later Lucius and his father appeared in the bathroom as well.  
With relief, Harry noticed that both men looked very well, sure, he knew that as vampires they would most likely get through anything even Voldemort could throw them, but he was still worried about them every time they had to go to the snake man.  
"Father!" Draco exclaimed in a tone that suggested that the older Malfoy should do something about their submissive's improper behaviour. Lucius merely raised an eyebrow at the gathered group in the pool, knowing that Harry considered them all as family and even his father sported a rather openly amused smirk.  
"Hi Lucy," Sirius grinned with a gleam in his eyes, Harry could only call Maraudish. "You arrived just in time to view the new map. Would you two like to join us?" Before either blonds could reply, or Harry stop him, his godfather had pulled his wand from behind his ears and pointed it at the two Malfoy's. Two thick robes sprang from the tip and wound themselves tightly around the vampires and with only another tug at his wand, Sirius pulled them head-first into the water.  
Draco screeched rather like a girl and Lucius spluttered in a undignified manner as he resurfaced, his long, silver-blond hair sticking to his face where Harry could see an angry flush growing. Draco actually growled as he shoved his bangs from his eyes, but Remus only smirked, the same look as Sirius in his eyes and said: "Don't worry, I will take care of your expensive clothes, they are surely tailor made and will not survive this hot water," and with a second flick of a wand Lucius and Draco wore nothing more than Gryffindor red swimming trunks with golden lions.  
Harry tried to suppress his laughter, but at the look his normally stern father gave his best friend and godson, he burst into laughter again. But the fun was not at an end yet, apparently, Sirius and Remus were particularly annoyed with the two blonds because Remus unfolded the huge map with a lot of fuss and Sirius pointed his wand to the parchment and said rather loudly with a wide grin: "Lux Vincet Semper!"  
Harry nearly choked on his laughter at the mockery of the proud noblemen's family slogan.  
"Can someone tell me what is so funny?" Ron complained and Harry tried to get out an explanation between giggles: "The Malfoy family slogan is 'Sanctimonia Vincet Semper', it means: 'Purity Always Conquers', what Padfoot said was: 'Light Always Conquers'."  
Ron joined their laughter and it took several minutes, even with the angry glares the Malfoy's threw them for everybody to calm down. Harry felt a bit guilty towards Lucius, but only as long as he didn't look over to his second mate, then the feeling was replaced with smugness.  
Finally, he had collected himself enough to be able to look at the new map, it really was amazing:  
In the middle were the outlines of Grimmauld Place, in the right corner was Hogwarts and drawn beneath it Potter Manor, Malfoy Manor and Privet Drive on the left side.  
"That is incredible!" Harry gasped and followed the moving dots of his ghostly family moving in their former home. Their names were written in gray, as were the names of the Hogwarts ghosts.  
"What is that Potter, and why is Malfoy Manor on it?" Draco sneered.  
"Your home is on the map so that Harry can make sure that your foul father is actually loyal to him," Sirius smirked, ducking as Draco tried to grab the map.  
"So, does this map have some special features?" Fred and George asked eagerly, shoving Draco to the side so that they could examine the map further.  
"It actually has," Remus said and they all scooted closer, even Severus stepped closer to the edge of the pool.  
"If you tap on one of the buildings," the werewolf continued and did as told, "it will enlarge."  
Harry watched in awe as Hogwarts spread over the entire map.  
"And when you tap to the free space next to it, it will return to its original size," Sirius added and shrunk the castle again.  
"Anything else?" Harry asked, thinking that it was already very brilliant, but Remus nodded: "We have added a location spell. When you tap the map and say a name then the person will glow red on the parchment."  
"That really is amazing magic," commented Hermione and leaned forwards. After another minute Sirius tapped the map again, saying: "Lux Vincebat, ***** " and the map grew blank again.  
Trying to use the commotion, Harry let his gaze carefully flicker over to Draco, trying to get a glimpse of his second mate, but when a glare instantly stopped him, he instead focused back on the others and asked the twins:  
"And with what kind of solution did you guys come up with for our Portkey problem?"  
In the next moment, he realized that his question had been a huge mistake as Fred grinned and threw a hand full of something into the air. Harry caught it automatically, the thing broke in his hand and in the next moment he fell dripping wet and still only in his swimming trunks on the floor in Albus' office, Hermione, Ron, Sirius, Remus, his mates and the twins landing in a pile on top him a second later; obviously all of them had caught one of whatever Ron's brothers had come up with.  
"Oh dear!" The voice of Harry's Head of House exclaimed from somewhere to his right and he groaned in humiliation, while the twins snickered and Draco swore silently.  
It took them a moment to get back on their feet and by then a huge puddle stained Albus' ancient looking carpet and Severus, the only one who had not been tricked by the twin brothers, had joined them, having arrived the normal way.  
"Bloody hell," Ron muttered and tried to crawl out from under his brothers.  
Sirius gave Fred and George the thumbs up, the sights of both Malfoy's, dripping wet, looking utterly dishevelled and in Gryffindor swimming trunks really was hilarious Harry thought, whilst McGonagall handed the embarrassed Hermione her long scarf, which she pulled around herself like a bath towel.  
Glancing carefully over to his younger mate, Harry became fairly certain that Lucius would kill him if his son didn't do it first and he shuffled worriedly closer to his father, who draped his outer cloak over his shoulder, apparently feeling the need to cover his nearly naked submissive son in front of everybody.  
Draco then turned his glare on the Potion Master and hissed: "I am your godson, you should give me your cloak, or father, but not Potter!"  
Severus merely lifted an eyebrow and gave Albus a pointed look, who took the hint and cleared his throat at long last:  
"What a nice surprise, I see we are all even now," the old wizard chuckled, clearly as amused as Sirius and the twins and then cleared his throat again, asking: "what brings you into my office?"  
"I believe that the Weasley Twins had just demonstrated their solution for our Portkey problem," Severus drawled and motioned to Ron's brothers.  
"Ah, wonderful," Albus hummed and focused his twinkling eyes on said brothers.  
Harry meanwhile had opened his palm and discovered something that looked like the remains of a bonbon with something like sherbet inside.  
Albus conjured eight chairs and they all sat down before Fred started explaining with the help of his brother: "The biggest problem was to find something that could be quickly produced in large amounts and would be unsuspicious, something, everybody could have in their pocket."  
George nodded and pulled a wrapped bonbon from his pocket: "We put the transportation spell on the sherbet inside the candy. They break easily when someone grips them too hard or bites down on them. The ones we used to demonstrate were linked to the carpet in your office, Professor, but we also have enough that will take people to Potter Manor."  
Harry saw his father and older mate actually look very impressed, so did McGonagall, Albus only twinkled brighter and said: "Excellent, then we can send invitations to all the families on our list. I would advise to invite them to Hogwarts; would Sunday be fine for you, Harry?"  
Harry blinked once, having not expected to get addressed so directly, but then nodded: "Sunday is fine with me." He saw Draco looking confused, obviously Lucius had taken his father's threat seriously and told his son nothing about what had been going on in the past few weeks. He looked up when Albus spoke again:  
"Good, I will prepare the letters and send them to you, so that you can sign them as well. Do you think your familiar would already be able to deliver them? It would be most impressive to send them with a foundling," the headmaster mused.  
"I think he is ready, he already delivered some letters and Hedwig can accompany him," Harry answered.  
"Very well," Albus hummed happily. "Then I will see you tomorrow."  
Harry rose with the others at the dismissal and they all left the office again. In front of the gargoyle the small group stopped, nobody, knowing where to go now. It was rather late already and the day had been long and eventful. Harry was the first one to make a decision:  
"Can I sleep at your place again?" he asked his father, who nodded without so much as glancing at Harry's still silently seething mates. Harry had figured that the aristocrats would need another evening to themselves and that he should get as far away from them at least for the evening after what his friends and family had put them through. He had found everything rather amusing, but he also knew that the proud men didn't share his opinion, so it was safer to just join his father for the night again.  
They split up: Ron, Hermione, Fred and George returning to Gryffindor Tower, Sirius and Remus went back to Harry's quarters to floo back to Grimmauld Place from there, Lucius and Draco went to the older man's private office, Harry giving the older one a weak and very apologetic smile, before following his father down to the dungeons, only wishing to crawl under his mother's blanket with the man.

 *** Lux vincebat = Light won**


	23. Chapter 23: A Very Busy Weekend

**Chapter 23: A Very Busy Weekend**

 **HP**

The next morning, Harry didn't even bother going to the Great Hall for breakfast, and neither did his father. Instead, they sat down in front of the man's fireplace with a goblet of blood that Oscar had brought them.  
"I haven't asked how your visit to Voldemort went yet," Harry said after he had taken a sip. "So, how was it?"  
His father sneered: "Unpleasant as ever, but I didn't expect much. The Dark Lord took all the glory and praise for sparing the Malfoy Heir and still gave Lucius and me a round of Crucio's for not telling him earlier, especially me, but the pain grows lesser with every visit. I believe that our vampire genes are still growing stronger."  
Harry sighed, he did not like that his father and mate had to endure all this torture. "I wish you two don't need to do this," he said, staring into his goblet, not seeing the stern look his father gave him.  
"We would have had to endure the Dark Lords mad character even if we weren't spies because of our youthful stupidity and foolishness; this way we at least do something good."  
"I know," Harry sighed. "I just wish I could finally stop all this torture and killing forever."  
"You will soon enough. Of that I have no doubt," Severus smiled softly, taking his goblet as well, before asking: "Am I right in assuming that Draco was an especially difficult 'prick' yesterday?" His father wrinkled his nose at the word prick, as if not liking it, but not finding a better description either.  
Harry gripped his goblet tighter until it actually got dented: "He flirted with Parkinson in front of everybody!" He hissed, not able to contain his anger and hurt any longer. Until now he had successfully pushed it aside, but he couldn't do that any longer when his father asked him so openly about it.  
"He escorted her on his arm and allowed her to hug him! She was practically all over him!"  
Severus only smirked and said dryly: "And I take it, you took it calmly and without thoughts of revenge?"  
"No!" Harry exclaimed. "I think I am too much of a Slytherin to not think of revenge. Those are your genes by the way," he mock-glared at his father.  
"Oh I know and I am proud of you. Even a submissive should not accept that kind of treatment," Severus reassured him.  
Harry smiled at his words: "Thanks."  
"So, what did you do or say?" Severus smirked.  
Harry smirked as well: "I told him that Parkinson had told his friends in front of your class on Monday that Lucius was sexier anyway and that she would just marry him."  
His father winced: "I can imagine the outcome of that little comment."  
Harry nodded: "He called me ugly and told me, that he would never choose anyone who couldn't give him an heir and then I politely pointed out that he is sterile now."  
"You politely pointed out? How can you point something like that out politely?" Severus raised an eyebrow in amusement.  
"Ok, fine. I called him an sterile ferret face," Harry admitted, but couldn't hide the grin, even though his father shook his head in exasperation. He couldn't really feel guilty about the insult, not after Draco had hurt him so much.  
"As much as I admit that you have every right to give as good as you have gotten, Draco is still your second dominant and bloodmate and you should not provoke him too much."  
"I know," Harry admitted. "But it really hurt."  
"He will come to realise the truth, at the very latest when he starts to starve," Severus huffed and cast a tempus.  
"I think we should go up to your private quarters," the man said and rose to his feet. Dumbledore had not given them an exact time for Harry's first training lesson, he had only said after breakfast, but breakfast started at 9 am on a Saturday and it was already quarter to ten.  
Harry followed him to the private passageway that led directly to his rooms, asking: "Do you know what Albus has planned for today?"  
"No, he has never accepted an apprentice before, even though many wizards and witches have begged for the position over the years and even more parents have promised to make him the richest man alive if he accepted one of their children." His father snorted. "As if that would be possible with the Malfoy's fortune as a base scale."  
They climbed up the stairs, entered Harry's hallway and went to his living room. To Harry's dismay, he saw two blondes sitting there, apparently waiting for him. He knew it sounded cruel, but right now he didn't want to even see Lucius; their relationship was strained because of Draco and he didn't know how to behave around father and son. There was something else nagging at his mind too, but he could not pinpoint it. It was an uncomfortable feeling, something that tore him in two, but he couldn't say why.  
"Good morning Lucius, Draco," his father greeted politely and inclined his head a bit, before adding in a drawling voice: "I expected to see you here, my friend, but as far as I heard your son is not interested in his mate, so why he is here at all?"  
Shrugging nonchalantly, Lucius drawled in the same voice: "You know how boys tend to react at this age when they fall for someone: With denial."  
Harry tried his best not to turn his head to Draco and grin openly at him and instead settled on sitting down in an armchair and continued to watch the exchange of the older men, but he hadn't miss the quick flick of something in Draco's icy eyes:  
"Oh I know, I have definitely been a Professor long enough to pick up on the improper ways teenagers use to solve their problems," Severus mused, came over to Harry, picked him up and sat down in the armchair himself before placing him into his lap. For a moment he wanted to protest the child-like treatment, having always felt the need to make a strong and imposable impression in front of the younger blonde, but then shrugged mentally: He liked that his father cared so much about him and wanted to be near him and he was a submissive, thus loving being spoiled and pampered on occasions.  
Draco glared at his godfather's dry comment, looking rather irritated, but neither his father nor his godfather explained anything to him and Harry certainly would not be helpful either. Seeing his soulmate with another girl had hurt too much. Why had Parkinson been allowed to touch and cling to his mate, when he wasn't even allowed to take a proper look at Draco? He had tried to get a glimpse in the pool yesterday, but Draco had always glared at him until he had averted his eyes again, but Harry was sure that Draco would be as gorgeous as his father, at least, if he would stop sneering at him.  
That Draco would be joining his training did not make him feel particularly joyful. He had been looking forward to his new lessons; Albus would surely teach him a lot and he had always had liked the man, but now it would be ruined by glares and a lot of snide comments probably. But if the blonde boy was going be too much of an arse, he would kick him out of whichever room they would train in; he was the owner of Hogwarts after all, he was sure he could do something like that and it wasn't as if he would forbid Draco to study here, only to continue annoying him.  
He was pulled out of his musing as he heard a door open and his mentor's voice call: "Harry my boy, are you ready?"  
"I'm coming!" he answered and jumped up, not sparing his mates a glance as he dashed off to meet Albus.  
The Headmaster looked like always, clad in a bright green and yellow robe and a happy twinkle in his eyes, whilst Harry had pulled on one of his old sweatpants and a loose fitting t-shirt, an outfit he was sure that Lucius would expect him to throw away as soon as possible. How Albus wanted to train in his heavy robe was a mystery to him, but then again he had worn something similar at Kings Cross as he had fought Voldemort.  
"Ah, there you are my boy," Albus greeted him and then added with a look over Harry's shoulder: "Good morning Severus, Lucius, Draco."  
Harry assumed that the three Slytherins had inclined their heads or something because no answer came and so he asked: "So where will we train."  
"We will train in a place that you have not visited for over two years and I will need your help to get in there," Albus announced and motioned for Harry and the others to follow him. That sounded rather suspicious. Even more though, because Dumbledore didn't try to hide his crazy ideas and Harry would be proven right with his assumption as he was lead to the second floor and Albus held open the door to the unused girl's bathroom.  
"Albus, you can't be serious!" His father exclaimed, coming to a halt behind Harry.  
"Oh but I am. No one will disturb us down there, we will have plenty space and the magic of the room is strong enough to hold Harry's and my magic," Albus replied happily.  
Harry had to admit that the old wizard was right on those points, but his stomach knotted uncomfortably at the thought of going down once again into the Chamber of Secrets. Sighing, he made his mind up and stepped inside the worn down room, looking for the sink with the small engraved snake.  
"Hello Harry, you haven't visited me for months!" Harry flinched as suddenly Myrtle appeared from the drain.  
"Hi Myrtle," he answered, feeling uncomfortable, especially when she asked:  
"Are you planning on brewing another one of these foul-smelling potions in my bathroom?"  
"No, I am here with Professor Dumbledore, he wants to train me," he replied, ignoring the suspicious glare Draco gave him and the amused chuckle of both Albus and Lucius.  
"That's a shame, I had hoped to see you more often again," the ghost said, batting her lashes rather seductively and floating a bit closer to him as if planning on cuddling against his side.  
Realizing that the dead girl wouldn't disappear anytime soon, he just said: "Open," in Parseltongue to the sink and took a step back. Draco gasped, whether at his use of the snake language, or because the entire sink was now disappearing into the ground, Harry couldn't say.  
"Amazing," Albus hummed, eyeing the procedure. "I did not see it open up last time."  
Harry stepped closer to the edge of the hole, followed by Draco, Lucius, and his father.  
"Do you expect us to go down there, Potter?" Draco snapped as if it had been his idea to train in the Chamber.  
"You can stay here, I would certainly be happy," he snapped back.  
Draco only sneered at him and then asked: "How do you think we will get down there?"  
"Simple," Harry smiled, grabbed his younger mate by the sleeve and then said: "Jump!" and pulled the blonde along. He could hear Albus chuckle from above him just before he landed roughly on the grimy floor, with Draco on top of him.  
"Potter!" his mate exclaimed and quickly scrambled up. "What do you think..." luckily the boy's words, which surely would have become an insult, were interrupted as Lucius, Albus and Severus landing next to them, on their feet and looking for all the world as if they had just jumped down a single step and not an entire tunnel which led far beneath the castle.  
"Go ahead, you are the only one of us who has been here before," Albus said and lightly pushed his shoulder, giving Draco no chance to continue his rant.  
"Okay..." Harry said and turned to the right tunnel.  
The skeletons of all the dead rats the Basilisk had killed over the years crunched under their feet as they walked down the pipes. Harry still remembered the way all too well, as if it had been only yesterday that he had been down here and they quickly reached the entrance. He gave the command to open again and they finally stepped inside the dusty Chamber.  
"Oh boy, I think we have to clean up a bit," Albus commented and looked around, an impressed look in his blue eyes, whilst Harry's and every other pair of eyes were fixed on the huge corps lying a bit to the left at the end of the Chamber.  
The Basilisk looked as if it had only died minutes before, frozen in time and perfectly preserved. Its dead eyes seemed to glare directly at Harry and the broken off tooth lay only a few feet away from it.  
"So, the story had actually been true? Never believed it," Draco said, not quite succeeding to drawl.  
No one reacted, instead, Lucius said: "Do you know how huge a fortune you have lying here?"  
His father snorted and added: "Do you know how many valuable and rare Potions Ingredients you have here?"  
Harry only shrugged, not quite knowing what he should answer: "I thought it would have rotted a long time ago."  
"Magical creatures, killed by a wizard do not rot, they preserve themselves as trophies," Albus explained and started to wave his wand chanting a cleaning spell. Harry did the same, as did his father, but when his two stubborn mates just continued to stand there and watch, he snapped: "Don't Malfoy's know any cleaning spells?"  
Lucius and Draco narrowed their eyes simultaneously and Draco sneered: "Malfoy's do not..."  
"Yeah, yeah, sure... Malfoy's don't do physical labour; I already told your father that it doesn't work like that with me. Get your arrogant arse moving and start helping, or you can go back up and leave me alone," Harry snapped, having no patience for the huffy antics of his two mates right now. Really, had they never wiped something up? But then again, he knew the answer and it was a sad one.  
Draco seemed about to reply when his father placed a hand on his shoulder and started to help as well. With an evil glare the younger blonde joined them as well and 15 minutes later the Chamber was nearly spotless, or at least as clean as it would ever get after decades of abandonment. Albus conjured three armchairs directly next to the left wall and then politely indicated that he expected the three Slytherins to stay out of their way and lastly motioned for Harry to stand across from him.  
"As Lucius quite correctly told you in his first lesson, it does not help you to know powerful offensive spells, if you cannot defend yourself properly and will therefore not live long enough to use them," Dumbledore started his lecture. "Due to the ritual, you already know many defensive spells and we will start to practice them. You will learn to raise them quickly and which one is most effectively for which kind of curse or hex by trial and error; I always found it is the best way to learn. Once hit by a Dark Fire Spell and you will never forget that Protego will not help you in that particular situation."  
Three silent growls came from the side where Harry's mates and his father sat, but Dumbledore only smiled and said: "Madame Pomfrey has offered to patch every eventual injury up and due to your changed genes, you will be much more resilient to spells which might hit you."  
Harry nodded, he could understand his mentor's tactic, even though it sounded cruel, but no Death Eater would go easy on him either. But one question bugged him:  
"Does that mean that you will use Dark Magic?" he asked curiously.  
The Headmaster nodded: "You will come to know that every wizard who is good at defence has at least a basic knowledge of the Dark Arts as well. One can only defend themselves against something they understands fully. The further we advance in our training, the more spells you will use and at some point even Dark Magic. I hope you will never face a situation where you will need the Dark Arts, because it can be dangerous to use them, but I believe your mind will be strong enough and if it takes a Dark Spell to keep you alive, I will not stop you because of moral reasoning," Albus smiled with a harsh glint in his eyes that Harry had never seen there before, but he believed that this was how the man looked when he faced Voldemort.  
"Considering who your mates are, you probably already have your fair share of knowledge of the Dark Arts," Albus turned questioningly to Lucius, who nodded:  
"I tested Harry at the end of summer, the Manor Magic is working nicely, although I would not promote him as a tourist guide yet as his skills with foreign languages are still rather... lacking."  
Draco lifted a mocking eyebrow at him and Harry scowled, quickly turning around to face his mentor again.  
"Let us start then," Albus said and instructed him with a motion to take a defensive stand. Harry did so and as soon as he had pulled out his wand the first curse flew. It was a simple enough spell and Harry quickly raised a shielding charm he had learned, trying to use a reasonable amount of magic to not drain himself too quickly, but when Albus repeated the spell, this time with visibly more magic behind it, his shield started to waver and when the spell flew for the third time in his direction, Harry knew that he needed to change to another barrier.  
This time he shouted a spell he had never heard before, but it was at least effective:  
The green barrier seemed fairly strong, absorbed the spell and then rained to the ground like toxic rain. At least he knew now, that the spell was only effective against one attack.  
Albus' eyes twinkled mischievously as he took a few steps back and then swished his wand. For a split second, Harry thought that nothing had happened, but then a black light shot from the ground, just in front of him and rained down on him. Cursing, Harry waved his wand over his head and produced a shield that hopefully would be strong and hold long enough for him to get out unharmed. The problem was, Harry noticed a bit too late, that the shield needed to be held up actively, so as Albus threw the second curse at him, he found himself with a problem. Hoping that his vampire skills would be good enough, he let go of his shield and rolled from under the black rain and out of the way of the red jet of light.  
"Good," Albus praised him and started yet another attack.  
The next attack was a swirl of fire, remembering that Protego would probably be of no use, Harry shouted a protective spell in which the Latin word for water was in and watched in awe as something like and huge, at least 12 foot wide waterfall spread in front of him. Dumbledore's fire spell hit the barrier, and with a fizzling sound steam, like fog rose into the air and took away a good portion of the view.  
Harry's vampire eyes luckily could still make out the shadow of Dumbledore and so he was prepared as yet another spell flew in his direction, thundering like lightning. Having no clue in which category the spell belonged, he quickly threw himself to the ground, finding his guess proven when Dumbledore's spell crashed into the wall behind him and exploded like a thundercloud, splitting huge pieces of stone from the ancient material.  
His mentor's attacks grew more frequent then and Harry had to react even faster. Sometimes he simply had to jump out of the way, because he did not have enough time to cast a new barrier or reinforce the old one.  
Dumbledore attacked like that for over an hour and Harry found himself amazed at how physically fit the old man still was. Albus seemed to dance around the room, attacking from every angle and often moving much quicker than Harry had thought possible for a human. His range of spells was even more amazing: Harry did not see a spell cast a second time even once. Sure, sometimes he cast a spell again with more force like he had done in the beginning, but when he was through with it he never used it again, assuming that Harry had memorized its name, colour, and other properties.  
Harry threw almost as many barriers, ducked, ran and jumped over curses. He quickly noticed, although he was not very strong physically as a submissive, he was extremely agile, his lack of heavy muscles helping him to get out of harm's way many times. His enhanced body did not become tired and due to his careful use of his magic, the magical exhaustion did not occur either.  
It was after 76 minutes that Dumbledore threw another curse, this time an obviously dark one. Harry raised yet another unknown barrier, when he was suddenly pulled roughly from his feet, landing harshly sprawled atop Lucius' body, above him his shield shattered and Dumbledore's curse went straight through it like a knife through butter.  
Harry's heart hammered in shock, as Lucius clutched him tightly to his chest for a moment, obviously agitated, before releasing him again, staring directly into his eyes.  
Harry gulped as he looked back into those silver-red orbs, which stared back with wide blown pupils. He did not know what the spell would have done, but he was sure that it would have been something unpleasant, considering Lucius' still panicked look. A hand came up and cupped Harry's cheek lightly.  
Harry closed his eyes for a moment; the touch was warm and caring and held every ounce of love Lucius held for him. Harry had not touched his older mate since their good night kiss on Thursday evening. This felt so good, so familiar and right now so wrong. Lucius lifted his head a bit as if planning on kissing him, but he averted his eyes. This wasn't right; something was missing, or more precisely: someone was missing. Harry wanted to be kissed by Lucius, but only if Draco scattered his neck with small nibbles and licks at the same time. He wanted to just have to turn around to be able to kiss his other mate; he could not just kiss Lucius like this whilst their third mate sat a few feet away feeling miserable and not even able to hide it completely, even though it was Draco's own fault and caused by his denial.  
He was already opening his mouth, wanting to explain his feelings to Lucius, who looked slightly hurt by his rejection, when he was suddenly roughly grabbed by the collar and pulled off from his mate.  
"Take your filthy hands away from my father!" Draco snarled and tossed him to the ground.  
Harry's head collided with the stone floor and he could feel a bruise forming because Draco had thrown him with so much force. The newly transformed vampire was above him with only two of his long strides, his ice blue eyes burning with barely restrained anger, but Harry could also see the confusion in those orbs. His fists were clenched and trembling and Harry thought absentmindedly that it would be wise to get the hell away from him, but he would not flee from one of his mates. He blinked with surprising calmness up at the young dominant, who still looked about to kick him, or maybe curse him because he was sure that a Malfoy would never kick or hit somebody.  
But before Draco could actually do something, Lucius was behind him, grabbed him around his neck and growled threateningly. Draco answered the growl of his father with his own growl and Harry decided that he should get far away after all. Within the blink of an eye, he was on his feet and several steps away.  
"I believe it is better that you and your son go now, Lucius," his father growled and stepped up behind him with bared fangs.  
Lucius didn't lift his gaze but nodded once, before turning his still growling son around and shoving him in the direction of the exit. "I am sorry, Harry," the man said as he had already turned around and was giving Draco another shove, but Draco didn't seem to want to leave, he was craning his neck and snarling at Harry. Harry shuddered and stepped a bit closer to his father, who laid an arm around his shoulders and started to growl louder.  
"Move!" Lucius hissed and shoved the blonde boy the third time. With a last snarl and a spit to the ground, Draco finally turned completely, straightened and walked proudly out of the Chamber.  
Dumbledore cleared his throat and said: "Maybe we should do something not fight-related for now."  
"Maybe," Severus agreed and let go of Harry again, before asking: "Are you alright?"  
Harry nodded, feeling slightly dazed and very shocked. He didn't want his mates to fight because of him. They should be all equal in their relationship and Lucius and Draco were not only mates but father and son as well. To see their relationship so strained because of him hurt a lot. A single tear escaped his eye, but he quickly wiped it away. He would not cry over this, he was not a typical submissive, he was Harry Potter and now he had to focus and train with Albus.  
That thought actually helped for once, as he pushed his sadness aside and looked up at the older man: "What will we do then?"  
Dumbledore smiled knowingly at him as if knowing Harry's thoughts like his own and said: "Have you ever apparated?"  
Harry's eyes widened, did the old wizard suggest that he would teach him how to apparate? In the middle of Hogwarts? He shook his head and Dumbledor's eyes twinkled merrily, as he lifted his wand and waved it in a complicated pattern around himself. The walls, ceiling, and even the floor glowed golden for a moment and then the Headmaster explained: "I adapted the wards so that you will be able to apparate. I am sure Ms. Granger told you that apparation within the school is normally impossible."  
"Yes, it's explained in: 'Hogwarts, a History'," Harry answered drily, having heard his friend say that particular sentence often enough over the years.  
Dumbledore smiled at him and explained: "Even though many young witches and wizard think apparation is difficult, it is not that difficult, especially, if you are a powerful wizard like you. The important thing is to visualize your destination and concentrate on taking every part of your body with you, or you will splinter yourself. In the beginning it is often helpful to imagine enveloping yourself in your magic, because your magic will take you to your destination."  
Harry nodded in understanding and Dumbledore said: "Your father will remain beside you and I will go to the other end of the hall so that you know where to apparate to. You will start with apparating back and forth for the beginning so as to get a feeling for the spell."  
With a loud crack, his mentor disappeared in front of him and appeared in front of Salazar's statue again.  
"Just try to relax and try to visual the two things Dumbledore has told you," His father said and squeezed his shoulder in reassurance.  
Harry took another look at the place where Dumbledore was standing and then closed his eyes to visualize the image in his mind. A shudder went down his spine when the words Voldemort's memory had written on the wall appeared in front of his inner eye, but he suppressed the memories of his second year and concentrated only on the present. When he was sure that he saw it clearly enough, he imagined his magic enveloping him and could actually feel his magic leaking from his body and covering his skin. It felt warm, like a strong spring sun on your skin, very pleasant actually. A loud crack sounded and Harry felt the familiar sensation of being pulled through a straw, before his feet touched the ground again a moment later and then heard his father groan next to him, much closer than he should be.  
He opened his eyes and gasped in shock, as he saw his father next to Dumbledore and himself, his face contorted with barely hidden pain, clutching his right arm where, to Harry's horror, half of it was missing. Blood was flowing rapidly from the gruesome looking wound and despite his father's vampire genes the wound was not closing up. Harry looked around in panic and saw the rest of the arm wriggling in the air, where they had stood only a moment before, as if the appendage wanted to follow its owner, but couldn't because of the apparation.  
"Albus!" Harry shouted, but Dumbledore was already reacting and apparating to Harry's starting point, returning only a second later with Severus' underarm and hand. Harry's heart was racing by now; he had definitively done something very wrong with the spell. Why had he taken his father with him in the first place? Wasn't contact needed for a side-along apparation? He didn't want to imagine the pain it caused Severus, it had to be nearly unbearable if the vampire still felt it so strongly, normally they were fairly resistant to pain.  
Dumbledore held the arm out and luckily it instantly started to reattach itself to Severus' body. His face grew more relaxed with every second, but Harry couldn't feel very relieved, not when he was the reason for his father's pain.  
"Albus, I think the idea of suggesting to Harry that he should imagine enveloping himself in his magic was not the best one you ever had," Severus sighed sarcastically when his arm was finally reattached to his body.  
"What happened?" Harry asked, voice shaky and watching Dumbledore shake his head. The Headmaster sighed and explained: "You enveloped your father in your magic as well, at least everything with the exception of his right arm."  
Harry blinked in confusion; he did not possess enough knowledge about the theory of apparation to understand what he had done wrong with his mentor's short explanation.  
His father shook his head, a small smile spreading over his features: "You are just too strong and have too little control, brat."  
Harry blinked, somehow, everything these days came back to his high magical power. "Too strong?" Harry wondered. "But I didn't want to take you with me."  
"I know," Severus said and ruffled his hair, before explaining: "To apparate, you need to make sure to take your whole body with you; most wizards learn this by imagining covering themselves in their magic. To side-along somebody, you have to cover them as well, that is why you usually take the other person's hand, or arm; it makes it easier to transfer your magic, but apparently your extreme magical power is already covering you quite thoroughly enough and by imagining spreading it further, you spread had it around me, even with the distance between us. It is quite remarkable."  
"But I splintered you!" Harry protested.  
"You did and it would have been even more painful if it weren't for my vampire genes, but it was still a show of impressive magic," his father smiled.  
Harry was not sure about the whole learning how to apparate thing any longer, he was scared of repeating his mistake, so shuffling with his feet, he said: "I think we have done enough for today."  
"Oh no," Severus admonished him sternly. "You will not develop some stupid fear only because you splintered me. Everybody makes a mistake at their first attempt to apparate. Some land themselves in a lake, others in the heath of their parents happily burning fireplaces; you splintered me and be assured that I would rather have it this way than seeing you injure yourself."  
Harry nodded, feeling thoroughly scolded. So, this was how it felt to have a concerned parent, it felt somewhat nice, despite the feeling of guilt at the scolding.  
"Just try to concentrate on how much magic you used; you were quite successfully with controlling your new powers at our defence training, my boy," Dumbledore smiled reassuringly and Severus apparated back to his former spot.  
"Okay," Harry agreed, feeling much more nervous now that he had seen what could go wrong. Closing his eyes he tried to reach his meditative state and visualize his magic actually. It was mostly gold and warm, but there were also red hotspots and veins pulsing in it. Harry could feel the two aspects which made up his character mostly in it: His purity of mind and body, which his vampire genes had preserved and his fiery Gryffindor nature. That was nice and all, but he could not really figure out how he could visualise his magic covering his skin. Either way, he was seeing his skin from the outside, but not his magic, or his magic from the inside. Maybe he should just try and get a feeling for it.  
Visualizing the place where his father stood, he pushed his magic outwards and apparated away. Harry felt the feeling of being pulled through a straw again and after he felt solid ground under his feet again, he first listened for any pained sounds, but as the Chamber stayed silent, he opened his eyes carefully.  
A wide grin spread over his face when he saw his father next to him and Dumbledore still unharmed in front of Salazar's statue.  
"Well I think now we can call it a day," Dumbledore announced with a twinkle in his eyes and a moment later he stood next to Harry and Severus, asking: "Did you send the letters last night?"  
Harry nodded. He had sent them with Justitius, his father telling him that it would make a bigger impression to let them be carried by a Phoenix Foundling than a school owl, but because the miniature bat could not carry so many letters at once, Severus had charmed the tie with which the letters were tied to the familiar's legs, so that it would re-tie itself with a new letter as soon as the last one was taken off.  
"Good. The guests will arrive tomorrow at 11 AM, so I would suggest we meet at a quarter to 11 in the staff room. Do you know where the staff room is?" Dumbledore asked.  
Blushing, Harry cleared his throat and said: "I could look it up."  
The twinkle in the Headmaster's eyes grew even brighter, but he said nothing. "Then let us return to the upper levels, I am sure Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger are already curious about what you learned today," Dumbledore said and they left the Chamber again.  
His father cast a levitation spell on him as they reached the tunnel which lead back up to the girl's bathroom and then the two older wizards did the same on themselves.  
With surprise Harry noticed that lunch had already started five minutes ago, so he hugged his father quickly in the safety of the abandoned bathroom and then hurried down to meet his friends. As expected he found Ron already hungrily shoving down food, whilst Hermione rolled her eyes exasperatedly.  
As soon as she saw him, she poked Ron in his side and waved eagerly. Ron actually stopped his attack on his roasted beef with fried potatoes and asked: "How was your training, man?"  
"Good, for the most at least," Harry told them, sitting down next to him.  
"Most part?" Hermione frowned, putting some vegetables on her own plate.  
Harry fished a Blood Drop from his velvet bag, before explaining with a cringe: "First we practiced Defensive Barriers; that went all rather well, but then he told me he would teach me how to apparate."  
His friend's eyes widened and Hermione gasped: "But you cannot apparate inside of Hogwarts, it is impossible!"  
Having foreseen this reaction, Harry smiled and told her: "Albus altered the wards of the Chamber..."  
He was interrupted by Ron, who frowned: "The Chamber?"  
"Yeah, we practiced in the Chamber of Secrets, we had the largest space there and we didn't need to worry about being interrupted by other students," Harry explained.  
Ron shivered, probably remembering the incident of their second year where his sister had been brought down there by one of Voldemort's Horcruxes.  
"I still wouldn't want to train there," Ron shuddered.  
Hermione waved him off asking: "And what went wrong?"  
Harry flushed a bit and cleared his throat. By now he was feeling like his mistake had been a stupid one, one he should have foreseen and prevented; after all, he had already noticed how much damage his magic could make with a simple drawer.  
"I apparated and took my father along...but not all of him..." he mumbled in embarrassment.  
His friends' eyes widened in horror and Ron gasped: "Don't tell me you splintered Snape!" His friends face had gone pale by the mere thought of harming the fearsome Potions Master.  
"I left his right underarm behind," Harry admitted sheepishly.  
His friends actually flinched and Ron even grabbed his right underarm as if imagining the pain.  
"But Harry," Hermione asked hesitantly. "Why did Professor Dumbledore let you try side-along apparation so soon in the first place? It was your first apparation lesson, even with your magical power that was still reckless."  
"He didn't tell me to side-along," Harry answered, feeling even more ashamed. "I kind of spread my magic too far and included my father, even though he stood two steps away from me."  
Hermione gasped again and then shook her head as if she had no idea what to say about the matter.  
"Well, hopefully the rest went fine," Ron tried to sooth him.  
Wanting to change the topic, Harry asked: "And what have you guys done the whole morning?"  
"Oh, I almost forgot!" his brainy friend suddenly exclaimed and pulled a small pouch from her school bag; why the girl had come down to lunch on a Sunday with her schoolbag was a mystery to Harry. But instead of trying to understand the mystery that was Hermione, something he would never accomplish, he watched her taking a galleon from the pouch.  
"I enchanted these. The writing on the edges of every galleon is a number, normally it's just a serial number, but you can change these to the date and time of the next meeting with the Order, and they also heat up when the data changes. Now you only have to decide if only the new Order members from Hogwarts should get one or every member. Do you already know who will join the Order?"  
Harry gaped at his friend. These coins were brilliant, especially if students from other houses other than Gryffindor were to join him. He could give them the password to his quarters and they would not have to worry about someone listening in, with the exception of Draco, if the blonde decided to continue to go into and out of his rooms as if the prat owned them.  
Answering Hermione's question he said: "I have not yet decided whom to ask, but I thought we could use Albus' list for today's meeting as a basis and I have asked Nagini to keep an eye on the students. Maybe we could fetch the list and ask her if she has noticed anything specific about the students."  
"But wouldn't she need to see a picture of them?" Ron asked with a frown and piled a second portion of meat onto his plate.  
Harry shrugged, but Hermione already had a solution:  
"I know a charm which will add a picture to a name, so that won't be a problem."  
"Okay, then I will ask Oscar to go to Albus and ask for the list, maybe we even have enough time to invite them to a second meeting in my quarters after their families have left. And I still have to tell Fred and George to meet us at quarter to five in...I actually don't know in which room we will meet yet," Harry sighed and laid his head on the table top; this sounded like another long day and at the end of it, he would still have to somehow deal with his two mates.  
"Then let's go, or we might not have enough time to prepare everything," Hermione commanded and stood up.  
Ron gave his half eaten steak a remorseful look but followed her example and they all left the Gryffindor table.  
Harry had just wanted to open the door to leave the Great Hall, when a strong body shoved him roughly to the side and a well-known voice drawled: "Watch where you are going pothead!"  
He heard Pansy giggling while hanging on Draco's arm and his vision reddened for a second, but luckily his temper didn't snap...yet.  
"Open your ugly eyes yourself you little fairy-ferret!" Ron shouted after his annoying mate, but the blonde didn't spare them another backward glance.  
"Am I imagining it, or is the bastard even more annoying than last year?" Ron huffed and held open the door for Harry and Hermione.  
Harry could only shake his head, because he wasn't sure whether Draco was indeed even more of a prick than before, or if he was just reacting overly sensitive due to their new connection, but Hermione agreed with their friend:  
"I think you are right Ron, he seems to purposefully search Harry out to make trouble," she huffed.  
As they crossed the Entry Hall, Harry could see his mate disappear along with Pansy down to the dungeons, the girl nuzzling his arm. Quickly looking away, Harry decided to quicken his pace before he lost himself and ripped the impudent girl's head from her shoulders.  
They went up the stairs and entered his quarters, before sitting down in his living room.  
"Do you want some tea or hot chocolate before I send Oscar off?" Harry asked, thinking that he definitively needed some of his father's specially made pumpkin juice to calm his nerves.  
"Hot chocolate sounds great!" Ron grinned and after a hesitant look, Hermione nodded as well.  
"Oscar!" Harry called and the little elf popped into view.  
"Hello Master Harry, sir. What can Oscar do for you?"  
"Could you bring my friends hot chocolate and some juice for me?" he asked, hoping that his servant would get the hint. Oscar nodded and disappeared again, only to return a second later with a tray, placing their drinks in front of them.  
"Can Oscar do something else for Master?" Oscar asked with a small bow and looked at Harry hopefully.  
Smiling, Harry nodded: "Could you go to Albus and ask him if he would lend us the list of the students meeting today?"  
"Of course, sir," Oscar squeaked and disappeared again.  
"He is really nice, I like him," Hermione mused and they all took their drinks. Oscar had indeed gotten his hint and Harry inhaled the delicious scent of blood mixed with pumpkin juice, before taking a sip. A contented silence fell between them and Harry used the time till Oscar's return to simply relax; he would not let his thoughts wander off to Draco and Lucius right now, he really had no patience to worry about them in that moment.  
Oscar returned after five minutes, a scroll of parchment in hand and informed him: "Professor Dumbledore says that Master is to meet him in the staff room later."  
"Good," Harry said and then added: "Could you go to Ron's twin brothers and ask them to meet me in there at quarter to five?"  
Oscar nodded and left again.  
Sighing, Harry rose and said: "I will search for Nagini; maybe you could prepare the parchment?"

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Hermione nodded and he left the living room to search for his snake. He first stopped at his bathroom but finally found her lying on his bed, watching Justitius trying to open his bat treats. Chuckling, Harry went over to his little familiar and helped him with the task, giving him a candied slice of apple, before turning to his snake:  
 _"You told me, that you would watch the students, have you done that?"_  
 _"Of course, little Master,"_ the reptile hissed and lifted her heavy head.  
 _"I would like to show you some pictures and hear your opinion of them. Would you come with me to the living room?"_  
Instead of answering, Nagini simply slithered from his bed and out of his bedroom. Careful so to not step on her long tail that was laying in the doorway, Harry followed her back to his friends.  
Hermione had already unrolled the scroll and had 29 pictures next to the marked students who might be possible candidates for the Order.  
Turning to Nagini again, Harry asked: _"Who do you think might be willing to help us in the fight against your former captor?"_  
Nagini scanned the pictures and then started to point on some, whilst Hermione copied the names of the students.  
 _"Thank you,"_ Harry said after she had stopped, but instead of slithering back to his room, Nagini slithered up his lap and nudged his hand to be pet. Chuckling he fulfilled her wish and took the list, reading the names out loud:  
"Fred, George and Ginny, Collin and Dennis Creevey, the Patil twins, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Dean Thomas, Ernie McMillian, Hannah Abbott, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Katie Bell, Lavender Brown, Luna Lovegood, Susan Bones, Terry Boot."  
"What about the others?" Ron asked, pointing at the pictures.  
Harry questioned Nagini, who hissed: _"Too skittish to fight."_  
"What did she say?" Hermione asked and he repeated her words.  
"Well, then we don't have to ask them," she said and folded her own list.  
For a split second Harry thought about adding Draco to the list as well, but then he thought that he was not reliable enough currently, so instead he asked his friends: "How do we tell everybody to come to my quarters? It will be suspicious if I just call random names and tell them to meet me here after the first meeting."  
"You could send letters," Ron suggested, but Harry shook his head; it was difficult for owls or other animals to find students within Hogwarts, the castle and its grounds were big and crowded, this was also why they delivered the mail in the Great Hall, where everybody at least sat in one spot.  
Hermione sighed and then said: "It really rubs me wrong, but you could ask Oscar again. He can easily find them all." She worried her bottom lip and Harry asked:  
"What is it? Did I miss something?" He studied the list again but could not find anything amiss.  
Hermione shook her head: "No, not directly, but...um... I know they are not on the list, but could I ask Oscar to bring my parents to the meeting as well?"  
Harry's eyes widened and shame gripped his heart; how could he have forgotten Hermione's parents? They were surely in bigger danger than most of the other people on their list; after all, they were both muggles and the parents of one of his two best friends, who had helped him to stop Voldemort countless times.  
"Of course you can. I should have remembered them, I am sorry," He mumbled, his cheeks red.  
"Don't worry, I will just send Oscar to pick them up," Hermione smiled and they called the little elf again.  
Oscar was immensely honoured to bring Masters best friends parents and promised to deliver every invitation, also.  
"And tell them where they can find my quarters, or some of them won't be able to find it," Harry added just in time before his eager servant could pop out again.  
"So, what shall we do now? And homework, studying or research is no option," Ron stated, putting his feet on Harry's antique coffee table.  
Harry watched Helga and Rovena wrinkle their noses in disapproval, but the two witches stayed silent. Looking at his watch he said: "We don't have enough time to do much. Maybe a game of chess?"  
"Sure, why not?" Ron replied and Harry conjured his battered chess set. His pieces had not liked him in the beginning, no real wonder with his lack of natural talent, but since he had gotten better he had slowly started earning their respect.  
Hermione watched their game intently, still intrigued by Harry's new tactics. Ron was still better than him; the years of experience helping him immensely, but Harry could hold his own by now. They were heading once again in the direction of a standoff when their female friend interrupted them: "Harry, you should change into something else other than sweatpants now unless you want to go to the meeting like that."  
Nodding, Harry pushed Nagini carefully from his lap and stood up.  
 _"Where are you going young master?"_ the female snake asked curiously.  
 _"I have to get changed for a meeting. We are trying to save some people who your former Master wants to kill,"_ he explained.  
 _"I will come with you. As your familiar, I should be by your side more often, especially now that you have this new mate,"_ she huffed and started to slither out of the armchair. Shrugging, Harry let her follow him. By now everybody knew that Nagini had bound herself to him and it was her right after all, to keep an eye on him.  
Opening his wardrobe, he eyed the outfits hanging there. Deciding that he would wear one of the knee-long pants for this occasion, he pulled out a pair in royal blue, a white button down, a black waistcoat, a blue coat and a pair of short stockings and matching loafers.  
A minute later he was finished and sat down on his bed to wait a further ten minutes or so that a normal human would take to change. Nagini eyed him curiously, so he explained:  
 _"If I return too quickly, my friends will get suspicious. Humans are not as quick and most magical beings either. Hermione is clever and she would figure me out in no time."_  
The snake tilted her head questioningly: _"Why don't you just tell them what you are?"_  
 _"Because they would instantly know that I am mated because unmated vampires have to kill humans and then they would find out that my mate is Lucius...and Draco now as well,"_ he sighed in desperation.  
 _"Why would that be so bad?"_  
 _"Draco, my friends and I have been rivals for over four years and we never got along with his father either, in fact, Ron's family and the family of my mate's have been in a twist for generations."_  
His snake frowned and then asked: _"Like a fight over territory?"_  
 _"I guess,"_ Harry shrugged, not knowing what had started the fight between the Weasley's and the Malfoy's.  
He finally rose again, took the two Marauders Maps from his nightstand and motioned for his familiar to follow him. Apparently not wanting to be left out, Justitius fluttered over to him with a chirp and attached himself to his sleeve, like he preferred doing. Chuckling, Harry entered the living room again asking:  
"Do one of you have an idea as to where the staffroom is, or shall I check for it on the map?"  
Both his friends shook their heads, so he unfolded his new map, saying: "Lux Vincet Semper!" Pointing his wand to Hogwarts, he enlarged the castle and started to search for the room. Thinking correctly that the staffroom would not be near any class or dorm rooms, he quickly found it: "It seems as if there has to be a hidden door behind Albus' usual seat in the Great Hall," he mused and finished with the map, before giving his friends the older version.  
Ron blinked a bit confusedly at him, so he explained: "I think you two should have at least this one for now, just in case you need to find somebody or Death Eaters somehow manage to get into the castle."  
His friends' eyes widened in disbelief as they tentatively took the old map.  
"Harry, are you sure? This is after all from...James," Hermione asked carefully.  
Shrugging, Harry answered: "You can always give it back to me after the war and an heirloom is not as valuable as a friend. I'd rather have you safe and this getting somehow destroyed along the way, than the map safe and you dead."  
Hermione nodded with a soft smile and pocketed the Marauder's Map, whilst Ron pat his back with a wide grin. "Thank you man, that will surely come in handy."  
"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "You will not use the map to sneak down into the kitchen every evening!"  
Ron grinned sheepishly, but Harry only laughed and said: "He can do that if he wants, I have no problems with it. The House Elves will get lonely with me not needing to go down there for snacks anymore."  
"See, Mione, Harry understands me! We blokes are like that, we need a lot of nutrition to keep all our muscles strong."  
Hermione sighed exasperated and turned to leave the quarters.  
Snickering, Harry followed her with Ron and Nagini in tow.  
In the Great Hall, they were surprised to find the door to the staff room immediately. It was a beautiful door, with the Hogwarts crest engraved in the auburn wood.  
"I think it has a spell on it so that only the people who know about the door can see it," Hermione mused cleverly as Harry opened the door. It didn't surprise him at all to see Fred and George already waiting there, sitting on a huge, round table, a bowl with colourful bonbons between them.  
"Hi Harry, Hermione, little brother," they greeted with a grin and waved for the trio to come over. Looking into the bowl, Harry asked: "Aren't there too many candies?"  
Fred shook his head: "We thought that it would be better if everybody can take two, just in case. Better safe than sorry. Bonbons are easily lost."  
His twin brother nodded and added: "We only hope that no little children will eat them accidentally. You should warn the parents."  
Harry had not thought about the possibility that some of his fellow students might have little sisters and brothers and nodded. Sometimes, he really wished that he had known a proper family life, and then he would not always forget these types of things.  
Albus, McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick and his father entered then and joined their little group.  
"Ah I see you have all found the room," Albus twinkled and eyed the candy bowl curiously. Fred and George only grinned and Harry, not taking the bait asked his father: "Do Lucius and...Draco plan on joining us?"  
His father wrinkled his nose, obviously not happy with his old friends and godson right now and answered: "They did show interest, but I made it clear that it would not only annoy you currently, but also be immensely stupid. Lucius has no reason to be present, he is not the Head of House and Draco has even less reason to attend; it would endanger their position with the Dark Lord and it would surely not help you to gain the trust of those who are coming today."  
Nodding thankfully, Harry sighed in relief.  
"Our guests will start arriving any minute," Albus said and waved his wand over the round table with a silent spell. "Now we will all fit," the old wizard explained, before pointing at a chair with an especially high back and golden ornaments: "Harry, would you take the Headmaster seat today? It was, after all, you as the leader of the Order, who invited the families."  
Nodding, Harry picked Nagini up and went to the chair, telling his familiar: _"Would you curl around the backrest and try to not look so intimidating?"_  
Nagini gave him an odd look, but did as told and curled around the chair, looking nearly as if she was a part of the fancy chair as she stilled. Her head lay on top of the backrest, giving her a good view across the table. His father sat down to his right, leaving one place free for Albus, who had gone over to the fireplace to greet the arriving guests. The students, who were a part of the families who would be attending, had been allowed to Floo home after breakfast and come with their parents and other relatives. This way, Albus had not been forced to give the location to the staff room away to students.  
The other Head of Houses sat down, as well as Ron, Hermione, Fred and George who had joined to his left.  
The Floo flared and the first group of people stepped out. Harry recognized Katie Bell and a woman who was clearly her mother, a stern looking man with a little girl on his arm and an old woman, probably a grandmother. The female waved at him with a broad grin and sat down with her family, whilst behind her Luna with a slightly odd looking, blonde man had arrived.  
"Now we know where Luna got her oddities from," Ron muttered, earning himself a glare from Hermione, but Harry had to agree with his friend silently. Luna was odd, very odd, which didn't mean that she was not a nice girl, but she was odd nonetheless.  
He watched Albus shaking hands and greeting everybody with name, even little siblings, who still had years until they would start at Hogwarts themselves. Harry wondered if the man had a talent for names and faces or if it was part of his job as Headmaster to know all these people and could only envy his mentor.  
The Creevey brothers arrived five minutes later and to Harry's horror, their father seemed as much of a fan of him, as his sons.  
"Harry Potter! It's an honour to finally meet you! I always knew that you would be a great wizard, but the stories my sons tell me excel everything even I had expected!" The man grabbed his hand and shook it enthusiastically, whilst Harry caught an apologetic look from a beautiful, blonde who was within her forties, who had to be Collin and Dennis mother.  
"Ah...thank you, sir," Harry said, feeling very embarrassed with the treatment and pulled his hand away politely.  
Ron and his brother snickered silently next to him, whilst his father wore an amused smirk. In the past the man had believed that Harry liked the attention his fame gave him, but Severus had come to know him better since the summer and Harry knew that by know his father could not even remember anymore how he could have honestly believed it.  
Finally, everybody was there and Albus sat down next to him, before giving him a curt nod to start. Somehow, Harry had not anticipated having to hold the meeting all on his own, but when he gave his mentor a doubtful look, Albus only smiled reassuringly at him, so he rose, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling.  
Every eye settled on him and his submissive instincts squirmed under the attention of so many unknown people, and Harry found himself suddenly wishing that at least Lucius would be there after all.  
Clearing his throat, he started the meeting: "Hello everybody, thank you all for coming on such short notice... I think most of you already know my name, but ...um...just in case, I am Harry Potter."  
A silent chuckle went through the room, his father smirked and Harry felt his cheeks heat in embarrassment.  
Now the complicated part came: He would have to explain why he had established the safe house, without giving his source away. It would be too dangerous to tell so many people about his visions and they would only start to see him as a freak, if he did so. Thinking about how to phrase what he needed to say, he said: "Some of you might have already heard about the Order of the Phoenix, of which I have become the new leader recently."  
A silent gasp went through the crowd and many of his guests exchanged curious looks or stared even more curiously at him.  
"The main work of the Order is to find out information about You-Know-Who and his followers, in hopes that we will be able to defeat him one day," Harry continued, his nervousness slowly settling a bit as he got used to all the stares.  
"But we also try to prevent attacks and help those who have been attacked. Thanks to a source I cannot openly name right now, we came to know that the Dark Lord is planning a huge attack on wizarding families who support the Light Side, and of students who are in close contact with me:"  
Harry had expected another gasp, but only silence answered him this time until a hesitating voice asked: "Is that the reason why we are here?" Harry looked up to the woman who had spoken and had to smile. The bushy curls on her head seemed so familiar to him, even though he had never seen her before.  
"Yes, Mrs. Granger, that is why you all are here. Every one of you is not only supporting the Light Side but also has a child who is currently attending Hogwarts with me."  
"Am I right to assume that you and the Order have a plan to help us?" The man next to Hermione's mother asked. Assuming, that it had to be her father, he smiled at him as well and then told everybody: "It was not only me. Ronald Weasely, Hermione Granger, Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore along with Fred and George Weasley have also worked hard to find a quick solution, which can be used by every one of you in case of an attack." He wished that he could also tell everybody that Sirius had helped as well, but that wasn't possible. Even though the people in front of him had great trust in his and Dumbledore's words, the fear of Sirius Black could possibly be even greater.  
Grabbing into the candy bowl, he held up one of the colourful sweats. "These are special Portkeys. They do not start at a specific time, but rather when they come into contact with your body. The Portkey charm is placed on the sherbet inside of the bonbon and will activate if you bite on them and bring you to a Safe House. Potter Manor has been unoccupied for years, but my Head Elf and I have made sure that it is liveable again."  
The eyes of parents and students alike widened at the name of his parental home.  
"What do we have to do in return to get your protection? Do we have to join the Order as well?" An Indian woman asked suddenly, who sat between the Patil twins.  
"Harry Potter would never demand something in return! He is a true hero!" Collin and Dennis's father shouted suddenly across the room and Harry winced in embarrassment. He heard his father and the twins chuckling next to him and felt a blush rising, but having expected such a question at one point, he simply shook his head without feeling offended: "No, I don't expect anything in return. You are all welcome to join the Order if you wish to do so, but your protection will not depend on it."  
"How will you know that we have come to your house?" Another male voice asked.  
Not wanting to tell them about his map, Harry said. "My House Elves will inform me about your arrival, they will also provide you with everything you will need during your stay."  
Taking a short pause, Harry tried to remember if he had to tell them anything else, but when nothing else came to his mind, he said: "There are two bonbons for each of you, please don't hesitate to use them, even if it might be false alarm, or ask one of us for a new one, if you had to use them or even just lost one."  
Fred passed the candy bowl to his left and Harry watched, as everybody took two bonbons out of it. The twins had prepared more than needed, so there were still some left when the bowl returned to them. Standing up, Harry smiled once again, unsure about how to end the meeting, finally he scratched the back of his head and said with a nervous laugh: "I honestly hope that we will not see each other too soon because that would probably be at my house."  
The crowd chuckled and the people rose as well, but instead of just going to the Floo to return back home, many came over to him. It seemed that nearly everyone wanted to introduce themselves, thank him for his kindness and help, or just shake his hands. His schoolmates stood by now to the side, looking obviously embarrassed by the behaviour of their relatives. Harry only waved at them and continued another half an hour with talking, before Dumbledore finally rose and announced:  
"I am very sorry, but it is soon time for dinner and I think we should not keep Harry and his friends here much longer, we all know after all how hungry teenagers always are."  
The people chuckled in agreement and finally started to line up in front of the huge fireplace, where their children joined them once more to say their goodbyes. Harry could clearly see in their faces, that they had been happy to see their parents, siblings and grandparents so soon again, but also that they hoped that their next meeting would not be before the Christmas holidays.  
Finally, the other students left as well and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Dumbledore, Severus and the Grangers were alone in the room.  
"I hope it was not a problem that Hermione invited us to the meeting as well, I am Anna, and that is my husband Michael by the way," Hermione's mother asked and stretched her hand out and a short round of introductions followed.  
Taking the hand, Harry quickly said: "No, it was not a problem, in fact, I am very sorry that I didn't remember to invite you earlier."  
His friend's father waved his words off: "Don't be sorry, I imagine that you have a lot on your mind and you are still not an adult; it is to be expected that you forget something sometimes."  
"Indeed," his father agreed and laid an arm on his shoulder. "But I think we can all be proud of him."  
The Grangers eyed the familiar gesture of his stern-looking father curiously.  
"Severus Snape, his father," Severus said and stretched his hand out as well.  
"His father?" Michael asked. "I thought your parents... died..." the man said awkwardly, clearly not sure whether it would be appropriate to say killed.  
Harry smiled at him: "We only found out this summer that James Potter, who was supposed to by my father, was in fact only my uncle. He and my mother raised me as their child because Severus got involved with the Death Eaters and it would have endangered him if the Dark Lord had found out that he had been in a relationship with my mother."  
The Grangers eyes widened at first, but Anna's face softened quickly again: "I am glad to hear that you have a real family after all. As I understand it, the people who raised you did not deserve that title."  
Ron snorted: "Those people did not even deserve to be called humans."  
Harry watched, as everyone nodded on his behalf.  
Michael checked his watch then and said: "I am afraid we have to go back home now, but it was nice to finally meet the people, my daughter always talks about."  
Hermione smiled a bit shyly and then said: "I will take you to the Floo and explain how it works."  
They all waved their goodbyes and watched as Anna and then Michael took some floo powder and threw it into the fire with slightly unsure looks. But they were as intelligent as their daughter and stepped into the flames without hesitation and Hermione returned to them.  
"I think this meeting was very successful," Dumbledore hummed, his eyes sparkling.  
"Indeed," Severus agreed and turned to Harry. "Are you going to meet possible new members now?"  
"Yes, that is why we must leave now. They will come to my rooms in about ten minutes," Harry answered, before asking the twins: "Would you like to join us?"  
"Of course Harry, we have to meet our new brothers- and sisters-in-crime," they answered in unison and with a last wave, Harry and his friends said their goodbyes to the adults.  
To their surprise, Neville and an old witch who clearly had to be his grandmother, already stood in front of Harry's door and were waiting. Neville grinned a bit sheepishly as they joined them, but Harry only asked: "Can I help you somehow, Mrs. Longbottom?"  
"You can, Mr. Potter," the stern old witch with her huge, red handbag and the vulture on her head replied, eying him from head to toe. Harry wanted to squirm under her scrutinizing look but tried his best to not let anything show. After a long minute the woman spoke up again: "I want to join the Order. I have always supported Albus' cause and you have his approval," she explained matter of factly.  
A bit surprised, Harry stammered: "Oh... okay, then, would you like to come in? There is a binding contract involved..."  
"I thought as much," Mrs. Longbottom cut him off. "Albus would have been a fool if he had not insisted on further safety measures after the disaster with your parents."  
Now Harry could finally understand why Neville was so afraid of his grandmother; he was as well, not even Lucius had ever made him feel like this and he was sure that the witch would even find something to criticize about his behaviour or appearance. His eyes flickered over to Neville, who shrugged in apology and his grandmother asked: "Well, are you going to open the door, or do I need to conjure a chair?"  
Harry quickly stepped closer to his door, which luckily swung open immediately and held it open for Neville and his grandmother.  
"I will intercept the others until you are finished," Hermione whispered and grabbed for Ron to stay by her side.  
Feeling extra nervous, Harry lead the way into his living room. Mrs. Longbottom eyed his furniture like she had eyed Harry before, and then gave a short nod: "I assume that these are the Founders Quarters?" she asked, but before Harry could answer, a voice from the wall said: "Indeed, they are."  
Mrs. Longbottom shot Merlin a disapproving look and said: "It is impolite to intrude on other's conversation." The powerful wizard actually flushed and pulled his head between his shoulders, before disappearing into another portrait, his great grandchildren quickly following him with nervous glances at the witch.  
"So, what do I have to do?" Mrs. Longbottom asked and Harry would rather have run away than saying what he had to say: "I... need to place my wand on your breast... over your heart, I mean." He flushed scarlet and turned to Neville, who only lifted his hands, indicating that he couldn't help him.  
Mrs. Longbottom looked down at him and he quickly added: "Dumbledore invented that spell, not me!" His voice actually hitched and then broke in nervousness.  
The witch actually opened the first two buttons on her blouse then, but said: "I will talk with Albus about this. It is not proper that a witch has to get naked in front of a young man."  
"Gran! You don't have to get naked!" Neville shouted and Harry exclaimed:  
"I am no young man!"  
Feeling as if his nerves would not survive the next three minutes, Harry quickly pulled his wand from his pocket and placed it over her heart.  
"Um... I need your full name," he said, looking up into Mrs. Longbottom's sharp eyes, not daring to look anywhere near where it could be seen as improper.  
"Augusta Longbottom," the witch answered.  
Clearing his throat, Harry said: "I, Harry Severus James Potter confirm you, Augusta Longbottom, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will hold our secrets and dedicate your life to the fight against the rising darkness."  
His magic rose and the eyes of Neville's grandmother seemed to soften a bit as she felt his power.  
Having finished the spell, Harry wanted to step back and give the woman some space, but a strong hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him closer:  
"I was one of the few people who knew about Lily and James' family. I always wondered who your real father was. You can be proud of him; he is a strong man. Give him my greetings."  
Harry's eyes widened at her words and his heart began to race, as the fear of being discovered rose within him, but Mrs. Longbottom reassured him instantly: "Your secret is safe with me; I kept half of it for many years already."  
Harry could only nod as he stepped back with huge, shock-filled eyes. Neville seemed to be shocked as well because he wordlessly formed the word: "Harry?"  
Harry only shook his head, glad that the Gryffindor had not noticed anything like his grandmother had. She really was a remarkable woman.  
"I will leave you alone again then," Mrs. Longbottom announced, straightening her blouse, which was buttoned again.  
"Thank you for joining us, Mrs. Longbottom, I will take you to the door," Harry said and pocketed his wand again.  
"You may call me Augusta," the witch said, gracing him with a smile for the first time.  
"Then please call me Harry," he replied with a wide smile of his own, he had the feeling that it would be good to get to know the witch.  
"Will you stay?" Augusta asked her grandson, who nodded shyly.  
"I'll be back soon, you can sit down if you want Nev," Harry said and lead the way back to the door.  
Harry could hear the questioning voices of the students he had invited in front of his door, but they all quieted quickly as Augusta opened the door and their gazes landed on her. His schoolmates practically jumped out of the way to clear a path for the witch and Harry thought that not even his father had such a strong impact on the student body.  
Augusta smiled at him one last time, before brusquely making her way to the staircases, and then up to Dumbledore Harry supposed. As soon as she was out of sight, he turned to the silent crowd and cleared his throat: "Sorry that I am late, but Nev's grandmother just came by. But I think we can start now."  
His hallway never seemed so endless, as when he lead his fellow schoolmates into his living room. They eyed the enchanted ceiling in awe and the many golden portrait frames, silently whispering amongst each other.  
"Say, Harry, are there portraits of the founders?" Angelina asked him.  
"Not only of them but Merlin as well," they told them and Harry winced; he had wanted to keep that part a secret for now, it would only get him more attention, something he had more than of enough already.  
"Merlin? You mean THE Merlin?" Susan Bones inquired, looking around as if searching for the man.  
"Yes, THE Merlin," Harry replied dryly, not wanting to explain anything, but the interest of his friends were already awoken.  
"What is he doing at Hogwarts?" Justin Finch-Fletchley wanted to know.  
Seeing, that there was no way out of it anymore, he threw Ron an angry look, who had the decency to look sheepish and then told them: "He is actually the great-grandfather of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff."  
"But that means that he is your relative as well!" Hanna Abbot exclaimed.  
Shrugging, Harry finally entered his living room again, where all five portraits had returned to their frames as if knowing that they were speaking about them.  
"He looks like Albus!" Terry Boot exclaimed and Luna added dreamily: "And he has your eyes."  
Merlin actually huffed and corrected her: "He has mine, young lady. I was there long before your friend."  
Luna only smiled, as if she had not even listened and sat down on the couch. The others followed her example, some conjuring chairs with the lack of enough seats.  
Harry himself actually simply sat down on the floor in front of everybody, Ron and Hermione to his right.  
"So, Harry, what could you not tell us in front of our parents?" Seamus asked with a smirk.  
"I already mentioned the Order earlier. In the past, we only accepted members after they turned 17, but since I have become the new leader, we also accept younger members," Harry started slowly, watching the small group in front of him.  
"I don't want to force anybody to do this, but we really could use some people among the students, who just keep their eyes and ears open, especially around the Slytherins."  
Snickers followed his words and Hannah asked: "Why couldn't you ask us earlier?"  
"Because many parents don't want their under aged children to join, but the war is affecting all of us and I think you should decide for yourselves."  
"Do you already have some members here at Hogwarts?" Dean inquired curiously.  
Harry shook his head with a small smile: "Nice try, Dean, but that I can only tell you after you have joined."  
"Why?" the boy asked.  
"Because we would form a binding contract, which would make you unable to spill any Order related secrets," Harry explained honestly.  
"Is that really necessary? I mean, we would never betray you," Dennis asked.  
Sighing, Harry resigned himself to the fact that he would have to explain at least a little more. "My parents died because one of their best friends betrayed them. Never had they foreseen it, but after that, Dumbledore established this safety measure and I will continue with it. I trust you all, but I don't want to lose any more people."  
His friends and classmates fell silent, everybody clearly thinking about his words. Finally, after five minutes Harry said: "You don't have to join and you don't have to decide now, but if you want to, you can come to me at any time."  
"I will join. You-Know-Who nearly took as much away from me as he did from you, I don't want that to happen to anybody else," Neville spoke suddenly up, surprising everybody. The boy came forwards and unbuttoned his shirt.  
"Are you sure Nev?" Harry asked, even though he knew the answer already.  
"I am," Neville said with a serious nod.  
Nodding as well, Harry placed his wand over his heart and repeated the same binding sentence he had cast on his grandmother earlier.  
As if a dam had been broken, the others slowly came forwards as well, a fierce fire blazing in their eyes. They all had witnessed the horror of the last year to some extent and it had made them realize how quickly Lord Voldemort could get to each of them. The next in line was Luna, followed by Dennis and Collin and then everybody else; not one student on Harry's list had declined.  
Ron and his twin brothers watched him with awe, whilst pride shone in Hermione's eyes. It took nearly half an hour to add everyone to the Order and for Hermione to distribute her coins.  
"What's that?" Parvati asked curiously.  
Hermione threw Harry a questioning look, but the coins had been her invention, so he left her the honour of explaining it to them:  
"These galleons will contact you if we need to meet on short notice. They have little numbers on the edge, which will change to the time and the date of our next meeting."  
"Do we have to check them regularly, or how will we notice?" Susan asked, eying her coin.  
Hermione shook her head: "No, they will heat up, so just keep them in your pocket."  
"And where will we meet?" Dennis asked curiously.  
Harry answered that question: "We will always meet here; it's the safest place. I am also thinking about establishing a headquarter for us, where we can meet during the holidays or go to on weekends."  
"Do you have a house?" Collin asked, only to get smacked by his little brother: "Of course he does, he's Harry Potter!"  
Rolling his eyes at the two Creevey's, Harry told them. "I have, but I still have to renovate it. It belonged to my muggle relatives, so it has to be changed a lot."  
"But it's still cool..." Katie mused, only to get cut off by Fred: "Do you mean that house where George and I saved you from?"  
Harry winced inwardly, remembering his escape from Privet Drive just before his second year and nodded.  
"Then we will see your ghost relatives?" George asked sounding more curious than Harry thought proper, considering that his late relatives were unbearable.  
"I am afraid so."  
"Why afraid?" Neville asked.  
"Because they are a pain in the arse, like the Malfoy's, only in muggle form," Ron explained and the whole group made a face.  
"Really?" Ernie asked in disbelief.  
"They think that wizards are freaks and that we are contagious," Harry answered dryly and then added: "Well, we have to bear with them. The wards on that house are very strong, as strong as a Fidelius because they are blood wards, so we will be safe there, which is the most important point and until now, no Death Eaters have ever searched for me in the small muggle suburb. They just can't imagine that the great Harry Potter lives amongst muggles," he said sarcastically and the others nodded in understanding.  
"Well, wouldn't I have thought that either," Ernie admitted.  
"So, will you tell us now who we can trust?" Dean asked again.  
"McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout, Snape, and also Dumbledore, Hagrid, Ginny, Fred and George of course," Harry answered, thinking that he better leave Lucius out of this, even though nobody would be able to betray him, but as trusting as his schoolmates were, it would be hard to explain the reason for Lucius' inclusion; it had already been hard enough at Grimmauld Place and he didn't need that a second time. And in case, his father would someday be discovered and they would still have one spy left this way.  
"All Heads of Houses? Even Snape?" Angelina gasped.  
"Yes, he has been a spy for eleven years," Harry confirmed.  
"Are you serious?" Neville asked, face pale.  
"Yes I am," Harry said and then added: "But I would not advise you to go to him. He is a spy and always close to the children of Death Eaters, so it would be dangerous for him if you go to him."  
"Don't worry," Susan said with a grimace. "We will not go to him."  
The others nodded in agreement.  
"He sure can be scary," Harry mused. "But he has saved my arse countless times and many other people."  
"When has he ever saved you?" Parvati inquired curiously.  
"Do you remember that time in my first year when my broom nearly threw me off?" Harry asked, waiting for the others to nod. "It was actually cursed by Quirrel, but Snape used a counter curse and that is the only reason why I didn't break my neck. He also tried to save me from Sirius Black, back in my third year," Harry told them, hating that he always had to pretend that Sirius was really the crazy killer everybody believed him to be, but he would not give all the secrets away, not even with the binding contract, they were merely students after all and they did not have the experience his friends and he himself had.  
"Then he really can be trusted?" Dennis asked, his eyes huge.  
"Believe it or not, but he is actually rather decent," Ron muttered and Hermione added: "As spy and Head of Slytherin he has a difficult job; he can never slip up."  
"It sure sounds tricky. I bet Malfoy would poison his own godfather if he ever found out that Snape is actually not on their side," Katie mused.  
Absentmindedly, Harry noticed, that the painful feeling he always experienced when someone insulted Lucius, did not occur with Draco. Maybe it was because they had not actually mated yet, or because he was just too angry with the blonde currently, but he felt nothing."  
"Well, we will contact you if we need you," Hermione said, closing the meeting.  
One after the other they all rose, saying goodnight and leaving his room.  
"We will also go then," George said, patting Harry's shoulder.  
"You really did it, I think the Order has never had so many members," Fred told him with a grin.  
"Let's hope that it will help," Harry said and waved at them, as they also left.  
"Oh man, this really was a long day," Ron said and yawned.  
"You can say that again," Harry agreed. "I think I will only go to bed now."  
Hermione suppressed a yawn of her own and said: "We will see you tomorrow, then. Sleep well Harry, and you really did great today."  
Smiling, Harry replied: "Thanks and you sleep well too."  
His friends left and Harry decided that he would quickly go to his father before one of his mates could show up. He already had enough of Draco for one day and he wasn't in the mood to explain his current behaviour or his pathetic fights with Draco to Lucius either.  
His father was not yet in his rooms when he entered, so he just transfigured his school robes into a set of pyjamas and curled up under his mother's quilt. The scent of Severus lingering on his bed was soothing and he quickly fell asleep within minutes.


	24. Chapter 24: Fury

**Chapter 24: Fury**

 **HP**

Harry instantly noticed that something was different when he entered the Great Hall the next morning. The chattering rose and many eyes settled on him. Frowning, he ignored the stares and went over to his friends; sitting down between them. Hermione had made space for him as soon as she had seen him, probably guessing that he would feel uncomfortable with all the attention focused on him.  
"What's wrong? Did the Prophet write some new rumour about me?" he asked in a whisper.  
His friends shook their heads and Hermione bit on her bottom lip, as if not sure whether she should tell him about whatever was going on, whilst Ron looked slightly apologetic.  
Sighing, he repeated his question and adding: "Just spit it out, it can't be that much worse."  
"It took longer than I would have expected," Hermione started "but the rumour has started that you are not dating Ginny."  
"Well, then they have actually gotten something right for once," Harry said, feeling irritated.  
"That means," Ron pointed out "that you are available again Harry."  
Harry gulped and looked around once more. With the exception of the Slytherins, many students were indeed eyeing him with interest. The students could be divided in two categories: First, there were young witches who flushed or batted there lashes whenever his eye accidentally met one of them and secondly; older wizards, which was even somehow a greater shock as he had not thought that so many boys would be attracted to him. Only the Slytherins seemed very disgusted with what was going on, which made them nearly likable in Harry's eyes right now.  
Just in that moment, a young blond girl rose from the Ravenclaw table and started to make her way over to him. Turning quickly back to his plate, for the first time in weeks he started to pile food onto it, trying to look busy so that the girl would not actually approach him, but sadly she had gathered all of her courage and was determined.  
"Um... Harry?"  
Turning around Harry forced a polite smile onto his face. Over the girl's shoulder he could see Draco watching him, as well as Lucius actually, but in contrast to his son, the older blonde actually had a look of amusement glinting in his eyes.  
"Yes?" He asked when the girl only stared at him, apparently waiting until she was allowed to speak. Harry wanted to roll his eyes in annoyance; he really was not as much of a hero as they all thought and certainly not a king. Even the position in the council was only due to Lucius.  
"I..." The girl stammered and Harry prepared to wait patiently until she could come to the point. "My name is Lisa Corner and I wanted to ask if you would go with me to Hogsmeade on the first weekend."  
Harry blinked in bewilderment. The first Hogsmeade weekend was still some weeks in the future; it was scheduled in November, just before Halloween so that the students could buy costumes for the costume ball Dumbledore had planned for this year. So why was the girl asking already? And why did she think that he would go with a complete stranger?  
Gazing quickly over to his friends, Harry answered politely: "Um...Lisa, I have already planned to go with my friends..."  
"Oh..." Lisa said, but nodded before saying: "Maybe next time then?"  
"Maybe," Harry answered non-committedly.  
The girl smiled at him and Harry had the feeling that he should have just said no, but at least she was going back to her own table now.  
As soon as she was out of hearing range, Ron burst into laughing: "Oh Harry, I have never seen you so flustered!"  
"Well, I would be as well if a total stranger asked me out on a date," Hermione huffed, but Ron just ignored her in favour of saying: "Did you notice that you are either being watched by the little children or by older boys? I told you that you look too feminine in those things." Ron pointed with his knife at Harry's waistcoat, but Harry only flushed.  
"I have never looked very masculine," he replied, pulling on his school cloak.  
"Yeah," Ron agreed with a frown. "Guess you are still a few years too young to look masculine. But don't worry. That will only change when we graduate."  
Hermione gave him a reassuring smile as well and he nodded quickly.  
"We should head to Potions or we will be late," Hermione announced and picked up her shoulder bag.  
To Harry's dismay, everybody was still watching him as they left the Great Hall; the only good thing about it was that no other girl had approached him.  
The dungeons were as gloomy as ever and they leaned against the cold walls to wait for the beginning of their lessons. Harry was not sure if it was a coincidence, but only moments after he had arrived with his friends, Draco had joined them with Pansy on one arm and Daphne on the other.  
"Oh Draco, do you have a tattoo?"  
Harry looked up at the sound of Daphne's voice, right in time to see his mate lifting his right hand and eying it smugly. "Yes, my Family Crest; after all, being a Malfoy is something to be proud of," the blonde smirked and anger rose in his stomach. He clenched his fists, trying desperately to not react in any way, but it was difficult. How could Draco tell the world that their mating marks were nothing more than tattoo's? He could not believe it; that was low, even for the blonde.  
Ron's snort ended the chorus of praise Draco was still singing for his precious family line.  
"I think someone is jealous," Draco drawled and the girls started snickering.  
"Keep believing that Malfoy," Hermione spoke up. "We sure are jealous of people who grovel at the feet of a mad man and lick his dirty boots."  
Draco sneered, but before the blonde could say anything, Harry had casually linked his arms with Hermione and was whispering quite audibly: "Don't say something like that, or he might finally realize that he wants to bow to the man who had killed his mother."  
"Better than to gush over an old fool who throws babies onto the battlefield," Draco hissed back.  
Shrugging, Harry replied: "I have to admit, Dumbledore and I had a little row during the summer, but we are all good again and he certainly was not at fault for Voldemort being afraid of a baby."  
The Slytherins flinched at the name of their future master, but Draco recovered quickly: "The story with the curse was an unfortunate accident. He was certainly not afraid of you, why should he have been? He probably was after your Mudblood mother."  
Harry's eyes hardened at the foul words. Fixing his eyes to his mate's ice blue orbs, he whispered silently enough only Draco was able to hear it and without blinking once he said: "Because the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord was approaching. Born to those who had thrice defied him, born as the seventh month died? Wake up Draco! This is bigger and more dangerous than you think! Your father has already lost his beloved wife; don't force him to lose his son and mate as well only because you are too stubborn to accept that we belong together."  
Harry didn't know how much Draco actually knew about the war, but apparently he knew nothing about the prophecy because his handsome face paled to a worrisome degree.  
Hermione and Ron watched him curiously, clearly wondering what he had just done to the Slytherin. Finally, Ron broke the silence: "I don't know what you just did, but keep doing it." He pats Harry on his back, but Hermione only frowned.  
Harry did not listen to their conversation anymore, instead hoping that he had not made a mistake by telling Draco about the prophecy. Hopefully, his mate would not run to his father's old master and tell him that he knew. He wished that he could believe that Draco would not do that, but at this point he could not be sure.  
Pansy's annoying voice made him suddenly listen again:  
"Draycy, will you show me your new room this evening?"  
Harry had to suppress another growl at the seductive tone in the girl's voice, the only reason he succeeded was that not even Draco Malfoy could be so stupid as to invite a girl to his room when he was actually half mated already, but to his utter shock, the next words coming out of the Slytherin's mouth were: "Sure, I could show the room to both of you."  
The girls giggled and clung even firmer to the blonde's arm, obviously delighted about the offer. Next to Harry, Hermione made a sound like she was getting sick, and only the fact that he was still linked by his arm with hers, saved Daphne and Pansy at that moment. That, and the fact that a silent click announced the opening of the door to their Potions classroom.  
The fury must have been radiating from him, because his father gave him a long look as he went past him. With a sigh, he slumped down in his seat, relieved that he did not have to see his stupid mate for the next two hours, at least if he didn't turn around. He pulled the Potions book for First Year Students from his bag, which his father had given him after he had finished with the pre-school book and watched the man spelling the recipe for the others onto the blackboard and then start to send his students off with a wave of his hand and without further explanations.  
Leaning over to his friends, he pushed the recipe of the Potion he had to brew today over to them and asked: "Could you bring me the ingredients from the storage room? I really don't want to run into Malfoy again today."  
"Sure," Hermione agreed with a sympathetic look and went to the storage room with Ron in tow.  
They returned only a few minutes later and Hermione sorted through the ingredients to give Harry the things he needed.  
"Thanks," Harry said and started chopping carefully. He still was not used to giving so much attention to the way he actually chopped or sliced, so he was still a bit slow, but the last time he had still managed to brew a good Potion.  
His father came by then and placed the Potion he had marked from last class on his desk. Harry could not hide a grin as he saw a big red 'E' attached to the vial.  
Hermione looked over at him and her eyes lit up in happiness for him as she saw the grade. Not wanting to disappoint his father after only one good grade, Harry turned back to the Potion which was silently bubbling in front of him. He stirred the bluish liquid three times clockwise and watched as it changed to a deep purple.  
Nodding contently, he grabbed the snake scales he had to powder and put them into a small stone bowl. He had just wanted to start the grinding, when something flew by his ear and in the next moment his cauldron exploded. The explosion was strong enough to push him backwards, but his back did not even have time to collide with Dean's table before his father already snapped: "Potter! What have you done now? Are you not even able to brew a First Year Potion?"  
Ignoring his father's tirade, Harry quickly looked around, his eyes searching for Draco, who sat just behind Dean and Seamus and was watching his own Potion rather intensely; careful to not show any interest in what had just happened.  
He turned back to his father, who just snapped "25 points from Gryffindor," and saw in the man's eyes that he also knew who had sabotaged his Potion. A short flicker in his father's eyes was the only warning before he announced: "well, if you are so incompetent, Mr. Potter, then I will give you a partner in order to ensure the safety of the other students. Mr. Malfoy, please come to the front and help Mr. Potter with his second attempt at the sleeping draught."  
Harry's eyes widened in horror at his dad's words and he quickly stammered: "Please, sir, I will make sure that my cauldron does not explode with my next attempt!"  
Next to him, Ron looked very green at the idea of Draco Malfoy working in close proximity to them and the other Slytherins were eying Harry as if they wanted to murder him, just for forcing his presence onto their prince, as if Harry actually wanted to work with the prat.  
"Then you should have been more careful from the start, Mr. Potter, my decision stands. Make some space for Mr. Malfoy," Severus replied coldly.  
"Professor," Draco's voice apparently sounded as horrified as Harry's had. "I cannot help him; I have to brew my own Potion."  
"Do not worry Mr. Malfoy. I am well aware that you are quite able to brew today's potion. Now take your cauldron and move over to Mr. Potter," his father ordered.  
Harry would have laughed at the way Draco's prank had backfired if he didn't have to suffer the consequences as well. Scooting to the left side of his table, he watched his reluctant mate sit down next to him and banished his spoiled Potion while trying to ignore the angry glares from Pansy and Daphne.  
"Well done Malfoy," Harry hissed silently, not able to suppress the urge to comment on the situation. Draco only growled and pulled Harry's Potions Book over to him.  
"Are you serious, scarhead, are you really brewing a Potion for First Years? I thought my godfather was joking."  
"He wasn't," Harry replied dryly, not answering his mate's unspoken question about why he was brewing something different to the rest of them; he would not give Draco even more ammunition to tease him about. Instead, he just stood up saying: "I need new ingredients."  
He hurried to find all the things he needed, thinking that it would be safer to not assume that Draco would actually help him and as he had expected, the blonde sat leaned back in his chair as he returned, his arms crossed and looking as if he was about to relax for the next ninety minutes. Grabbing his slate and knife again, he started once more with the apple-flower petals.  
The first two ingredients had to be added to cold water, so his cauldron stood to the side. The voice of his father made him look up as he was throwing the ingredients into the water:  
"Mr. Malfoy, I expect you to actually help." Sneering at Harry, as if it had been his idea to pair them up, the blonde conjured his own slate and knife and started slicing salamander tails, with an ease that made Harry jealous. He would never get as fast and precise with his preparation, regardless of how many years he practiced. In contrast to himself, Draco was actually talented in this subject.  
Wondering if his other mate was as talented with Potions as Draco, Harry heaved the cauldron onto the flames once more and started stirring. Draco watched him as if he wanted to say something about the way he was brewing, but in the end only sneered at him as usual.  
This was really awkward. Why his father thought it would be a good idea to make them work together, Harry did not know. They certainly would not get any closer this way, in fact, Harry believed that the blonde could not get any angrier with him than he currently was; his comment earlier had surely not helped either, but neither his father nor Lucius had to hear about that incident, at least if Draco stayed silent as well.  
In unspoken agreement, they worked silently side by side, not saying a word and most of the time not even looking at or acknowledging each other.  
Harry had a difficult time pushing his swirling emotions to the side. His annoyance and hatred of Draco were still fighting against his instincts, telling him to find a way to get into his dominant's good graces. But he didn't even consider giving in to his instincts as he was too annoyed with Draco, and besides, as long as the blonde did not realize that his behaviour led to nothing, he couldn't do anything about it anyway.  
Still, it hurt to be this close to one of his mates and only get rejection from him. Deep down he hoped that Draco would come to his senses soon and pull him into his arms, which would surely be as strong, warm and comforting as Lucius'.  
They had barely finished Harry's Potion in time and as soon as Harry had poured it into a glass vial, Draco had stood up and went back to his own seat, but not without sneering at him one last time.  
Sighing, Harry shuffled over to his father, placing his Potion on his father's desk. The man only nodded once, not able to say anything in front of everybody, so Harry just returned to his friends.  
Apparently, Draco had had enough of him for the day as well, because as soon as the class ended, his mate disappeared, not lingering in some corner to insult or hex him or something, but their next class was DADA, so they would see each other soon enough regardless.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **DM**

Draco Malfoy stepped into his private room and threw his bag into a corner, before slumping down onto his couch, not caring about grace or anything else right now. The day had been endless and tiring, and he still could not believe that his godfather had actually forced him to help scarhead.  
But it had been an effective method; he would not ruin Potter's Potions anytime soon.  
To be reduced to brewing a simple sleeping draught for First Year students again had been humiliating to say the least. Still, he wondered why Pothead was not brewing the same Potions as the rest of them. Severus usually made no exceptions for anybody, not even his Slytherins, so he believed that Dumbledore was behind the special treatment.  
As usual, the Golden Boy needed special attention. He sneered, even though Potter was not even there to see it.  
But the Potions Class had not even been the most uncomfortable situation today. What was it what the annoying boy had said to him in front of their Potions Classroom? It had sounded suspiciously like a prophecy. Did that mean that Harry bloody Potter was actually destined to defeat the Dark Lord? He was sure Potter had only revealed a small part of the prophecy to him; if it had been one in the first place, that was. So he did not know enough about it to make any assumptions.  
To be honest, his own death and the death of his mother had made him rethink his opinions of the Dark Lord. That did not mean that he would ever follow Potter. The Dark Lord's goals were the right ones, only the person who wanted to achieve them was the wrong one.  
Conjuring his school bag, he pulled his History of Magic book out because he had to read a chapter as homework.  
Potter had been absent from the class and one Slytherin girl, of whom he did not know the name, had mentioned at lunch that he had dropped out of Divination as well, which would mean that the Golden Boy would not have enough classes to graduate in the end.  
That would surely be an unpleasant awakening for the Gryffindor Hero. He smirked at the thought, but his smirk quickly disappeared when he realized that the old coot was surely grading Potter's extra lessons. Why did the boy get so many privileges? He was even allowed to own a House Elf at Hogwarts and he didn't even have a father who was on the Board of Governors. He hated all of this!  
But what he hated even more than scarhead's privileges was the way his body reacted to the raven-haired Gryffindor. At every meal, he could smell him all across the Great Hall and he smelled so sweet, and innocent and warm like the sun and just so delicious and... Draco quickly stopped his train of thoughts, forbidding himself to think of the word arousing. He was after all not really Harry Potter's mate, so there was no reason to find the smaller boy arousing.  
There also was no reason to feel jealous whenever he saw scarface arm in arm with his two best friends, the weasel, and the Mudblood. And still... his heart had nearly stopped when he saw the boy sitting nearly naked in a pool with his cousin Sirius Black, their ex-teacher Remus Lupin, the weasel twins and again, his two best friends. And there surely had been no reason for his cock to twitch at the sound of parseltongue from Potter's mouth...  
For a short moment, a moment he would deny had ever existed, he had wanted to kill every one of them, only because they had seen Harry Potter's body, had dared to sit so close to him and listen to his beautiful words.  
In fact, he had been about to do something seriously stupid and untypical of a Malfoy when his father had entered, but the man had done nothing.  
How could his father stand the sight of his supposed mate sitting with so many other males in a pool? That only encouraged him in his belief that his father could actually not be Potter's dominant, or rather, Potter could not be his father's submissive because the boy clearly looked nothing like a vampire. He himself now had a red ring around his ice blue eyes and his skin had gotten paler, along with other smaller and bigger changes, but Potter was clearly still human. His eyes were as green as ever without the barest hint of red, his skin, although not as tanned as last year, was still much too dark to belong to a dead creature.  
So the question was: Did his father actually believe that crap himself?  
Draco could not really believe it; Lucius Malfoy was far too intelligent to fall for a fairytale about mates and destined love. Maybe he had just told Potter that shit to get the boy into bed, after all, his small round arse looked very... He quickly cut his thoughts off again, just in time to hear a polite knock at his door.  
"Come in," he called out, and Pansy and Daphne stepped inside.  
His eyes roamed the body of the two witches, taking in their forms. Daphne was more to his taste: He did not care particular for hair colour, but he preferred her smaller breast and narrow hips over Pansy's curvy form, but Pansy was not as prudish and willing to do anything he asked for, so the two complemented each other perfectly.  
He actually did not plan on marrying either of them; they were neither beautiful, nor intelligent or powerful enough to become the next Lady Malfoy, but they didn't need to know that.  
"Pansy, Daphne, did you find my room easily enough?" he greeted and waved them over. He really could use some fun to get all the anger and confusion out of his system, sex had always helped him with his stress. He actually had never had sex to be close to anyone or out of love, those were feelings Malfoy's did not really possess, instead he would have his fun and use boys and girls alike to satisfy his physical needs, never giving anything back in return and there was honestly no need to.  
Many witches and wizards gladly went down on their knees in hope that they would get the favour of the next Malfoy Lord. There rarely was a day that went by without somebody offering to suck him off in an empty classroom, just between two classes, or offered their bodies to satisfy his needs.  
He loved the quick encounters, where he did not even have to undress, only opening his zipper and fucking the arse in front of him. That was another one of his kinks, he only used their rear ends, even with girls. The reason for this preference he had long ago pushed to the back of his mind, not daring to think about it because it would just lead him back to...  
"So Draycy, how was your day?" Pansy asked in a tone of voice which should probably sound sweet, but only made his ears hurt.  
Hoping that she would soon put her mouth to better use, he answered: "After Potions, my day got better."  
Daphne stepped behind him and started unbuttoning his shirt. One of her hands slid down his chest and over his left nipple as she whispered into his ear: "Poor Draco, your godfather was really mean to you today, but we will help you feel better again soon."  
One of her fingers then teased his nipple, before sliding further down, but Draco could only think that HE wanted to be the one teasing a nipple...  
Pansy crouched down between his knees and started to stroke and massage up his thigh, slowly coming closer to his crotch and that was when Draco noticed that he still was not hard. Suppressing the urge to stiffen, he leaned forwards with a smirk to hide his shock, and making Pansy believe for one moment that he was going to kiss her, which he of course wasn't, because there had only ever been one person he had wanted to kiss, before rising to his feet in a fluid motion and saying: "Thank you for your visit my ladies, but I am rather tired and have promised father that I would visit him before going to bed."  
The girls looked at him in utter bewilderment, but as expected, they rose as well and only smiled politely.  
"What a pity, Dray," Daphne said.  
Wanting to have the girls out as soon as possible he only shrugged nonchalantly, saying: "Well, that is the disadvantage of having my father as a teacher at Hogwarts."  
"Just come and find us if you can't sleep later on," Pansy said and opened his door again.  
He did not reply as he watched the girls leave, and as soon as his door had clicked shut again, he threw a silencing barrier up and screamed in utter outrage.  
What had Potter done to him? What had the stupid Gryffindor done wrong with his resurrection?  
He has never had the problem of getting hard, in fact, he could even will a hard-on any time of the day, especially when he was in a mood like now and needed the release to calm down. But no, Potter had to mess with him and now he could not even fuck anymore to get all his anger over the little raven out!  
How should he deal with the Golden Boy now? That had been his only outlet for years and Potter had taken it away from him!  
He threw a curse at a vase which stood in one corner, making it explode. For the next 30 minutes, he hexed, screamed, ranted and cursed, until his room was nearly destroyed.  
He fell back onto the sofa feeling utterly exhausted all of the sudden. His anger was still not completely gone. Potter, oh how he hated him, ever since...  
Green eyes appeared in front of his mind, much too bright and much too beautiful and suddenly, he was rock hard and throbbing in the confinement of his trousers like never before.  
Screaming again in fury, he swore that he would get his revenge. Scarhead would not get away with this!


	25. Chapter 25: Courtship Contract & Attack

**Chapter 25: A Courtship Contract and an Attack**

 **LM**

Two weeks or 14 days. Lucius Malfoy would never have guessed that he would last that long before his temper snapped, but he had.  
He had restrained himself and believed in the common sense which had to be buried somewhere deep inside his son and their little submissive, but storming down to the dungeons with a cloak that billowed so impressively behind him that it could rival his best friend's, he knew that he could not take it any longer.  
In the past three weeks he had watched Draco and Harry fighting the most childish fights all over Hogwarts, he had ever witnessed: They had shoved and hexed each other, insulted each other, their friends and School Houses, had tried to damage each other's property and homework and had generally all but forgotten their mating bond as a result. The first few days had already been bad, but suddenly the day after the Potion's Class, where his friend had forced his son and mate to work together on a Potion, it had gotten much worse.  
Well, maybe not forgotten. For Draco the bond was the cause for his inadequate behaviour and for Harry it was the reason for avoiding nearly all contact with him and Lucius could not say what drove him more insane. Since Harry's first training lesson with Dumbledore, the boy had not even given him a kiss on the cheek. He had seen that the child had wanted to explain himself, just before his son had yanked him away from him, and since then Harry had been avoiding even him so thoroughly, that he had never actually gotten an explanation. Instead, his sweet and beloved Harry went to class, sneaked out with his friends, met with the old fool in the Chamber of Secrets to train, and then sneaked back up into his father's rooms.  
He actually had no idea what was going on in his submissive's life anymore; the only information he got was from Severus and that mostly concerned Harry's extra lessons (which were going even better than expected) and his Potion Classes (where the boy turned out to be rather decent after he had finally started a curriculum which matched his age).  
But he would have been able to give his two younger mates at least another week or two to solve the situation on their own if he had not just stumbled across a situation which clearly had gotten out of hand.

 **Flashback:**

Lucius had finally ended his last class for this day, which had consisted of First Year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, and had decided to pay his best friend a quick visit. Severus and he had been friends since the Potions Genius' First and his Third Year, but since their graduation they had seen each other much too rarely due to Severus' duties as the (supposed) spy at Hogwarts.  
So he had taken his beloved cane, locked his classroom door and made his way down to the gloomy dungeons. He had not been concentrating on his path since he knew the way by heart still from his own days as a student and his visits as a member of the Board of Governors, thinking that he liked the idea of a glass of wine and a game of chess with his friend to finish a busy work day.  
Rounding the last corner he instantly froze when he suddenly heard his son's voice:  
"Stay away from the dungeons, scarhead! They are my territory and you neither have business with my father nor with my godfather!"  
Glancing carefully around the corner, Lucius saw the two boys laying entangled on the ground, his son having Harry pinned down beneath his larger frame. Despite the situation, Harry did not seem in the least bit intimidated but glared back fiercely.  
"I do have a business with your father and the relationship between Severus and myself has changed a lot as well. So let go of me, before I hex you!" Harry sneered back, even though Lucius knew that their submissive would never use a spell strong enough to get his second dominant off of him; his conscience would forbid him such an action, as would his submissive's instincts.  
A low growl started to vibrate threateningly in his son's chest and he growled: "Stop fucking with someone who is already married you little slut!"  
A hurt and confusion shortly flashed through Harry's beautiful green eyes, before they hardened and grew cold like Lucius had never seen them before. "Your father is my mate, my dominant and like it or not, I will not stop fucking with him. Even if we were not bound by fate, it would still be far too good to stop!"  
In the next moment, a sickening crack sounded as his son punched Harry in his face, hard enough to break the small vampire's nose. Lucius saw the regret in Draco's ice blue eyes instantly as he realized that he had gone too far, but it was too late:  
In the next moment, Harry used his son's surprise, shoved him off of his body and pinned the other boy to the ground himself. With shock, Lucius noticed that Draco's punch had not only broken Harry's nose but also cracked his skull, as blood dripped from the back of his head to the ground. But the boy did not seem to notice it as he snarled:  
"You can starve to death Draco Malfoy! Soulmate or not, I don't care! Don't come begging me when you finally realize that you need me after all! I don't know why I even brought you back; you should have just stayed dead!"  
And then the little raven turned like a furious thunder cloud and stormed up to his private quarters.  
For a moment Draco laid on the ground in frozen shock, the reality of what he had just done catching up with him, before his face suddenly closed off again and he sneered in the direction in which Harry had left, before getting to his feet, straightening his robes and disappearing to his own quarters.

 **End of Flashback**

Lucius did not even bother knocking, he only snapped the password and entered the private quarters of his friend. He would end this charade now; he would not longer stand by and let it play itself out. Neither Draco, nor Harry would like his solution; Harry would probably not even understand the significance of what he was about to do, but Draco would and that was enough of a start.  
"Severus!" he called and a second later his friend stepped out of his private Potions Lab, the scowl instantly disappearing from his face as the man saw his furious expression.  
"What is it, Lucius?" Severus asked and went over to a cabinet where he had stored a very expensive and very good bottle of Whiskey, which had been altered with blood since his last visit.  
Accepting a glass of the amber liquid, Lucius sat down in the armchair across from his little submissive's father, before saying: "I want us to sign a Courtship Contract for Harry and Draco."  
His friend blinked once, then seemed to get over his surprise and asked: "What leads you to this decision? Has something happened?"  
Lucius smirked, Severus knew him too well. "Sadly it has. My son just went too far and the situation ended with Harry declaring that he can starve for all he cares."  
"Please elaborate, I cannot imagine my son making such a threat rashly; even though he often is a rash Gryffindor, but he is generally too kind-hearted for such an outburst," his friend said, shock obvious in his black eyes.  
Sighing, Lucius started to tell the unpleasant story: "I do not know how the fight started, but I found them just in front of your quarters, Draco had pinned Harry to the ground and was just telling him to stop fucking with a married man."  
Severus winced but motioned for him to continue.  
"Harry just told him, that he would not stop, not even if he and I were not blood bound, because the sex is just too good. Apparently Draco does not realize how young and shy our mate still is... but that does not matter right now; what matters is the fact that my son had thereupon broken Harry's nose and cracked his skull on the stone floor," Lucius finished and took another huge gulp of Whiskey, needing it to calm down.  
"I already suspected that you and my son do not actually do a lot together just yet on a sexual level," Severus mused.  
"No, he is still too young and needs time to adjust. The mating was an exception; we were both out of our minds then and I protected his mind for the ritual, as you know," Lucius replied.  
"Maybe there was more to the shyness than merely his age, after all, he had felt that something was missing in your bond."  
Frowning, Lucius asked: "Do you mean to say that he did not want to go any further than touching, because of Draco?"  
"I think it probably was a mixture of both. He is still very young and will need some time, even after he has also mated with Draco, but as a submissive he is also very sensitive to the emotional aspects of your bond. Submissives are generally very sensitive, so I do not doubt that is why Harry reacted the way he did. Even though he never particularly liked Draco, he must have had a basic form of trust in him due to his instincts, which recognized him as his second mate. I do not like to say it Lucius, but your son has probably managed to destroy all fragile pieces of hope which had resided in Harry," Severus sighed heavily.  
"He has," Lucius admitted, not seeing a reason to deny it or defend Draco's action. To hit and abuse a submissive was even worse than to hit a woman, because their instincts turned off all natural mistrust and caution, replacing it with a deeply embedded trust in their dominant and making them nearly unable to defend themselves from his mates. That Harry had even had the power to shove Draco off was remarkable, but then again, Harry was no typical submissive.  
"Well then," Severus interrupted his brooding. "I think a Courtship Contract is a good idea given the circumstances. Draco will have to accept Harry as his given betrothed fiancé this way. Being a Pureblood, he will not disobey you; you are still his father, even more so because he ignores the fact that you two are mates now as well."  
Lucius nodded, that was exactly what he had planned. It was common among the old Pureblood families for the parents decided on their children's future spouses. Draco was not only brought up to accept this rule, it was even written down in their ancestry book, making it a legal family law, nearly as unbreakable as an unbreakable vow. Furthermore, his son's sense of honour would forbid him from continuing to treat Harry badly after the child had become his fiancé.  
"Do you want to be included in the contract?" Severus asked, getting straight to business.  
"Yes, but not as an active participant. We will only mention me as Harry's first mate so that it will be clear that Draco will join us in our mating bond at the end," he explained.  
"Then we should use an adapted version of a polygamy contract, with the mating at the end and no actual marriage," Severus concluded.  
Nodding, Lucius said: "I am not opposed to a proper marriage some day, but we do not know when it will be safe for us to marry officially, and with that type of contract, we would have to marry in the end."  
"I afraid we have to call Albus then. You cannot write down your own Courtship Contract, not even as Ministry Official," Severus said and went over to his fireplace. Frowning, Lucius watched his friend tossing some floo powder into the fire and kneeling down in front of the green flames. He really did not like the old Headmaster very much, but then Dumbledore was a member of the Wizengamot and thus the safest option of a Ministry Official they could get.  
As Lucius had expected, the Headmaster immediately had time for them. The old man seemed to have an extra sense for things concerning Harry, but his twinkling eyes dimmed a bit when he saw their serious faces.  
"What can I do for you, my boys?"  
Lucius watched him sitting down in a second armchair, which he had just conjured. It was a fluffy red monstrosity, which did not fit in with Severus' quarters at all.  
Severus cleared his throat saying: "We need you in your position as a member of the Wizengamot Albus," before explaining the whole situation.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry stormed into his living room where his two best friends were waiting for him. Tears pricked in the corners of his eyes and anger seemed to burn his skin, but he ignored both sensations, desperately struggling to keep his swirling magic in check. It had always been difficult for him to not lash out with his power, but the boost of magic his transformation had given him made it even more complicated.  
Right now he hated Draco Malfoy more than ever before! How dare the little ferret punch him? Former rivals or not, they were mates now and it was about time that the boy accepted that!  
And the punch had hurt so much, not particularly physically, but to be hit by one of his dominants, who should protect and cherish him, had hurt deep down in his soul and heart like no physical injury could ever hurt. He felt violated and betrayed and his heart hurt. His soul had already accepted his second mate and to be treated like this was the worst feeling he had ever felt. Tears pricked at his eyes again and he had to take a huge breath to calm himself, even though it did nothing anymore for his body.  
He had known that Draco was not happy about the situation and even angry, but his instincts had always calmed him down and told him that Draco would come around and never honestly harm him, that it was impossible for a dominant to seriously injure their submissive, but he should have known better. It had already taken a miracle to get him and Lucius together, but with him and Draco it would be impossible. Tears started to spill at this realization, but he quickly wiped them away.  
Ron and Hermione sprang to their feet as they saw him, bloody because the wound on the back of his head and his broken nose had by now covered his white shirt and expensive waistcoat.  
A sickening crack could be heard as his broken nose jumped back into its place and an even more sickening crunching sound echoed through the room as the split pieces of his skull connected again.  
"Harry, what happened?" Ron asked, taking a step towards Harry.  
"Oh Harry, you are injured!" Hermione exclaimed, grabbing him by his arm. "Let's take you to the hospital."  
Trying for a reassuring smile, although he had the feeling it came out anything but, he told her: "No, it's already healed."  
"Really? Don't you dare think about lying to me only because you don't want to go to the hospital wing," Hermione scolded him.  
"Mione, Harry would not lie about this," Ron tried to calm her, but the witch still seemed very agitated.  
Sighing in defeat, Harry asked her: "Do you want to check?"  
Hermione nodded and he turned his back to her so that she could get a look at his head. It really came in handy right now, that he was even smaller than her. Her finger carefully moved his thick and bloody hair to the side, and then touched the place where it had been broken softly. Hermione shrieked and then exclaimed: "I can feel it growing back together!"  
Ron made a choking sound and Harry quickly ruffled through his hair to make it cover his injury again.  
"Is he now allowed to tell us what happened?" Ron asked and slumped back down on the sofa where he had been sitting before. Harry sat down across from him in an armchair and Hermione went to sit next to Ron, looking at him expectantly as well.  
Not feeling like going into too many details, he shrugged and said very nonchalantly: "Malfoy happened."  
"The older or the younger one?" Ron asked irritably and Hermione hit him square on the head: "The younger one of course; Lucius Malfoy is a teacher and he would never hit a student."  
Ron snorted: "I thought you didn't trust him?"  
"I don't, not as part of the Order. But now he is a teacher and Dumbledore has his eye on him," Hermione explained.  
Snorting, Harry commented dryly: "Because Albus always noticed the evil guys in an instant." Ignoring the glare that was shot his way, he explained: "I met him down in the dungeons, I had planned on visiting dad, but unfortunately I ran into him."  
"And he just punched you?" Hermione asked with a lifted eyebrow, apparently not believing that he had not done anything either.  
Thinking about how he could describe the problem, he told her: "Apparently he knows my mate as well and was not happy that... we are dating."  
A wide grin spread over Ron's face: "So, you stole poor ferret face's crush from him?" The redhead continued snickering and even Hermione's lips twitched slightly, but he had to wince inwardly; he didn't know if the truth was better or worse, or if maybe Ron had hit closer to home than he would ever like to know. But no, his father had told him that Draco and Lucius have never had that kind of relationship.  
"He must have punched you really hard," Hermione said, her eyes hardening.  
He had to admit, that she probably had no idea how hard someone had to punch to injure a vampire like that, but then again, Draco had more power as a dominant; so for the boy it probably had felt like nothing.  
"Don't worry, Harry," Ron said, the grin disappearing from his face as well. "The next time we see that little son of a..."  
"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed in indignation, cutting his rant off.  
Smirking, he told his friend: "Well, I did get in a good punch myself."  
"Oh, you haven't, have you?" Hermione scolded, but her scowl was not as deep as usual, apparently torn between not wanting to break any rules and thinking that Draco really would deserve a broken nose again.  
"My comeback was more of a verbal nature, but it was a good one," he soothed her.  
"You really should stop spending so much time with Malfoy...the older one, I mean... you already sound just like him," Ron muttered.  
"Let's not think about it any longer, I would rather like to play a game of chess," he told his friends and stood up to fetch his chess board.  
"If you go to your bedroom, you could change into something clean," Hermione said and pointed at the back of the cream-colored leather armchair where a red spot adorned the backrest.  
Nodding, he left his friends alone for a moment and went into his bedroom. Classes had ended for the day, so he would just change. He chose an outfit that was black with the exception of the white button down beneath the waistcoat and then picked up his chess set with his still slightly reluctant pieces and went back to join his friends.  
He had just entered the living room again, when searing anger shot through him and he dropped the board with a loud gasp, falling to his knees as Voldemort's feelings overwhelmed him. Anger, stronger than anything he had ever experienced before and a hatred so deep that it could destroy the world.  
Sweat adorned his forehead, his vision blurred and as his feelings mixed with Voldemort's, he could not differentiate between the Dark Lord and his own anymore. He hen hissed:  
"Potter! That impertinent brat! Oh, I will kill you, I will kill you for sure and it will be the most painful and horrible death the world has ever witnessed!"  
His muscles cramped and nausea rose in his throat as the anger peaked one last time before his vision cleared suddenly and the sensation disappeared as suddenly as it had brought him down to his knees. Lifting his head, he saw his friend's faces pale and anxiously hovering above him.  
"Harry?" Hermione's voice was shaking and she steadied herself with the aid of Ron's arm.  
"Voldemort...he has finally attacked," he croaked out, finally starting to feel normal again, with the exception of his burning muscles.  
"What happened?" Ron asked, now holding onto Hermione as well so that it nearly looked as if the two were embracing each other and a small smile tugged on his lips before he grew stern again.  
" I believe his attack did not go as planned."  
A second wide grin spread over Ron's face, but he reminded him: "We don't know yet whether everybody got away. We have to fetch dad and then go to Potter Manor." Turning around, he shouted: "Oscar, Nagini, Justitius!" The three creatures only needed a moment, Nagini had grabbed Justitius with her tail and slithered at such a high speed into the living room, that it frightened even him as Oscar popped in with a silent pop.  
 _"Your former captor attacked, we have to go to the safe house,"_ he repeated his sentence in parseltongue for Nagini's benefit and Justitius quickly attached himself to his black sleeve where he was nearly invisible.  
He wanted to run ahead, but he was only able to take a single step, before his abused muscled protested and he would have fallen if Hermione had not grabbed him quickly.  
"I hope your father has some of those Potions," Ron muttered as he scooped him up into his arms. Blushing, he held onto his friend with trembling hands; it somehow felt strange to be carried by a boy who he had always believed was as old as him and who viewed him not only as a friend but also as a strong hero.  
"Ron, you don't have to carry me, I can walk myself," Harry muttered in embarrassment, but Ron only started walking and said: "No Harry, you clearly can't right now."  
Hermione followed Ron's quick space, nearly running as they left his quarters with Nagini and Oscar following behind. They forgot to use the shortcuts in their excitement and many students watched them with curious looks as they quickly went down to the dungeons.  
The dungeons were as cold and gloomy as an hour ago. Harry led the way to his father's private quarters because Ron and Hermione actually had no idea where they were located and he was about to say the password, when a drawling voice called out to them:  
"Weasel, Granger, what are you doing down here?" Draco stepped into the corridor behind them. A pang of hurt went through his heart at the sound of that voice, but apparently the blonde boy had not seen him in Ron's arm, but his dominants eyes widened a fraction as his red-ringed eyes landed on him. Harry knew that he was still trembling all over and even without the keen eyes of a vampire it probably was noticeable. What he looked like besides the trembling, he had no idea, but he supposed that he had to look like shit if the flicker of something in Draco's eyes was any indication, or his mate was just shocked to see him so soon again.  
"Piss of ferret face, we have no time to deal with you right now, but I promise you that I will do that later," Ron growled and turned his back to the blonde again. Looking over his best friend's shoulder, Harry saw Draco sneering at them, his glamoured fangs flashing threateningly. He could clearly see his mate's eyes wander over Ron's arm, which supported his butt and his friend's hand, which supported his back.  
A low growl started to rise in his second mate's throat and he quickly threw him a warning glare as he saw Hermione look around in confusion, as she searched for the cause of the sound.  
 _"Shall I bite your annoying mate?"_ Nagini hissed from her spot on the ground but rose as she spoke. Draco took a cautious step back and Harry wondered if the children of Death Eaters were even more afraid of the snake because they had heard more stories about what the reptile was able to do.  
 _"No, that won't be necessary. Maybe later,"_ Harry replied and pulling his gaze from his mate. He muttered his father's password, silently enough so that neither Ron nor Hermione could hear anything. The door swung open and without acknowledging Draco with another look Ron, with Harry still in his arms along with Hermione, Nagini and Oscar quickly went into the quarters.  
Three sets of eyes turned to them and he blinked in surprise at the sight of his father, his first dominant and his mentor sitting around a small coffee table, which was nearly overflowing with stacks of parchments.  
"Harry!" His father said, his dark eyes scanning his frame quickly and thoroughly, but before the man could say anything else, Draco's voice once again interrupted them: "Father! What are you doing here?"  
Getting annoyed with his second mate, Harry cut him off: "That's not important right now. Voldemort attacked, we have to go to the Safe House and check if everybody is fine!"  
Dumbledore, Lucius, and his father were instantly on their feet.  
"Is your floo connected to the Manor?" Albus asked and he nodded.  
"Then let us not lose any more time," Lucius announced and took his cane from where it was leaning against his armchair.  
"Harry still needs a potion," Hermione suddenly said and his father quickly went over to a shelf, before going over to the door which leads directly to his quarters and waving them through.  
They excited at the other end and Albus went ahead to his living room. Searching for Hermione he asked: "Could you inform the young Order before joining us?"  
The girl nodded and turned on her heels, before disappearing again into the corridor.  
Albus meanwhile had grabbed the pot with his floo powder and that was when Ron suddenly stopped them. "You're still here? Piss off, ferret boy!"  
Turning around once more, Harry saw Draco standing close behind them.  
"I will not be left behind when you and your little hero take my father on Merlin-knows-what kind a dangerous adventure!" The blonde announced arrogantly, but his eyes were fixed on him and for a moment, he thought that he saw a flicker of a feeling besides hatred in those icy pools, but it was so quickly gone that he wasn't sure.  
Ron snorted and shot back: "You just beat Harry up, as if we would let you join us when you have not even joined the Order."  
Harry wanted to say something, but Lucius was quicker: "We will talk about everything later, Draco."  
Hoping that Lucius knew what he was doing because he himself could not currently read Draco, he quickly said: "Let's go Ron, we have already lost enough time. He is not worth arguing with right now." His friend sneered one last time at the younger blonde and then sat him back on to the ground, giving him the potion's vial Severus had just handed him.  
Downing the strong Pain Potion, he felt his muscles relax immediately and motioned for Nagini to wind herself around his body. The snake gave the fireplace a filthy look but did as told and a moment later they swirled away to Potter Manor.  
He had never seen the Entry Hall before that he currently found himself in. It was big enough that whole Privet Drive would have fit into it. The ground was covered with a light, auburn marble, in which he could see swirls of gold inside of it. White hangings framed room-high windows and in the corners stood many green plants with beautiful and colourful flowers. Many people chattered anxiously with each other while standing together in smaller and bigger groups and Harry could hear a few babies and small kids screaming.  
House Elves were running around, offering drinks and apparently disappearing to the guest's homes to retrieve some clothes and other utensils on request. It was an utter chaos, but he was relieved that everybody seemed fine at the first sight. Some had a few scratches; one woman had her arm bandaged, but nothing major. He was also happy to see that Oscar had established his own uniform for all the other elves as well and that they all looked very healthy and content.  
Looking around, he could see the Creevey's, the Patil's, the Bell's and even Hermione's parents, Anna and Michael, and he felt a wave of relief that Hermione had asked him to invite them to the meeting two weeks ago. Anna was also the first one who noticed him and as she exclaimed his name, everybody in the room fell silent.  
Behind him, the fireplace flared again and Ron came out, closely followed by Dumbledore, his father, and his two mates. A loud gasp went through the crowd and for the first time he thought that at least Lucius and Draco should have stayed behind; so much for keeping them safe, but it was too late for that now. Besides, he really was not in the mood to spend any time with them right now, especially not with Draco.  
But that still didn't mean that he wished for them to be found out, so hopefully Dumbledore would know a spell or something to keep his guest from telling anybody about the aristocrats. He would have to ask him later on, but for now, he first needed to greet everyone.  
Clearing his throat, he stepped a bit closer to the gathered crowd and lifted a hand, and surprisingly found that was enough to silence them again.  
"I hope you all arrived safely and without further injuries. Hermione is informing your children, so they should join us soon. Is there any family who is missing someone?" He asked looking around. A wave of relief washed over him when the people in front of him shook their heads.  
Albus stepped up beside him and placed a questioning hand on his shoulder, before speaking up himself: "I informed the aurors and the Order; we are currently checking your homes and if they are safe again and try to find out if any other families have been attacked."  
The people nodded, but still eyed his mates and father suspiciously. Thinking that he had to say something to explain their presence, Harry said: "I promise you that I will never let anybody enter this house who cannot be trusted. To defeat an opponent as strong and intelligent as the Dark Lord, sources from inside his circle are needed."  
A flicker of understanding flitted through the eyes in front of him and his guests started to look a little more at ease, so he continued: "I already noticed that my elves have started bringing you some things from your homes. They will also show you your rooms, which you can live in until it is safe to return back to your own houses. They will try to give every family their own room, but I am not sure if that will be possible, so I hope you can bear with sharing with someone else for the time being."  
His father stepped forwards then and announced: "Mr. Malfoy and I will go around and heal any injuries. I can promise you that we are both skilled in healing."  
This time the nodding of the crowd was even more hesitant, but it was well known that Severus was the world's best Potion Master and Lucius Malfoy a recognized healer, so there was no actual protest. The two men started to make their way through the crowd, stopping at people who needed healing.  
Harry looked down at Oscar and asked his little elf: "Is there an elf who is in charge if you are not here?"  
Oscar nodded and said: "Elf is called Annie, sir."  
"Annie!" He called and old female house elf, which reminded him of Minerva McGonagall with her stern look, appeared in front of him.  
"Welcome Master Harry Severus James Potter," the elf greeted him and he blinked a bit bewildered at the use of his full name.  
"Your name is Annie, right?" he asked politely, feeling as if he was being scrutinized by a stern chaperone.  
"Yes, I is Annie, young Master," Annie replied.  
"Are all the guest rooms prepared?"  
"We prepared all guest rooms and even the servant rooms and in the kitchen is enough food for everybody," Annie informed him.  
"Good. Were there any complaints until now?" He inquired, scanning the gathering shortly.  
"No sir. Is sir and mates staying this night as well?" Annie asked suddenly and Harry turned quickly around to check if Ron had listened in on their conversation, but the redhead had moved over to the crowds of people and was answering questions right now.  
"No," he answered finally. "We have to return to Hogwarts for the evening, but I will try to come by every day as long as we have guests. And please Annie, tell every elf that it is a secret to whom I am mated."  
Annie slammed her hand to her mouth. "Has Annie endangered Master's mates by speaking about them?" The female elf asked, her eyes wide in horror.  
"Nobody was listened in, so nothing happened, but please don't call them my mates until I say so, or no one else besides Lucius, Draco, I, Albus, and my father are here."  
Annie nodded in relief and then inquired. "Is Annie allowed to go again? Annie is helping guests."  
"You can leave," Harry said and the female elf disappeared again.  
Rightening himself again, he turned around and caught Draco quickly averting his eyes. Had the blonde been watching him the whole time? To be honest, he would like to know what was going on in that stupid head of his. Even as a newly transformed vampire, he had recognized the bond between himself and Lucius and Slytherins were supposed to be much more attentive, so he really had a hard time in believing that the boy hadn't noticed anything.  
He honestly was still angry and stood by his words to not let Draco drink from him until the boy had recognized their connection in some way and apologized, but he at least felt bad for telling his mate that he should have stayed dead. He never had been a person to wish someone such a fate, but the pain of having been hurt by his dominant, who was supposed to care for him, had just been too great.  
He honestly had no idea how they would ever end their pathetic tussles. He knew Lucius was getting angry and that the older blonde felt as miserable as he himself, and so probably Draco, but he really didn't know how they would break out of the endless cycle of insults; right now even less than this morning. Harry honestly had started to believe that there was no way that they would ever get along with each other and he did not even want his second mate anymore.  
In the beginning he had been shocked, but also accepting. That was why he had offered his quarter to the older boy and had tried to stay calm and understanding, but his understanding had been extinguished only an hour ago. Maybe he would forgive Draco after a proper apology, they were blood mates after all, destined by fate to be with each other, but not before that had happened and even then he was not sure right now.  
Nagini slithered down his body and started to inspect the Manor. From his shoulder came a questioning chirp; Justitius had learned by now that he had to ask before fluttering away when they were in a new environment and Harry chuckled silently. "You can accompany Nagini if you want, but don't get lost."  
Justitius pushed off from his arm, fluttering glaringly around Draco's head once, before he quickly followed the other familiar. Ignoring his affronted looking second mate, he went over to Albus and asking: "How will the aurors reach us?"  
"I sent Fawkes to Kingsley. Your guardians will probably use your Hogwarts floo to join us as soon as they are finished," Albus answered silently, leading them a short distance away from everybody.  
Harry had the feeling that he was being watched again, and sure enough as he turned around, his eyes once more met the cold, ice blue ones of Draco. Why the blonde couldn't just admit that they were not rivals any longer was a mystery to him, especially because the blonde had clearly been jealous as he had seen him in Ron's arms. Lucius knew about the brotherly relationship he shared with his best friend, but his older mate had promised his father to not give his secrets away, so Draco was still none the wiser.  
He could only imagine what kind of battle Draco's feelings fought inside of him right now and he almost could have pitied the blonde, if he had not crossed a forbidden line today.  
"Harry," Albus pulled him back to the present and he looked up into the blue eyes of his old mentor.  
"I would like to install a memory charm above the entrance door so that our guest will not be able to tell anybody that they have seen Lucius and Draco at your Manor."  
Harry sighed in relief that this problem would be taken care of, but one thing still puzzled him. "Why not do that with my father as well?" He asked with a frown.  
"Because it will help him if Tom learns that his spy is trusted enough by both of us to bring him along. Tom is intelligent enough to know that his spy could not have stopped both of us, so he will be safe enough."  
Suddenly Dumbledore's head snapped around and with a gleam in his eyes, Harry could only describe as Maraudish, he fixed his gaze on Draco, who was still watching them. A well-known feeling entered his stomach as if the man once again had an unpleasant surprise prepared for him, or them in this case and suddenly he felt the strong urge to run away and hide somewhere.  
His thoughts were once again interrupted when the floo started to flare green again and Hermione stepped out, followed by members of the Young Order, one after the other. He watched his school mates run to their families, whilst Hermione brushed off her skirt and waved at him, before checking on their own parents.  
A pop sounded next to him and Annie announced: "Tea, sandwiches, and cake is served in the ballroom, Master."  
"Thank you, Annie," he said and then lifted his wand to his throat, muttering: "Sonorous!"  
Clearing his throat with his magically enhanced voice, he waited patiently until everybody had turned around once more. It took much longer this time because many parents were hugging their children, relieved to have escaped Voldemort and his Death Eaters.  
But finally everybody had quieted down and he said: "My elves have prepared sandwiches, tea and cake for everybody in the ballroom, so I would suggest following one of them because, to be honest, this is my first time in Potter Manor as well." He grinned widely and silent chuckles could be heard before Oscar popped in front of two huge double doors and motioned for everybody to follow him.  
He and his friends stayed behind, so did Dumbledore, his father, and his two mates. They all came over quickly to him as the last wizard had left the entrance hall, only Draco stood a bit to the side, but Harry knew that the blonde was listening intensively.  
"I stopped some other students and by now nearly everybody should know that they should check on their families," Hermione said.  
Nodding, he leaned against his father tiredly, who instantly wrapped an arm around him and pulled him closer. The flashes of Voldemort's anger were much better than the visions he had suffered before, but it still left him very tired and exhausted afterward. A silent grumbling started to vibrate through the hall, but before his friends could notice anything, Lucius snapped: "Draco, pull yourself together!"  
Ron and Hermione exchanged an irritated look with him, not understanding why the older aristocrat had just exploded, but he only shrugged and made a gesture to his father like small kids did when they wanted to be lifted up. His father snorted in amusement but granted his wish and Harry could practically feel the irritation radiating from his younger mate.  
Suddenly a flame burst out between them and Fawkes materialized, a rolled up parchment in his beak.  
"Ah, that has to be from Kingsley," Dumbledore hummed and took the letter. His blue eyes scanned the note and a long sigh escaped him. "I fear, you will have to house your guests for quite a while," he said, looking at him.  
"What happened?" He asked, worry creeping into his heart.  
"Tom's followers cursed the houses and set traps. Apparently, they guessed that you somehow saved them, but they still tried to get to you somehow. The Order and aurors will need a while to clear all their houses."  
"At least they are safe here and my elves will care for them," he said with a sigh of his own. It could not just be easy for once.  
"They will," his father agreed and placed a soft kiss to his temple.  
Harry didn't need to turn around to know that Draco was glaring daggers again and he had the suspicion that Severus was not the blonde's favourite Professor right now.  
"You should go to your guest and tell them the news," Lucius said, just when the door separating the hall from the rest of the manor opened and Hermione's parents peered in.  
"Mum, dad," Hermione said and waved them over. The Grangers hesitatingly stepped inside and joined their little group; it was Michael who spoke first: "Anna and I have decided that we want to join your Order as well."  
A loud snort came from Draco's direction and Harry, Lucius, and Severus shot him simultaneous glares.  
Anna flushed, but she was not a shy woman and as intelligent as her daughter, so she just explained: "As parents, you hear or listen to things even though you don't plan on doing so, so over the years we have come to know quite a lot about you, Harry. As we understand it, there is a binding contract for every Order Member, which will not allow us to give any secrets away, we want to protect our daughter and you and Ron as well, that is why we want to join."  
Michael nodded in agreement and then added: "Besides, we could keep our eyes open for any strange happenings in the muggle world."  
"I see no reason why you should not join, in fact, I think it's a good idea," Harry said with a pointed look at Draco and then asked: "Do you two want to join now?"  
The two Grangers nodded and he pulled his wand out, before saying: "I need to touch your chest above your hearts with my wand."  
Anna flushed a bit, but nodded and opened the first button of her blouse.  
Harry was immensely grateful that she did not make a show like Ginny had done; but then again, no other girl had behaved like that. Some of his female schoolmates had flushed, some even giggled and he had assumed that his child-like appearance had set them at ease, even though they did not know his real age.  
Lifting his wand, he said: "I, Harry Severus James Potter confirm you, Anna Granger, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will hold our secrets and dedicate your life to the fight against the rising darkness."  
Hermione's mother gasped, as she felt the contract forming between them, but she did not flinch.  
After the spell had settled, Harry moved on to Michael, who had unbuttoned his white shirt and placed his wand over his heart as well, repeating the binding spell. Michael didn't even make a sound, but Harry could see him take in a deep breath as his magic worked between them.  
"Now I know why my daughter trusts you so much with this war, even though you are not older than her," the man said. "Your magic feels immensely powerful."  
"It is," Hermione affirmed with a smile at her dad.  
After the Grangers were decently dressed again, Harry turned back to the rest of the group: "Should we go to the ballroom now and then return to Hogwarts, just in case...?"  
"Indeed," Lucius agreed. "The Dark Lord can summon Severus and I at any moment and we still have a lot to discuss as soon as we are back at Hogwarts. So we should return after you have informed everyone."  
Calling for Oscar, he asked the elf to show them the way to the other guest and they followed him into a connecting hallway, which was lined with many portraits of wizards and witches with thick, dark brown or black and often very messy hair; apparently the Potter versions of the silver Malfoy-hair. The portraits watched him curiously, apparently clearly recognizing him as a relative and Harry would have liked to stop and talk to some of them, but today was not the day for getting to know his late family.  
The ballroom was located at the very end of the hallway and he could hear low chattering even before his eyes had settled on the double door made from light wood. The room they stepped into was as big as the Great Hall and a polished, marble floor reflected the light from many candles and fireplaces along the walls.  
The elves had set up many little round tables and a long buffet was arranged along the right wall. At the far end, Harry could see a couple of glass doors leading to a beautiful garden, but they were currently closed.  
Anna and Michael headed for the table, where Augusta, Neville, Luna and her father Xenophilius sat, and Harry assumed that they had already gotten to know each other. Augusta for once looked slightly less stern than normal and started to instantly chat with Anna animatedly.  
"That is the oddest group I have ever seen," Ron commented and Harry could hear Draco sneer behind him.  
"It is," he agreed. "But as long as they get along everything is fine."  
Albus joined them as well, with a content twinkle in his eyes. "Well then my boy. Maybe you want to step onto the stand over there?" His mentor asked and pointed to their left.  
The idea of actually stepping onto a stage was nothing Harry actually wanted to think about, so he quickly shook his head and simply cast the sonorous once more, before clearing his throat loudly:  
"I am sorry, but I have to interrupt you once more," he began and all eyes turned to him again.  
"The aurors and members of the Order have checked your houses, but it seems as if the Death Eaters set many traps and dark curses up."  
Angry muttering arose and he had to wait a long moment until everybody listened again.  
"I know it is not perfect, but you are all welcome to stay at my house as long as necessary." He ended the spell on his voice and Dumbledore took up the explanation:  
"Harry, Draco, Professor Snape, Professor Malfoy and I will return to Hogwarts, all other students are allowed to stay here for another few hours, but I expect everybody to be in their dorms when curfew starts."  
Harry turned to Ron and Hermione and asked: "Would you two like to stay for a bit longer?"  
Hermione looked over to her parents and then nodded. "If you don't need me right now, I at least would like to stay."  
With a glance at the two blondes, who stood next to each other, silently watching everything that was going on around them, he told her. "Lucius mentioned that we have something to discuss; I think it's about Draco and me, so there is no need for you to return already,"  
"I think that is reason enough to come with you and not stay," Ron muttered and glared at Draco.  
Shaking his head, Harry explained: "You there will not help the situation. Draco and I cannot go on like this and your and Hermione's presence will only make him even more defensive." He knew that those words were true, but he honestly did not plan on making it easy for the blonde either, but he did not have to tell that to Hermione or he would get an ear full.  
Crossing his arms, he glared at the prat as well and Ron grinned as if knowing what he was thinking. His friend leaned slightly forwards and whispered: "There is really no reason to be noble towards a ferret."  
"No, there isn't," he agreed, his voice cold. With the commotion over Voldemort's sudden attack, he had almost forgotten the hurt that had been caused by Draco's punch, but now the feeling was back full force. His right hand lifted in front of his heart and clenched into a fist as the sensation of having been violated returned. No hit from his uncle's had ever hurt so much.  
"Harry, are you coming?" His father asked; his voice soft as if he knew what he was thinking.  
"I am coming," he answered and turned, his eyes fixed on his feet. He felt his mates' gazes on him, but could not look up; instead, as soon as they were alone in the hallway, he snuggled into his father's side, nearly disappearing into his billowing robes, feeling utterly small and vulnerable.  
His father growled softly above him, apparently as angry with Draco as he himself had been before and still was.  
"You go through first," Severus mumbled and pushed him gently into the fireplace in his Entrance Hall. Nodding, he grabbed some floo powder, but then turned again as he remembered that he still had to call for his familiars.  
"Someone else can go ahead; I have to wait for Nagini and Justitius."  
"Then call them, we will wait as well," Lucius ordered him and with a nod, he called for his familiars. This time they needed a moment longer than earlier, but finally he saw his snake slithering down the staircase at the other end of the hall, followed by his little bat. Without being asked, Nagini curled herself around his body and Justitius glared at Draco once again, before settling down on his shoulder.  
As he stepped into the fireplace again, he passed Draco and Nagini hissed threateningly. Normally, he would not allow the snake such behaviour, but with his second dominant he would make an exception; maybe the snake could save him from another punch, he would not go near the prat without her anymore, he decided.  
 _"Always stay by my side, if he is near,"_ he whispered to his snake.  
 _"He has hurt you,"_ Nagini said matter of factly.  
 _"Yes, he hit me,"_ he told her and Nagini actually gave a growling sound. " _He has a lot to make up for if he ever wants to come near you,"_ she hissed.  
Their conversation ended then as he threw the powder into the flames and shouted: "Founders Quarters, Hogwarts."  
A moment later he stumbled out into his living room. The next person following him was Draco, followed by the rest of their group. Lucius was currently discussing something with Dumbledore, both men looked very serious and for him that really didn't bode well, but before he could listen in, his older mate nodded and turned to him and his son: "Severus, Dumbledore and I will return in about an hour. You two will wait here and when I return, I expect to find no chaos. You two will refrain from insulting and hexing each other, if necessary, go to separate rooms. If I find one of you hurt, be it physically or mentally, you will not like the outcome of it."  
Gulping, Harry threw a questioning look at his father, but he only said: "I don't have to tell you to obey your mate do I?"  
Harry quickly shook his head, all his instincts screaming at him to just keep his trap shut and try to be invisible, even Dumbledore looked a mixture of angry and disappointed, an expression he had never seen on the old face and it was nearly as bad as the repentance he had seen the night when he had gone to his mentor's office to confront him.  
"Good," his father replied sternly and the three older men disappeared into his hallway.  
As soon as they were gone, Draco sneered at him.  
"Cut it out, Malfoy," he huffed. "I for once don't want to anger either your father nor Severus or Dumbledore even further." He went to his sofa and settled down with Nagini in his lap. It was really uncomfortable to sit in such a close proximity to Draco. Now the prat was finally quiet for once and only yesterday he would have used the opportunity to try and speak about their situation, but not anymore; he had enough of being the noble Gryffindor and the waiting submissive, he would not sit there waiting for his second mate to grace him with a single kind word and then break out into joy; he was not that kind of person.  
"Potter, do you have a library?" Draco asked suddenly, obviously feeling as uncomfortable as he himself.  
Smirking, Harry replied: "Of course I have, just down the hallway. Take whatever you would like."  
Draco gave him a slightly irritated look, obviously confused by his kindness, but stood up and left the room.  
Still smirking, Harry started to count the seconds until the blonde would explode. He had not insulted Draco, but he had not been particular kind just now either. Really, what did the blonde expect? That he would treat him like a king, grovel in front of his feet and offer all his belongings to him? The blonde would surely like that, he thought absentmindedly.  
He had just reached nine, when he finally heard the enraged shout: "Potter!"  
Nagini lifted her head and they both watched as the blonde stomped back inside.  
"Are you making fun of me?" Draco shouted.  
"No, you only asked whether I had a library, not if you could read one of my books. If you had asked that, I would have told you that they are all in Parselscript," he smirked and watched as his mate's hand balled into fists.  
"Do you not have any normal books?" the blonde growled.  
"No, Merlin and the Founders were a bit paranoid and so they wrote everything down in Parselscript." He conveniently forgot to mention that he could just add Draco's name to the list and he would be able to read them as well.  
Sneering, his second dominant sat down again and Harry called for Oscar.  
"What can Oscar do for Master Harry?" the elf asked eagerly.  
"Can you bring me some of the pumpkin juice?" He asked the little creature, needing something to hold onto.  
"Of course sir, does your guest wants something as well?" Oscar said the word guest in such a manner that it clearly sounded like an insult.  
Draco was already opening his mouth, but he quickly told his servant: "No, I am sure he wouldn't accept anything from me anyway; I am after all only a whore who fucks his married father." Like any proper Malfoy, he could see no reaction to his cruel words on his mate's face.  
"Oscar will be right back," The elf announced and popped out of the room, only to return a second later with a tray and a goblet of his father's self-made pumpkin juice.  
He saw Draco's nostrils flare as the scent of blood entered his nose and he wondered how his unwilling mate would react to the scent of his own blood. Draco continued glaring at him, whilst he sipped idly on his drink and pet Nagini lazily. The snake never took her eyes from his mate, who in turn never took his glare from him. Sighing, he hoped that the others would return soon so that he could hide away in his father's quarters once more. How could they put him into such an uncomfortable situation?  
Looking down at his familiar, he wondered, what they wanted to discuss with Draco and him, but then came to the conclusion that he rather did not want to find out, because he had the suspicion that it would get unpleasant soon. There were always bad surprises when Dumbledore was involved in a plan.  
He ignored the fact that the old man's last surprises had turned out to be better than he had expected them to be, especially the news about his git of a Potions Teacher being his father, but he was sure that this time would be different.  
One of his doors down the hallway opened and he asked: "Has it already been an hour?"  
Draco didn't answer, but Dumbledore strode in, an official looking folder under one arm and the twinkle back in his eyes. His father wordlessly sat down next to him and Lucius took the seat next to his own son and suddenly it dawned on him how serious this situation was; they really had overdone it with their fights and now they would have to pay the price.  
Gulping, he glanced over at Draco, who looked rather uncomfortable himself, but tried to contain his calm Malfoy demeanour.  
Dumbledore placed the folder on the low coffee table between them and then asked with a smile: "Who wants to start?"  
Lucius cleared his throat and then said: "Severus and I had hoped that you two will be able to overcome your little feud on your own, but after what I had witnessed this morning, it is clear that you two clearly are not able to."  
Harry winced as he realized that Lucius must have seen his and Draco's fight earlier.  
"Father!" Draco exclaimed and he knew that the blonde had just realized the same thing.  
"We," Lucius said and motioned between himself and Severus "are disappointed in both of you, but I have to say Draco that I would never have thought you capable of hitting your submissive mate."  
"He is not my mate!" Draco protested and his father added nonchalantly: "Or to be this ignorant." A glare from the man silenced his son again and Lucius continued: "That is why Professor Dumbledore, Severus and I have sat up a Courtship Contract for the both of you."  
Draco actually jumped to his feet, outrage and shock was clearly written all over his face, but Harry could only blink in confusion.  
"What is a Courtship Contract?" he asked with a look at his father, but it was Draco who answered with a sneer: "It's practically a Marriage Contract, we are betrothed, Potter!"  
"What?!" Harry shrieked and jumped up himself. "Oh no, I will not marry that prat!" he exclaimed, pointing at Draco. How could his father and Lucius actually think that he would agree to this after Draco had just mistreated him so violently? He would not do it.  
"Don't be so stupid, scarhead, we won't have a choice!" Draco snapped, alternating between glaring at him and his father.  
Harry could not believe what he had just heard. That couldn't be true. Why shouldn't they have a choice? Wasn't marriage voluntary?  
"But I won't do it!" He declared again, crossing his arms in front of his chest stubbornly, and Justitius obviously agitated because of his own agitation, started to flutter hectically over their heads.  
"You will, Harry, as will Draco." His father told him and pulled him back down onto the sofa. "He is actually right. In both of your families, it is the parents right to pick the spouse for their children."  
"I still won't do it! What do you think; that I will walk with him down the isle tomorrow?" Harry declared, actually glaring at his father.  
"Of course not," his father huffed and for a moment he was relieved, until he continued: "It would be too dangerous to actually marry, this is more a mating contract and you will start with going on dates."  
"Forget it!" Harry huffed back and then turned to Draco: "Why are you not saying anything? These last few days you couldn't shut your trap even once and now you are all silent."  
That question only got him another sneer: "Because they are right. We can't do anything about it, it's family law, and it's as binding as any other law."  
"As if I would ever want to mate with you!" Harry shouted, his face growing red with anger.  
"Well, as if I would want to fuck a dirty..."  
"Enough! Both of you!" Lucius snapped and Severus threw him a warning glare as well.  
Lucius took a deep breath and then flipped the folder down onto the desk and opened it: "The contract is already signed and thus, magically binding. You two will stop arguing now and listen."  
Harry nodded, his submissive instincts slowly coming back with his father and older mate angry and he snuggled into his father side, whilst Draco still glared, but was silent again as well.  
"I will explain now how this will work and you Harry, and you Draco, will do as told," Lucius said in an obedience demanding voice. "Like Severus has already explained, this contract ends with your mating," the older blonde said and looked between his two mates. "It is a polygamy contract, so there will be no problem with Harry's and my mating. We three, that means, Professor Dumbledore, Severus and I myself, will provide you with opportunities to court. There will be no chaperone involved, but I might join you on occasions." Lucius turned to his son then and he watched him giving the younger blonde a pointed look:  
"Draco, I taught you well and I hope you have not forgotten what it means to court a young lady or a submissive."  
"No father, I remember," Draco answered through gritted teeth.  
"I expect that you will not bring shame to our family name by behaving properly during your courtship. The circumstances might be not as you have expected, but I am as serious with this as I would have been with every other marriage for you. Do you understand?"  
"Yes, father," Draco repeated.  
Harry could only gape at the obedient blonde. Why didn't he say anything? He had always known that Draco liked to please his father, but he could not believe that he would go along with this, only because Lucius said so and some old family laws. What did it even mean when they said it was binding? Binding like muggle laws, or was there more behind it? Maybe he should ask Hermione in a few days when it was less suspicious to do so, or just look it up in his library.  
His father took the lead next and he looked up again: "Harry, I expect the same from you. I know that you do not know a lot about contract marriage, but I expect you to respect your fiancé. You will also move back into your quarters and not spend as much time down in mine anymore; I might accommodate you during the nights for a few more weeks, but no more hiding anymore. Have I made myself clear?"  
He wanted to protest again, but his submissive instincts still had a firm grip on him. Nodding, he lowered his head, still unable to believe what he had just heard. His mate and father had just practically married him off to his other mate! Well shit, that didn't sound as bad as it felt.  
"You and I will also move in here in a few days time Draco, but for now you and Harry will start with your dates. We need to fix the mess our bloodbond has become, or it will hurt all of us in the long run," Lucius announced. "And last but not least you will also refrain from openly flirting with other girls and boys, Draco."  
Harry could not suppress the relieved flutter his heart did at those words, even though his younger mate was glaring even more at him than just minutes ago. At least that torture would have an end, even though another would start. Draco was still looking at him as if this whole mess was entirely his fault and he could smell the tension in the air; as soon as his mates were gone, he would hide away for the rest of the day somewhere he decided.  
"Very well my boys," Dumbledore smiled and stood up. "Congratulations on your betrothal," the old man stretched his hand out to him, and he took it, too shocked at the ridiculous words to make a fitting comeback. Draco only looked as if Dumbledore had finally lost his mind completely, but took the offered hand as well and shook it.  
"Come Draco, we will go for now also," Lucius commanded and followed the Headmaster to the door, before turning back to him: "Harry, you should think about a logical explanation for your friends, something that is not the actual truth. I will come back later."  
He could only nod dumbly as he watched his two mates leave. Draco's back was, even for him, unusually stiff.  
"Dad, how could you?" He whined as soon as both blondes were out of his quarters.  
His father only gave him a stern look. "Harry, I know you are hurt right now, but you know as well as I do, that we need to fix your soulbond. It can get dangerous for all three of you if the situation stays as it is right now. At the very least, you all would end up even more hurt than you already are."  
Sighing, he admitted that his father was right, at least to himself. That was why he had been so patient with Draco at first. But still, betrothed to Draco Malfoy? That still sounded just like all those sick jokes fate has handed him already, but then again, so had the story with his father. Sighing, he mumbled: "I just can't forgive him so easily. I feel..." His voice broke and Severus enveloped him in a comforting embrace:  
"I know my little brat. To injure a submissive is a huge violation of natural trust, but I am sure that Draco will soon see his errors." His father gave him a soft kiss on his head and he closed his eyes for a moment, asking:  
"What will I tell Ron and Hermione? They will not be thrilled to have Draco and Lucius here nearly all the time."  
His father thought about it for a moment and then answered: "Tell them that Albus forced you to try to become friends for the good of the war. Warn them that the crazy old fool will send you two on stupid errands and such."  
Harry actually had to smirk at his father's words, which sounded just like one of Dumbledore's plans.  
"Who came up with this crazy idea anyway?" He asked musingly.  
"Lucius. He saw you two after class in front of my quarters," his father chuckled, confirming his previous suspicion.  
"And Albus was all too willing to assist us," the man added.  
Huffing, he muttered: "stupid good for..."  
"Harry, you will stop insulting your fiancé, it is improper. Even though I was not raised a Pureblood, you come from two very ancient bloodlines, in fact, yours is probably the most ancient one, and you will behave accordingly."  
"Can you really force me to mate with him?" He asked curiously.  
"I can." His father answered matter of factly. "It is common in Dark Families like the one of my mother's and even the Potters had a family law, even though it had not been used for forced marriages in ages. But I am not forcing you to mate with a stranger. Draco is your other soulmate, you will soon realize why."  
Huffing again, he hugged Nagini to his chest and then buried his face into his father's chest, who chuckled again and picked him and his snake up and saying: "You know, Draco is fairly confused because of us."  
"I know," Harry grinned, still nuzzled in the folds of the billowing, black robes. "Do you think he believes that we are mates?"  
"I am not sure, but he definitely is jealous of everybody who touches you in any way, he just doesn't want to admit it to himself or anybody else," Severus mused.  
Shifting slightly, Harry asked: "Dad, are you mad that I can't forgive him that easily?"  
His father snorted: "I would be mad if you could. And I would be worried because my fiery Gryffindor is not like that."  
"You are right, I am not. Sometimes I believe that I am not a good submissive," Harry mused.  
"Well, what nature was thinking by making you of all people a submissive, I don't know sometimes either," his father agreed with a smile.  
They both looked up when the fireplace flared behind him and Ron and Hermione came out. His friends raised their eyebrows questioningly at him, probably because he was still cuddled in his father's lap.  
"Albus once again came up with one of his brilliant ideas," his father said, making his friends wince in sympathy and he turned to face them, knowing that he had to give the rest of the explanation.  
"Would it be better if we sit down? One of Dumbledore's ideas, that doesn't sound good," Ron asked in a worried tone of voice and a nervous chuckle escaped his throat.  
"Yes," he said and waited until they had said down, before blurting out: "Draco is moving into my room!"  
"What?" Ron and Hermione screeched simultaneously, their eyes wide in shock.  
"You must be joking? Aren't you?" Ron asked and Harry could see desperate hope shining in his eyes.  
"No! He thinks that we need to learn to get along with each other because we are both on the same side now! He even wants to make us go on errands and other stupid stuff. "  
Ron frowned and then said seriously: "Are you sure Dumbledore isn't the one who has changed sides? This sounds as if he wants to kill you."  
"It does!" Harry exclaimed, and knew that his father was rolling his eyes behind him.  
"He cannot really believe that this will work?" Ron asked and Hermione added: "Why should Draco be on our side? Just because his father is, doesn't mean that he has to be. Sirius' whole family was Dark, but he was always Light."  
"I don't know," he told them, in lack of a better answer. Sighing, he slumped against his father: "I really don't want him here!"  
"When will he move in?" Hermione asked worriedly.  
Sighing, he shook his head: "Not yet, Albus said that we should first start spending some time together to get to know each other and then later on he will move in, but it will probably not be too long."  
"I can't believe it!" Ron exclaimed. "We will have to put up with ferret face even in our free time; as if it wasn't enough that we have every bloody class with the Slytherins this year!"  
"At least you won't have him in your dorms," Harry muttered.  
"Oh Harry," Hermione said, seemingly not knowing how to cheer him up, and really, there was no way to make this situation sound better than it was.  
"You know, I always thought the years where Voldemort annoyed the hell out of me at the end of term had been bad."  
"Harry," his father said warningly and he quickly shut up.  
"Maybe you should look for a good, hidden place on the Marauder's map to lock him in, like the Chamber of Secrets or something like that," Ron proposed rather hopefully.  
"That won't work. I train there with Albus nearly every second day," he told him.  
"Maybe Fred and George know of a good place, or Sirius?" Ron suggested and Harry had to smirk.  
"If he annoys me too much, I will ask them, I promise."  
To their surprise, his father muttered behind him: "If he keeps his current behaviour up, I will personally lock him into the Shrieking Shack on full moon."  
Ron and Hermione gasped in shock and exchanged a look. Harry elbowed his father. His friends didn't know that Draco could not be harmed by a werewolf anymore; now they probably thought that his father was ready to murder.  
"He doesn't mean it," he said quickly. "It's only his strange humour."  
Clearing her throat, Hermione asked: "Would you like to come down with us to the kitchen? Dinner is over by now and we didn't eat at your Manor."  
Turning to his father, Harry gave him a questioning look, asking him wordlessly if they needed to discuss anything else or whether he could leave.  
"Go with your friends and I will pretend to not know that you plan on going to a room which is off-limits to all students; even to the Hogwarts Heir," his father smirked.  
Smiling, Harry hugged him and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, saying: "Thanks, dad."  
He and his friends left his quarters and made their way down to the dungeons, hoping that they would not run into Draco again. They all had enough of the blonde for one day and even though Severus had explained to him that Lucius had quite effectively put a stop to his son's insults and flirting with the Courtship Contract, he would only believe it when he saw it with his own eyes. Right now he still saw no reason as to why Draco would change his behaviour only because they were currently engaged.  
"I feel as if this term has already been going on for ages," Ron sighed next to him and rubbed the back of his neck.  
On his other side, Hermione nodded. "You're right. Vo...Voldemort has been far too active already. I don't want to imagine the end of this term if he starts out like this," she sighed.  
Agreeing with her, Harry said: "Hopefully we will have a way of stopping him by then. Talking about it, we still need to find the other Horcruxes. I hope Albus hurries up with the memories he wants to collect." His voice was silent, just in case another student came by.  
"And I hope, that those memories show us what and where exactly those other Horcruxes are," Ron muttered.  
"I don't think that we will have that much luck, we never have before" Harry grumbled, even though he liked the idea, but it was just too unlikely.  
They reached the portrait with the fruit bowl and Hermione reached up to tickle the pear. It laughed and wiggled a bit before the portrait swung open.  
"Harry Potter Sir!" exclaimed a voice as soon as he had set a foot into the kitchen and in the next moment, a sniffling House Elf had thrown himself at his feet, hugging his right leg tightly.  
"Dobby, how are you feeling?" he asked, looking down at his friend.  
"Dobby is good, Harry Potter sir," the elf said whilst standing up again. The pile of colourful hats on his head swayed dangerously, but didn't fall.  
"That's good," he replied and then asked: "Could you get my friends something to eat? They had no time to eat earlier."  
"Of course, sir. Does Harry Potter want something as well?" Dobby asked with huge, hopeful eyes.  
"No, thanks," he said, hoping that Dobby would not be insulted or upset by his answer, but as he had feared, the elf's huge eyes filled with tears.  
"Has harry Potter not liked Dobby's cooking?" the elf sniffed, near to fully breaking into tears. Wanting to prevent a drama, Harry quickly crouched down and said: "No, but I have come into an inheritance and cannot eat normal food anymore. But if you want, go to Oscar, he knows what I can still eat."  
Hope returned to Dobby's eyes and he squeaked: "Dobby will do that, Sir." With that, the elf disappeared.  
Turning to his friends, he scratched the back of his head sheepishly and asked: "Um... shall we sit down until he returns?"  
They went over to one of the huge tables and sat down silently. Harry felt the stress of the day slowly catching up with him and he wanted nothing more than to curl up under his blanket next to his father and fall asleep. His friends looked even more tired. They did not have his vampire genes and got exhausted much quicker. In fact, he suspected that his exhaustion was more due to the mental stress of feeling Voldemort's anger once more and the announcement of his betrothal, than to physical tiredness.  
Ron had just laid his head down on the table top, when Dobby returned with a huge tray full of chicken legs, fried potatoes, beans, chocolate pudding and much more. The elf placed everything in front of them and then handed him a golden goblet, frowning slightly. Harry supposed that he was not happy that he could not cook for him any longer.  
Taking the goblet, he thanked Dobby, who asked: "Can Dobby do something else for sir?"  
"No thanks," he answered with a smile and sipped on his drink, which consisted of fresh blood without pumpkin juice this time. Apparently Oscar had thought that he needed a special treat after the day.  
"Harry, are you really drinking only juices now?" Hermione asked and frowned at his goblet.  
Not wanting to lie any more than he already did to his friends he simply said: "Yep."  
"And your bonbons?" Ron asked curiously.  
"They are made from juice as well, only with more sugar. Dad makes them especially for me," he grinned and patted his candy bag.  
At his answer, Hermione looked at him unhappily. "I don't feel well at the thought that you do not eat anymore. I know it is normal for some submissives, but you look so thin. Are you sure that you cannot eat anything else?"  
"I am," he answered. "It only lies heavily in my stomach and makes me feel tired, uncomfortable and sometimes even sick."  
"Won't you tell us what creature you are?" his bushy haired friend asked carefully.  
Sighing, Harry shook his head. He really could not tell them; it was too dangerous. Besides not wanting to see their shock at finding out that he was mated to the Malfoy's, it really could put them all into danger if Ron exploded like he expected he would and started to rant loudly in Hogwarts. Rumours spread quickly in the castle and word could easily get to Voldemort.  
"Hermione, leave him alone. It is really not our place to ask," Ron said, cutting Hermione off, who had opened her mouth again. The witch luckily nodded and they continued their meal in silence, before going back to Gryffindor tower. They separated in front of his door and Harry went back to his quarters. Stopping in his hallway, he thought that he probably should add a door for Draco even though he did not want to, but they had to see each other in their free time now and it would be safer this way. Pulling out the Elder Wand, he tapped the spot next to Lucius' door and mumbled his second mate's name in parseltongue. The door appeared and with a sigh, he pocketed his wand again before going into his living room.  
To his surprise, his father was still there, but he stood up as he saw him. "Harry, I have to finish a Potion, but I will come to your room after it is done."  
Nodding, he said: "Then I will go to bed. I am really tired. This day would have been hell even without your little announcement."  
His father only chuckled and ruffled his hair, before disappearing.  
Seeing no sense in staying awake any longer, he went into Gryffindor's old room. Opening his wardrobe, he came to the conclusion that he really needed some real PJ's. He would send Oscar to Diagon Alley tomorrow as he could not continue transforming his expensive robes.  
Closing his cupboard again, he took out his wand, promising himself, that this would be the last night where he would sleep in transformed robes. He was just about to crawl into bed, ready to forget the entire day, when a soft knock sounded at his door. Sitting up again, he called "Yes," and Lucius came in.  
His mate's eyes roamed his body for a moment before he came closer with a soft, but very exhausted smile. He laid his warm hand to his cheek and bent down to kiss him, but Harry quickly turned his head away.  
Lucius frowned and for a moment he was sure that the dominant would get angry, but then he only sighed and sat down next to him, before pulling him onto his lap.  
"Why?" the man simply asked and that was all it took to break the already weak holds on his restraints. He had tried to be strong, to not bother Lucius with his stupid feelings, but he could not do that anymore; not when his dominant wanted and demanded an answer.  
"I... I can't. It's just not right. How can we kiss and pleasure each other, when our other mate is feeling miserable at the same time? I know he says he doesn't want this bond, but I can see it in his eyes, that he is hurting as much as we are; he just can't accept it yet. Maybe if he felt fine and just wasn't ready to kiss and touch us yet, then I could kiss you, but not like this," he sobbed and buried his face in Lucius' strong chest.  
A hand came up and started to stroke soothing patterns across his back: "Hush, Harry, it is fine, I did not know that you felt that way."  
"You didn't?" Harry croaked out, hot tears streaming down his face.  
"No Harry, a submissive is much more sensitive to the soulbond and its mate's than a dominant; it's your job so to speak," Lucius explained softly.  
Wiping his tears away, he asked: "Are you very angry, Lucius?"  
Lucius combed tenderly through his hair once, obviously searching for a substitute of a kiss and then said: "No, how can I be? You probably know much better what it is that our bond needs. Do not worry about me, now that I know what is going on in that unruly head of yours, I can live with the situation."  
"Thank you, Lucius," he said with a relieved smile and after a little hesitation he leaned forwards and gave his mate a quick peck on his cheek; at least that he still felt comfortable doing. Lucius' eyes lit up at the innocent and small gesture before a smirk tugged at his lips and he asked: "Are you at least sure that my son was the last surprise fate has in store for us?"  
Returning his grin, Harry nodded. "I am fairly sure that I would have felt any other soul, which tried to connect with ours," he chuckled and then added mock-seriously: "But who knows, you are mated to Harry Potter, I defy the odds."  
Lucius frowned at him and then said: "I am not willing to imagine, what a soul you are unable to feel, would have to look like." His mate shivered and then stood up, saying: "Sleep well Harry. I am sure everything will soon get better. I love you."  
"I love you, too," he answered with a bright smile, already snuggling beneath his blanket. His mate chuckled and put out the light with a flick of his wand, before closing the door and leaving his room.


	26. Chapter 26: A New Prophecy

**Chapter 26: A New Prophecy**

 **LV/TMR**

Voldemort sat in his throne-like chair in Riddle Manor fuming silently. He had already killed eight muggles and three captured witches in his fury, but that had not cooled him down in the slightest. Potter had once more succeeded in outmanoeuvring him and he didn't even know how. How had that annoying boy gotten all those people away? He had been so careful in his preparation and not told the date to anybody who was close to the old fool and the young hero.  
Hero, Voldemort snorted without amusement. Once he had laughed at the given title for the boy, but right now even he had to admit that Harry Potter was growing into that role. It displeased him immensely because that could mean that the child would become even more of a problem to him than he had already was.  
Why was he, heir of Salazar Slytherin, not able to kill a single child? Oh, how he despised the boy. Only three months ago, he would not have believed that he could hate the little Gryffindor even more than he already did, but he had been wrong. Aside from ruining his perfect plan, stealing his familiar and taking one of his most loyal followers away from him for a whole month, thus making kill the heir of said loyal follower in a fit of rage, who would have become a good servant as well, the boy was starting to appear more often in his thoughts.  
Or maybe not in his thoughts, because he was not actively thinking about him, it was more as if the Gryffindor could enter his head and body. He could feel his anger, frustration, worry, sadness and to his personal horror: his love. It was worrisome, how many different kinds of love Harry Potter knew, but he himself could not differentiate between them.  
He would have liked to understand Potter's love better, only to know which people he had to kill to finally break the boy, but his general nature and his obsessive use of Dark Magic had made him unable to feel or understand this feeling; he could not even bear it.  
Snorting, he thought that he had not been able to love even before he had found out that he was a wizard.  
Thinking back on the little hero's feelings he had to admit, that even he could recognize that two feelings stood out and they were nearly identical, the only difference between these two was that one of them was mixed with sorrow and anger. Maybe the boy has entangled himself in a love-triangle? Voldemort snorted again. Holy Potter in a love feud, possibly having an affair? That sounded too good to be true, even for his ears.  
Compared to those two feelings of love, the others seemed much tamer, but what could that mean? He was really not good with all this emotional crap, he had always considered feelings a burden, which would hinder him on the way to power and greatness, but if he really wanted to destroy that boy thoroughly, he should at least try to understand them now, at least on a mental level. Even that annoyed him.  
So, what other kinds of love were there? Maybe people he considered family?  
That thought made his blood boil even further. How could it be, that Harry Potter, who had been brought up in similar circumstances as he himself, was loved by so many people? Why had that boy been adopted, whilst no one had taken him out of the orphanage, despite being so talented and powerful? What did this boy have, that he hadn't?  
He would kill Harry Potter, that was for sure, and it would be the most painful death he had ever granted somebody; but until he could get his hand on the protected child, he needed a way to get at least some control over Dumbledore's Golden Boy. Coming to a decision, he called out: "Wormtail!"  
Only a second later the pathetic man knocked timidly and entered.  
"My Lord," Wormtail squeaked and came hurriedly over to him, where he fell to his knees and kissed the hem of his robes.  
"Your arm, Wormtail," Voldemort hissed and watched as his servant scrambled to his feet, stretching his left arm out.  
He took his bone-like wand from his robe pocket and pressed it to Wormtail's Dark Mark. He watched the mark grow an angry red as the animagus tried to suppress his whimper, but he was not as strong minded as Lucius and Severus, that was why he would never rise in rank.  
"Leave," he said, not having the patience to deal with the low life of a wizard. If it weren't to spite one Sirius Black, he would have long killed the rat, because even he himself was disgusted by the grovelling man. Oh yes, he knew why Wormtail had returned to him and it had not been out of loyalty, but out of fear after he had been found out by Potter and his little friends.  
Leaning more comfortably back into his throne, he waited for his two most loyal followers to arrive.  
It was by now early morning, nearly 4 AM and he was sure that Lucius and Severus would be back in their own quarters.  
He did not know how Harry Potter had saved all the Mudbloods and Blood Traitors earlier, but the chance that the old fool of a Headmaster had taken Severus with him was high. Dumbledore was just too trusting. As if a person would ever dare to betray him, the Dark Lord. Even if someone wanted to, they never would dare, he had made sure of it since his own school days all those decades ago. For fourteen years, Severus Snape was his faithful spy and he had always served him well, that was why a mere Halfblood had succeeded in becoming his left-hand man.  
He waited for another ten minutes, until a second knock sounded and his two servants, clad in their Death Eater uniforms, appeared. They also kneeled in front of him, but unlike the rat, they showed much more elegance, which was certainly due to their family lineage, after all, even Severus with his Mudblood father had a mother who had been a very respected Pureblood witch.  
"Stand up," he ordered and the two man rose. "Tell me, how is it possible that my attack failed today?"  
"My Lord," Severus started "Apparently, the Potter brat arranged a Safe House."  
Anger rose in Voldemort again and he pointed his wand at the man in front of him: "Crucio!"  
Sadly, the nearly inaudible gasp was not nearly as satisfying as the screams the muggles had made earlier, and even that had not satisfied him in the least. He put a bit more power behind his spell, just for good measure, and then broke the curse asking: "And why is it, that I have not been informed earlier about this Safe House?"  
He tried his best to keep control over his anger; it would not do to accidentally kill either of these men. With every other follower, it would not be very regretful because they were easily replaceable, but Lucius Malfoy was a high ranking Ministry Official and Severus the most talented spy he had ever had in his ranks.  
"My Lord, Dumbledore did not let me in on this secret, only when he summoned me to his office and told me to accompany him and the brat did I find out, and by then it was too late."  
"I hope for your sake Severus, that the old fool's trust in you is not wavering," he hissed at his servant's words.  
"I don't believe so. From what I could gather, it was originally Potter's idea and he still doesn't trust me."  
Tapping with his fingers onto his armrest, Voldemort thought for a moment. It was true that the young Gryffindor did not trust Severus nor Lucius for that matter. He probably would never start to trust either of them as they were in his service for too many years and Potter knew it, or at least suspected it in Severus' case. Besides, they were much older than the child and with his dislike for Potions it would not be easy to find something in common for either men to approach the boy, but maybe... Looking up again, he fixed his blood red eyes on Lucius:  
"Lucius, I have a mission for your son."  
For a moment, Lucius seemed the slightest bit surprised, but the voice answering him was smooth as ever: "It would be an honour for him and myself, my Lord."  
"I am aware that Potter still has his little lover, but your son is beautiful and intelligent, so I am certain that he will be able to replace whoever is now at Potters side." He paused for a moment, before ordering: "I expect Draco to do his best to seduce the boy. He will of course, do it non-suspiciously. It would not do for any rumours spread and word to get to Dumbledore." Pausing again, Voldemort decided that he himself would check if the Malfoy heir fulfilled his mission, just to be sure.  
"Of course, my Lord," Lucius answered and he waved his hand to signal that they could leave again. His plan would be set in motion. Something like today would not happen again, he would personally make sure of it.  
"Wormtail," he called the man again and as soon as the rat was back, he ordered: "Get me one of my lower ranked Death Eaters. I need somebody, who can take a room in Hogsmeade for a few weeks and inform me as soon as Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy are visiting the village."

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry listened to the rest of Professor Sprout's lecture, silently frowning at nothing in particular. His spirit had been slightly lifted the evening before after he had finally talked with Lucius about his feelings concerning the current state of their physical relationship. His mate had been very accepting and had even cheered him up a little. By now he regretted that he had given Lucius so little credit, he should have known that the man would not be angry with him, he was much too understanding for such a reaction, but still he had been worried and frightened for the past two weeks and the guilt had been even worse.  
Though their talk really had helped a lot, at around 4 AM his father had slipped from his bed and disappeared to a meeting with his old master, and so had Lucius. That had dragged his mood back down rather quickly, but at least both had come back fairly quickly and brought news, which sounded too good to be true: Voldemort wanted Draco to flirt with him so that the boy could spy on the Dark Lord's youngest enemy.  
Despite his annoyance over the betrothal, he had not been able to stop his laughter. At least they did not have to be as careful as they had expected, even though no other student would find out, it would not be as dangerous for them if a Slytherin accidentally saw them together, as it would have been before Voldemort's order.  
It was somehow perfect: Voldemort giving them a free ticket from his followers and Dumbledore for his own friends.  
He still didn't plan on telling Ron and Hermione about his mates, he would just not be able to stand their disappointment and repulsion at the sight of him with the two Malfoy's, so it was not a problem that no other student was to find out about Draco's mission.  
Of course, Dumbledore was already informed about everything and the man's eyes had sparkled with mirth at the news. This time, fate was really helping him out for once and not making everything even more complicated.  
Professor Sprout finally ended their last class for the day and he and his friends quickly packed their things, relieved that the last class was over.  
Draco had surprisingly not bothered him the whole day, just like his father had ordered. The blonde boy had not even openly sneered or glared at him and had kept his distance from Pansy and Daphne.  
It had honestly made his day much more comfortable and easier, without the constant insults and reminders that his second mate did not want him, and he would be much more relaxed by now if it were not for the engagement. He still could not really understand how a Courtship Contract could change a person's behaviour so much so suddenly, but right now that was beside the point.  
"Hey Harry, would you like to fly for a while?" Ron asked, nudging him in his side.  
"Ron," Hermione frowned at him, the look on her face clearly telling them that a lecture would follow. "He still needs to plan the renovation for Privet Drive and ask Dumbledore when he will start to help us with... you-know-what."  
Ron snorted: "You mean the You-Know-What's of You-know-Who?"  
Harry snickered, it really was fitting.  
"Hermione, let the boy rest for a while, he has worked his arse off the last few weeks and don't forget, he is still only twelve," his friend said in a voice that sounded very much like his mother, but it did the trick: Their friend flushed in embarrassment and mumbled:  
"You are right. Sometimes I still forget."  
"It's okay, just let us do nothing serious today," Harry said, wanting to fly as much as Ron did.  
"Okay, but after dinner we will do our Defence essays, they are due tomorrow," the girl agreed.  
"Fine," Harry said and then added: "Just come to my rooms when you are ready." With a wave, he left to change into something more adequate for flying than his school robes. Nagini and Justitius greeted him in his room; they both lay lazily on his bed, Justitius having made himself comfortable on the snake's head, his outstretched wings dangling down both sides of her broad head. It really looked funny, like his snake was wearing an odd, black head or hat.  
 _"Hi Nagini,"_ he greeted in Parseltongue and then added in English: "Hi Justitius."  
" _Where are you going little Master?"_ Nagini asked, lifting her head slightly.  
 _"Ron and I are going to the Quidditch Pitch and fly for a bit,"_ he told her, changing into his old Quidditch uniform. The season had not yet started and he wondered what it would be like to play against Draco now that they were mates.  
 _"Can I accompany you master?"_ Nagini asked and he blinked in surprise.  
 _"Of course, you don't have to ask,"_ he answered her and pulled on his Quidditch trousers.  
He took his Firebolt and left with Nagini and Justitius in toe. For once, the little bat was not attaching himself to his sleeve, but happily fluttering next to him.  
To his surprise, Ron and Hermione already sat in his living room but stood up as soon as they saw him.  
"Let's go then," Ron said, shouldering his own broom.  
They were halfway down his hallway, when the door to the far right opened and his second mate suddenly came in.  
"Malfoy!" Ron spat instantly and Hermione tried to hush him, whispering: "You know that he probably has no choice right now."  
Harry sighed loudly; this couldn't be true, he wanted to go flying with his friends and not on a stupid date with that prat.  
Looking up properly, he found his suspicions confirmed: Draco was not wearing his school robes anymore, but instead, tight fitting black trousers and a silver-blue button down. Over his arm hung a long, black winter coat with silver fur on the hood and a matching scarf.  
It was the first time that he saw the boy in something other than his school uniform and he quickly had to suppress the blush that threatened to creep up his cheeks. The shirt and trousers clung perfectly to his body and showed his perfect, Quidditch trained body off, revealing far more than Lucius' clothes, who nearly always wore a waistcoat over his shirt.  
Why did the ferret look so damn sexy? He really didn't want to react in any way to his mate, he still felt too hurt and angry and not being able to deal with a hard on, but luckily, his instincts agreed with him for once on that notion and he was able to simply scowl without having to hide anything.  
"Dumbledore wants us to fetch some Potions Ingredients for my godfather from Hogsmeade," his second mate said in a harsh voice, but without any insult.  
"Can't the apothecary send it by owl?" Ron asked and Draco rolled his eyes, as did Hermione.  
"Of course not Weasel, they could react violently with all the commotion caused by flying," Draco sneered and then turned back to him: "Change so that we can be done with it quickly. I will wait at the front gates." Draco turned around and left back through the door he had entered.  
Sighing in defeat, he shrugged apologetically and told his friends: "I am sorry, but I will have to go."  
"Stupid ferret," Ron muttered and glared at Draco's door as if he could set the boy on fire with his stare.  
"He really isn't at fault this time," he sighed and then added: "I will see you at dinner then."  
With a wave, he turned back to his room, whilst his friends left his quarters, probably going back to the Gryffindor common room.  
 _"What did your annoying mate want?"_ Nagini hissed and followed him back to his room.  
 _"Albus wants us to get something from Hogsmeade. He and Lucius and my father want us to become closer,"_ he explained and opened his wardrobe once more, pulling out his red outfit.  
Nagini huffed and then declared: _"I will bite his head off if he is insulting again. A mate should not be like that. He is a disgrace."_  
Thinking that she almost sounded like Lucius right now, Harry quickly changed and then fetched his own winter cloak before starting his way down to the gates. He went at a normal pace for as long as he was inside the castle, but as soon as he was outside, he quickened his pace until he was quicker than a human could ever be, until he stood next to the waiting blonde. To his surprise, Nagini had kept up with his speed and so had Justitius somehow. Well, the two were magical after all.  
"Do you have to take her along everywhere?" Draco asked, with a sneer down at Nagini, who hissed in return.  
Shrugging, he replied truthfully: "She doesn't trust you, so she came along."  
Draco huffed in indignation and to his surprise, held an arm out like a boy would do for his female date. Feeling offended, he snapped: "I am not a girl!"  
His mate rolled his eyes, saying: "Of course not, but apparently you are my submissive, which I still doubt, but thanks to my father and godfather I have to treat you like one and it is proper to offer a submissive your arm."  
Feeling hurt rise in his chest again, he replied: "If you are only doing it because you are being forced to, then just cut the crap. I am as thrilled as you are, and I won't tell your secrets to Lucius or Severus." False friendliness was worse than honest disdain.  
"Potter, just listen," Draco drawled, looking down at him as if he was a piece of filth and Harry wanted to hit the blonde this time. "I don't know what punishments will await you if you ignore the Courtship Contract, but I for one do not want to lose my magic."  
"Lose your magic?" He asked in shock. Why would the blonde lose his magic because they were not walking down to Hogsmeade arm in arm?  
"Yes, Potter, lose my magic. I told you the contract is based on family law, which means that my family's Manor can punish me for not fulfilling it, which would end in me losing all of my magic and I am even less fond of that idea than I am of offering you my arm, so just take it," the blonde huffed in annoyance.  
Thinking, that he really should read up on family laws, Harry asked: "How?" The last time he had taken an arm, it had been Lucius' on their way to the Department of Mystery and his older mate had most likely overlooked that he did not have a real clue as to how to do it right.  
"How what Potter?" Draco asked back.  
"How shall I take your arm? I have no idea how a Courtship works," he clarified.  
Sighing, his mate explained: "Just as if you would want to link your arm with mine and then place your hand lightly on my upper arm."  
Harry did as told and they started to walk down the narrow path to Hogsmeade.  
It was really uncomfortable to walk so close to a mate who clearly didn't want to have him this close. Draco was stiff even for a Malfoy, and he looked straight ahead, not looking at him once as if trying to ignore that he was even there. And on top of it, he felt ridiculous: He was a boy, for Merlin's sake, and not a girl; why did he need to take Draco's arm? When he had taken Lucius' arm, he at least had been hidden under that Courting Cloak; his only reassurance right now was that they were alone on the way to the village.  
Sighing, he tried to ignore the feelings of shame and discomfort bubbling in his stomach and tried to enjoy the landscape, which sadly wasn't interesting enough to distract him.  
After about ten minutes of awkward silence, he could not endure it any longer, and despite his better knowledge asked carefully:  
"Um... would you explain to me a bit more about Courtships?"  
Draco sighed but started to talk: "A Courtship is practical, like a Binding Spell, only that it is activated by the parent's signatures. A normal Courtship period is between six months and a whole year, but if the parents decide it would be beneficial, the betrothed parties can also marry earlier, or mate- in this case."  
"Do we have to do special things during this time?" He asked when Draco fell silent again.  
"Not you, but I have to take you on dates and buy presents for you," Draco answered neutrally.  
"Presents?" Harry squeaked in surprise. He really could not imagine Draco giving him anything, not even a flower from the side of the road, and he honestly didn't want any presents from him either.  
"Yes, Potter, Presents. I am sure you already get enough presents every day, being the Golden Boy and all, but I have to," Draco drawled sarcastically.  
Harry didn't answer and simply looked down onto the road ahead. He knew that Draco thought he was pampered and spoiled; Lucius and especially Draco himself, had told him that often enough, but it was far from the truth. Sure, now he was rich and his friends had always given him something for his birthday and Christmas, but that had only been for the last four years. Before he had met Ron and Hermione, he had always spent his birthday alone, without any presents and mostly locked up in his cupboard under the stairs.  
"So, do you really believe the whole crap with the soulbond?" Draco asked, sounding uninterested, but Harry was sure that he was anything but.  
"Of course I do. And you would believe it as well if you would just start opening your eyes," he replied without missing a beat.  
Ignoring his comment, Draco only asked: "You know, that father always took young men to his bed? You are not the first one and surely will not be the last one, even though I have to admit that you have lasted the longest until now. Normally, he only fucks them once or twice, before getting rid of them and searching for a new lover."  
Maybe the blonde's words would have hurt him if his instincts and Lucius' behaviour didn't tell him that there was no need to worry about his older mate. They had mated and their bond was very strong, and Lucius loved him as much as he loved the man.  
"Keep hoping, but you won't get rid of me," he simply said and then asked: "Did it never bother you that he always betrayed your mom?"  
Draco curled his lips and sneered. "Of course not, it was an arranged marriage and both my parents were childhood friends and married out of convenience. I am glad that they had a good relationship; that was much more than many of my friends have. Besides, they both were discreet with their affairs, so there was never a scandal."  
Somehow this answer surprised him; it didn't fit with Draco's behaviour these last few weeks. "So why do you have a problem with me?"  
"Is that not obvious, Potter? Because it is you, and because he wants to pull me into this as well, and finally, because if he really believes in this soul- or bloodmate crap, then you won't stay a silent affair. One day, he will start to date you openly and it is improper for a widower with an heir to start dating again. If I were still a little child, it would be acceptable to marry again, to give me a new mother, but I am not, so he should not go out with you."  
They finally could see Hogsmeade in front of them and Draco let go of his arm. "We have to be careful as soon as people are around," the blonde said.  
Huffing, he replied dryly: "I know." He was immensely relieved that he did not have to hold onto his mate any longer. "So the apothecary?" He asked.  
"Not only there. Dumbledore and my father made it clear that we have about three to four hours until we are expected back," the blonde drawled sarcastically.  
Harry groaned, but said nothing and simply followed the other male to a warped house with black bricks, where the apothecary was located.  
The owner greeted them on entering. "Ah, you must be the two students Professor Dumbledore wanted to send for his purchases," the old man said. He was very small, even smaller than he himself. He had a long white beard, but in contrast to Dumbledore, he was bald.  
"Yes, sir," Draco confirmed politely and the old wizard smiled, while Harry stood silently in the background, glaring at his mate who apparently could be nice and flirt with many people, as long as he was not involved.  
He watched the old man going into his back room and coming out with a wrapped package, before handing it to Draco.  
"It is shrunken with a charm specially constructed for Magical Potions Ingredients. Please give Professor Dumbledore my regards," the man explained.  
"Thank you, sir," Draco smiled dashingly and Harry felt the strong urge to get sick on his mate's expensive shoes. The wizard smiled even brighter, but he himself could only wonder how anybody could buy that friendly act from the Malfoy Heir.  
They left the store again and stood a bit indecisive in the street.  
"So, what are we doing now? We still have at least two hours, before we are even allowed to go back up to Hogwarts," he asked, hoping that the blonde would have a plan and whether he would have a say in it, something along the lines of 'Meet me at the Hogwarts gates in three hours'.  
But to his dismay, Draco turned to the Three Broomsticks and announced: "Let's drink some butterbeer."  
Resigning himself to the fact that he would apparently have to spend all three hours with the blonde, he nodded and turned in the direction of the pub.  
The Three Broomsticks was fairly empty as they entered. It was the middle of the week and a school and work day, and still too early for the evening customers to arrive. Madame Rosmerta gave them a curious look as they sat down, but came over nonetheless and asked for their orders.  
"Two butterbeer," Draco said, without asking him.  
Rolling his eyes, Harry motioned for Nagini, who was still following them to curl up on the bench next to him, whilst Justitius landed on the tabletop.  
"Really, Potter, do you plan on opening a zoo?" Draco asked with a pointed look at his familiars.  
"No, of course not and it was your father who gave me Justitius," he answered, glaring at his mate.  
"To give a Foundling's Egg away," Draco huffed. "He should not have done that."  
"Well, Justitius would never have hatched for any of your family," Harry replied dryly and stroked over his little bat's fur, who closed his eyes contently.  
"No, he wouldn't have," Draco agreed. "But by giving him to you, we lost a valuable Magical Artefact."  
"I don't think so, he will stay in the family after all," he mused and he could clearly see that Draco wanted to sneer at him, but the blonde suppressed the urge and instead said nothing.  
They fell silent, not knowing what to talk about and honestly, he suspected that Draco wanted to chat as much as he did.  
Madame Rosmerta returned with their orders and jumped slightly as she noticed Nagini on her bench, but she said nothing and simply shuffled a bit closer to Draco, before placing their butterbeer on the table. After she had left, they sipped at their drinks, avoiding each other's eyes.  
Harry was starting to wish that Lucius would join them; at least the man might know what they could possibly talk about, but he guessed that finding that out was the reason why they had been sent to Hogsmeade in the first place.  
He heard the door to the pub opening and a figure, clad in a long, black cloak entered. The witch or wizard had even pulled the hood up, so he could not even say which gender it was, but considering how tall the person was, he would guess that it had to be a man.  
Frowning, Harry watched him going over to a secluded corner and ordering something. Such people normally did not visit the Three Broomsticks, in contrast to the Hogs Head, where you could see cloaked figures all the time. Somehow, the person gave him the shivers, but it was not the kind of shivers Voldemort always gave him when the man was close by, so he didn't worry too much. Still, something felt weird, but he couldn't pin-point it.  
Turning his attention back to his unwilling second mate, he took a sip of his butterbeer and glanced at him from under his lashes. Draco looked more haggard than he had ever seen the arrogant blonde, probably because he had still not come to him for blood. His ice-blue eyes lay deep in their sockets and his lips looked almost white as if no blood was flowing through his mate anymore. For a second, guilt flickered inside of him, but he quickly squashed it. If Draco was hungry (which he clearly was) then the prat should get his act together, apologize and ask him for help; he would not offer his throat without at least that much. And after all, Lucius had not yet approached him, so Draco could not yet feel too bad.  
 _"Why are we still here, if you don't even talk with the annoying mate?"_ Nagini hissed suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts.  
Thinking that 'annoying mate' was becoming Draco's new nickname, he smirked and then looked down to answer: _"I told you: Lucius wants us to spend more time together and get to know each other."_  
 _"But then you should talk, if your older dominant tells you to,"_ the snake hissed and eyed Draco with narrowed eyes.  
 _"I know, but I don't know what to talk with him about,"_ Harry sighed.  
 _"Ask him if he is a good hunter, or if he owns a good cave like a good mate does,"_ she suggested, making him chuckle.  
 _"Firstly, he doesn't need to be a good hunter, because he need my blood as food and secondly, he still lives in the same cave with his father."_  
 _"Why? He already smells like an adult. He should have his own cave. More caves mean more hiding places and more safety,"_ Nagini asked in irritation and then added: _"Then ask him, what he would give you for your blood."_  
 _"That is the problem, he doesn't want my blood,"_ he told her with another sigh.  
Nagini started to frown. " _Then ask him whether he can produce strong hatchlings. Or can he not produce any either?"_  
 _"No, he can't either,"_ he chuckled; this conversation was just too weird.  
 _"Weak dominants,"_ Nagini muttered, obviously just deciding that both Malfoy's were kind of useless. _"But at least the older one is polite and takes good care of you,"_ she hissed.  
" _He does,"_ Harry agreed and took another sip of his butterbeer.  
"Do you plan on talking with your snake the whole time?" Draco interrupted their conversation, his voice sounding irritated.  
Shrugging, Harry replied: "Her name is Nagini and I don't know what we should talk about and I don't want to only look out of the window."  
His mate rolled his eyes and asked: "What do you do in your spare time?"  
"Fucking with your father, of course," he shot back, but then shook his head and answered the question seriously; after all, they could not continue insulting each other forever and Draco had at least shown him some politeness since their engagement. "When I have enough time, I like to simply fly, or play a game of chess with Ron."  
"Chess, are you any good?" Draco asked with a lifted eyebrow.  
"Your father and godfather are teaching me, so I am getting better," he answered, knowing that Draco would probably be much better than him.  
"And what makes you so busy?"  
Harry could only roll his eyes again. "Trying to save all your arses is making me so busy."  
"Don't tell me you don't like being a hero, Potter," his second mate said with a smirk.  
"I certainly don't like it. My mother was killed, you should know what that feels like and I grew up with more lies than you will ever be able to imagine."  
"I thought both of your parents were killed," Draco said, pretending that he had not heard the rest of his sentence.  
"Well, that is another story," Harry told him in avoidance.  
"If you think so," Draco shrugged and waved for a second butterbeer.  
They fell silent once more, but this time, neither picked the conversation up again and Harry realized that it would take something big to break the ice between them. But what would make Draco Malfoy suddenly want him, or him suddenly trust the younger blonde? He couldn't imagine anything and thought about simply standing up and going back to Hogwarts a couple of times, contract and all be damned.  
Ron was surely annoyed right now as well and he could understand that. He had been looking forward to flying as well, but that plan had been destroyed by Dumbledore, Lucius, and his father.  
Maybe flying was something he and Draco could do together? But then again, it probably would end in a competition and that would not help them.  
The hours crept by, but finally, after what felt like an eternity, Draco rose, paid for them and told him that they could go back now. When they left, Harry noticed absentmindedly, that the cloaked man in the corner had not touched the red wine he had ordered. Frowning, he wondered why the man had come to the pub in the first place but dismissed it as it was not important.  
It was already getting dark outside and fog was rising from the ground. Winter was not far away, but Harry did not feel cold; at least not more than any other time he was not touching one of his mates or father. He probably could go all the way back to the castle naked and would not feel cold. Of course, that didn't mean that he felt warm either. Glancing sideways over to Draco, he thought that he knew what would make him feel warm again. Draco probably felt even worse because he had no one to cuddle at night, even though he and Lucius would climb into a bed with him instantly as soon as he only asked.  
Outside of Hogsmeade, he took Draco's arm again, but the silence between them remained. This would never work. Back in the Entrance Hall they parted without saying much besides "See you later," and went their separate ways.  
Harry decided to not go to dinner and just start with his essay in his library, knowing that his friends would show up eventually.  
Nagini instantly slithered into his bathroom, declaring that winter was not her time of the year, leaving him alone to work. He summoned a stack of books on the topic of animagus and started to read.  
The topic was even more interesting than he had thought and to be a multimagus really sounded amazing:  
Normally, a person's character decided what kind of animal he or she would be, but in the case of multimagi, their magic was so strong that it simply overpowered any character traits and made it possible to take on any form they wanted. But there were still animals which represented their character: The inner and the outer core animals. The inner core animals were always magical and it was mostly only one single magical creature, whilst the outer core animals were normal animals and was not restricted in number.  
Often you could also see similarities in families, which meant that children with a cat animagus as mother, often were cats as well, only different kinds of breeds within those animals. Harry seriously became curious as to what kind of core animals he would possess. To find that out, he would need more meditation and try to find a pattern in his other animals, but what that would mean, when you could take on every form you wanted, he did not understand, but he hoped that he would realize it in his next class.  
When his friends arrived, he had read all the books and taken some notes and only needed to put everything into an essay still.  
"I did some research on multimagus as well and they are really fascinating," Hermione told him.  
"Yeah, her research included around twenty books," Ron muttered and slumped down opposite from him.  
Harry chuckled and picked his quill up, but Hermione asked: "Do you know your magical strength? It has to be at least 180%..."  
Blushing, he admitted: "Albus tested me," but didn't say more about it, feeling somehow ashamed that he should be that strong, and to be honest, he still couldn't believe it. If he really was that powerful, why did he always have so many problems in his encounters with Voldemort? Should it not have gone better, even though parts of his power had still been sealed away before his transformation?  
Or the Dark Lord was simply even more powerful than he had thought, which wasn't a nice train of thought either.  
"So, how strong are you?" Ron prodded, pulling him from his musing.  
"I really don't want to say. I am sure Dumbledore has cast the spell incorrectly," he muttered and turned back to his still empty parchment, hoping that they would leave the topic alone.  
"Oh come on Harry, he surely hasn't," Ron said and actually poked him in his side with the tip of his quill, which luckily didn't hurt anymore.  
"I really don't want to tell," he kind of whined and blushed in embarrassment.  
Hermione frowned at him. "Why not?"  
Giving up, Harry mumbled: "321%."  
"Say again? You were too quite," Hermione told him.  
"321%," he nearly shouted this time.  
His friend's eyes grew wide and for a moment, they seemed too shocked to say anything, then Hermione said: "Harry, that is immensely strong!"  
"I know, at least if it's true," he replied.  
"Why shouldn't it be? You said Dumbledore tested you and the spell is not that complicated," Hermione said.  
"I just can't believe it," he admitted.  
"Why?" Ron wanted to know.  
"Because, if I am that powerful, my magic must have been strong even before everything had been released by my inheritance, but I always struggled against Voldemort," he explained.  
Hermione frowned for a moment, before saying: "Well, V...Voldemort was most likely already very strong before he started to use Dark Magic."  
"What does Dark Magic have to do with it?" Ron asked and Hermione gave him a look as if he should know the answer, which Harry didn't either.  
"Because," she started to explain "If you don't mind harming your soul beyond any hope of healing it again, you can use Dark Magic to enhance your own magical core."  
"Voldemort surely didn't mind harming his soul," Harry muttered, thinking that Hermione's theory explained a lot, even though they could not prove it.  
"No, he certainly didn't, or he would not have made a single Horcrux," she agreed.  
"But this knowledge doesn't help us, does it?" Ron asked and he and Hermione shook their head simultaneously.  
"Let's just do our homework for now, there is no use in thinking about Voldemort too much, we need more clues for the Horcruxes before we can do anything," he said and his friends agreed. They worked for two more hours, with him only needing one thanks to his quicker pace of writing. After that, they went back into his living room and Oscar brought them some drinks and snacks.  
Hermione was starting to get nervous after another half an hour, because it was already past curfew, but Ron and Harry, who wanted to spend some more time together after their interruption that afternoon, calmed her down by saying: "The common room is only one meter away from Harry's door, nobody will catch us."  
They continued to talk about school and Harry asked them what was going on with the other Gryffindors. He loved his own quarters and the freedom it gave him, but at times he also missed the others. It had always been fun to hang out in the common room, making jokes with everybody and gossiping around the latest rumours.  
They were interrupted when his older mate came in, lifting an eyebrow and asking: "Shouldn't you be back in your common room, Miss Granger and Mr Weasley?"  
"Um..." Ron cleared his throat and looked nervously over at him.  
Hermione cleared her throat, drawing Lucius' attention to her, before saying: "We were just about to leave, Professor."  
"Then you should do that," Lucius said, and Ron and Hermione quickly stood up.  
"We will see you tomorrow at breakfast then," Ron said and Hermione nodded.  
"See you then," Harry said and watched his friends leave.  
He waited until he heard his front door open and close again, before turning to his mate and glaring up at him: "Albus already ruined my afternoon; you could have at least left me my evening!"  
Lucius seemed unimpressed and only lifted his eyebrow again. "How was the date?"  
Huffing, he asked: "Didn't you ask Draco already?"  
"I did, but I would like to hear your version as well," his mate answered.  
"It was awkward, to describe it positively," Harry answered in annoyance, still glaring at Lucius.  
He sighed when he realized that his mate expected a more detailed answer. "We went down to Hogsmeade, and really, that whole linking your arms thing is embarrassing and uncomfortable when you can feel that the other doesn't even want to touch you," he told his mate.  
Lucius sighed and sat down next to him, and pulled him onto his lap. Even though he had been annoyed only a second before, the touch instantly calmed and soothed him and with a sigh he leaned back, relishing in the comfort that simple touch was giving him, before speaking again:  
"We picked up the ingredients for dad and then went to the Three Broomsticks. You know, Draco can be really polite when he wants to be and I started to see some more differences between you and him."  
"Really?" Lucius asked, sounding honestly curious. "I always hear that we are almost as similar as twins."  
Harry shook his head: "No, you really aren't. I think you were right back at my dead relatives' house when you told me that he still did not seem as graceful as you due to the fact that his inheritance had not yet kicked in. It definitively is kicking in now, he is already moving more elegantly, so in that way, he has gotten more similar to you, but your behaviour is very different."  
"How so?" Lucius asked and started to comb gently through his hair.  
He thought for a few seconds about how he could explain what he had noticed, and then slowly said: "If you want something, you come into a room and demand it. Your presence is intimidating, and even if someone did not know who you are, they would immediately see that you are important. Draco has the same aura, but instead of intimidating the people, he is more likely to charm them. He could intimidate them as well, but it is not so strongly in his nature as in yours."  
He watched Lucius pondering his observation for a moment, and finally his mate mused: "That sounds as if he is taking after his mother in that aspect. I always was of the opinion, that he had inherited more from her than most people think, and I think I am glad to hear it confirmed."  
"At least I am not dating two copies of each other like I first feared, but then again, things might have been easier if Draco were your copy," Harry mused.  
Lucius only chuckled. "And how was it at the Three Broomsticks?"  
"We talked for a bit. We had already talked a little on our way to the village; I asked him some questions about how a Courtship works and he asked me what I do in my spare time, but that was all. We mostly just drank our butterbeer and looked out of the window," he told his mate truthfully.  
"I do not know if I should be satisfied with your story or not," Lucius sighed.  
"At least we did not argue or fight again," he replied.  
"Of course not. You are now his fiancé, he would never argue openly with you."  
"I really don't get this Courtship thing. In my opinion, if you don't like each other then a betrothal will not change it," Harry frowned.  
"It has something to do with family honour. It would disgrace our family if Draco treats you badly. A Wizard is always measured by the way he treats his wife or submissive," his mate explained.  
"I thought that magical power and wealth was the main measurement?" Harry asked.  
Shaking his head, Lucius answered: "No, not only that."  
"I think we could not have expected their first date to go much better. Not after four years of rivalry," a voice suddenly spoke from the door and when Harry looked up, he saw his father standing there, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.  
"Dad!" he exclaimed and grinned at the man.  
"You are probably right, Severus," Lucius agreed.  
Holding his arms out, Harry asked: "What are you doing here? Are you finished for the day?"  
"I wanted to join my favourite brat in his bed, but he is not there yet," Severus said with a pointed look at him and then at the clock in the corner.  
Lucius started to rise, but he quickly held his mate back before he was out of reach and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. His first mate smiled gently and stroked his cheek once, before returning the gesture.  
"I love you, my little submissive," his dominant whispered softly into his ear.  
"I love you, too, Lucius, sleep well."  
When his dominant was gone, his father transformed his black robes into a nightshirt, pulled the shrunken quilt of his mother from his pocket and then they curled up together beneath it.  
"Sleep well, my little vampire brat," his father whispered into his ear, before pressing a kiss to his unruly mop of hair."  
"Sleep well, daddy," he mumbled back, already half asleep.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

The next morning he awoke very well rested. His father was still curled behind him and only a hand softly combing through his hair told him that the man was not asleep anymore.  
"Did you sleep well?" His father asked, his voice no more than a whisper as if he didn't want to break the quiet peace of the morning just yet; after all, both of them knew that the day ahead would probably be chaotic again.  
"I slept well," he smiled and turned around to give his father a kiss on the cheek, before asking: "What time is it? Do we have to get up?"  
"Not yet," Severus answered and drew him a bit closer.  
Harry snuggled closer against his chest and for a moment as they stayed silent, until his father asked. "When your mating bond is finally completed, will you still come and cuddle with me?"  
"Of course I will! I want to spend at least one night in the week with you," Harry exclaimed. The thought of not sleeping at his father's place anymore after his mating had never crossed his mind. He had come to understand himself quite well in the last few weeks and the fact was that he was Lucius' and Draco's mate, and thus a sexual person like an adult, as well as a small child which still needed his father's comfort.  
"Good," his father smiled softly and then chuckled: "You really are still a brat, Harry.  
"I am," he replied cockily, grinning up at Severus. "But that is my charm."  
"Yes and Draco will soon fall for it as well," his father agreed.  
The alarm charm he had set the night before went off then and his father shifted to sit up, but he prevented him from doing so quickly by wrapping his arms tightly around his midsection. It was just too nice to cuddle with his dad like this and he had no wish to face the day; somehow he just knew that today would turn out even worse than the last one, and that meant something.  
"Harry we have to get ready. It would be rather suspicious if both of us miss our lessons and I am sure neither you, nor I would like the rumours your fellow students would come up with," his father said and lightly tugged at his arms, although not strong enough to get himself loose actually, even though he knew that the man could free himself easily.  
"But I don't want to! It's nice and comfy here!" He pouted, clinging to his father even tighter.  
"Harry, I really am happy that you feel so comfortable with me, but we really should be going."  
"Only if you promise, to be here early this evening and not spend half the night over some cauldron," Harry said, nuzzling his father's chest.  
Chuckling, Severus promised: "I will be here by ten at the latest, will that be okay?"  
"Yep!" He said and jumped out of bed with a smile.  
They got ready quickly because by now it was rather late and they still had to take into consideration that they could not enter the Great Hall at the same time, or the other students would soon grow suspicious. It really didn't matter, because neither of them ate anymore and so it was enough to arrive just I time to exchange a few polite words with their friends and colleagues.  
"You go ahead, you are more talkative than me," his father said and bent down to give him a kiss on his temple before they had to ignore each other for the day.  
"Okay," Harry said and added: "Have a nice day," before leaving for the Great Hall.  
When he entered, he instantly felt Draco throwing him a filthy glare. Thinking that he knew why the boy was probably angry with him, he only smirked a bit without even looking in his direction.  
He sat down next to Ron, who immediately asked him: "What has Malfoy's knickers in a knot?"  
"Nothing," he answered nonchalantly, grabbing one of his Blood Drops.  
"Did you fight again?" Hermione asked with an accusatory look.  
Rolling his eyes, he replied: "No, we didn't. Do you really think we are stupid enough to continue our fights with our fathers and Albus keeping a close eye on us?"  
Hermione only gave him a sombre look: "Yes, you two are that stupid; at least as soon as you are together in one room. So, what else is there to it?"  
Sticking to his policy of half truths, he explained: "I didn't understand it fully, but Lucius and Severus took advantage of some family laws or something."  
Ron winced: "Did Snape ever tell you what the family name of his Pureblood mother was? Dark families mostly have really strict laws."  
Harry had to think for a moment; his father had mentioned the name yesterday, but what had the name been? Suddenly he remembered: "Prince, her name was Prince."  
His redheaded friend winced again: "Then he certainly can force you to become friends with the prat. The Prince's were really Dark as well; not as Dark as the Malfoy's or Black's, but very close to it."  
Somehow, Harry was not able to imagine the Weasley's having such laws either, but he still asked curiously: "Does your family have those laws as well?"  
His friend nodded: "Of course we have, I think there isn't a single Pureblood family without family law, but ours has never been so restricting, and since my grandfather it has not even been put into use anymore."  
Harry frowned: "Restricting?"  
This time, it was Hermione who answered: "In old wizarding families, the Head of the family is like an Dictator. His word is law and that is always written down in the family law. Be glad that your father is not the type to marry you off like Lucius will probably do with Draco, because Snape could do that and probably much more."  
He flushed and quickly said: "Yeah, guess I can be really lucky."  
"You can," Ron agreed. "If Malfoy senior thinks it will be beneficial to marry his son to Millicent Bulstrode, he could do that and if he wants him to marry him to Crabbe or Goyle or even both, he could do that as well."  
Now Harry didn't even need to pretend to feel sick at the notion. Despite the fact that Lucius would never allow such ugly people to ruin his perfect bloodline, the thought of someone having so much power over their children was horrible.  
Hermione was just opening her mouth to say more about the matter when suddenly a shockwave of magic went through the Great Hall. It was not a very strong shockwave, but it was enough to make all the students and teachers look up in alarm and some even gasp at the foreign sensation, and then a loud and distorted voice spoke:

 **"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord has decided,  
But only when given back what was long lost, brotherly bonds can arise.  
And life grows again, where none had arisen in eight hundred years.  
The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord has decided!"**

Silence rang throughout the Great Hall, as everybody stared at Professor Trelawney, who sat rigidly in her chair, eyes wide as she spoke the prophecy. Then suddenly she flinched and everything was over as fast as it had started. The witch blinked a few times in confusion and then finally noticed that everyone was staring at her.  
"Did something happen?" She asked in confusion and Dumbledore gave a clear sign to McGonagall, who went over to her, said something and then lead her from the Great Hall.  
Harry could only stare at the two women's retreating backs, still too shocked to grasp what just had happened; so was everybody else and before the students could get agitated and start talking, Dumbledore spoke up:  
"A prophecy is a treacherous thing. From own experience, I can tell all of you that it can become true, or it can remain unfulfilled. It is unwise to give a prophecy more attention than it deserves, I myself had to learn this the hard way. So I shall ask you to remain calm about what had just happened."  
Dumbledore sat down again, continuing his breakfast as if nothing had happened and the noise broke loose:  
Wild chattering started at every table and some students even ran over to friends from other houses. The Order Members all stared at Harry, who could still only stare at Dumbledore.  
Hermione quickly pulled her coin out, deciding and informing everybody that they would meet directly after classes.  
By the time he finally could progress that Trelawney had just made a second prophecy about him, rumours were flying wildly.  
A twisted feeling had entered his stomach. Regardless of whether the prophecy forecast something good or bad from happening, a prophecy was always dangerous and much more trouble than it was worth; that much he had learned since the summer.  
Looking his friends straight in the eyes, he said: "Fuck, that can't be good."


	27. Chapter 27: The Price Of Secrets

**Chapter 27: The Price of Secrets**

 **HP**

By the time he had reached the DADA classroom with Ron and Hermione, Harry had heard more speculations about Trelawney's prophecy than about any other topic previously discussed. Neither frightening, nor scandalous news, nor rumours had ever been this wildly discussed.  
Some students were convinced that Trelawney had just told them that the Light Side would win the war. Others (mostly Slytherins) quoted the words in her second sentence, and pointed out and the fact that those words meant that there was a condition tied to the predicted outcome. The last group of students simply said, that her words had only been the Divinations Professor's usual babble because of the rubbish with the brotherly bonds that really didn't fit into the story of a young prodigy boy fighting an evil wizard.  
In Harry's opinion, the prophecy didn't necessary sound, as if he would vanquish anybody, which fit into his personal plan for the war, but the Slytherins point was more valid; it really seemed, as if a condition would be tied to his success, but the thing with the brotherly bonds really sounded like utter nonsense.  
Despite this logical explanation, he was still very cautious. Like Albus had said: Prophecies were treacherous and it would be unwise to give them more meaning than they deserved.  
"So what will you do about it?" Ron asked suddenly, his voice nothing more than a whisper.  
"About the new prophecy?" Harry asked, and when his friends nodded, he sighed and said: "I think I will just ignore it for now and when all is over, I will compare what was true in the end and what not. I will then probably realize that only one of her four lines came into effect and be glad that I didn't think about it too much."  
Hermione nodded in agreement: "That is the best way to go about it. If things start to become true, you can then still try and decipher the prophecy."  
"Yeah, the last one has already made your life complicated enough," Ron mused.  
Harry only snorted: "Complicated?" He asked incredulously. "It had made my life a living hell. Without that stupid thing, my mom would still be alive and I would never have had to fight in a war."  
"You're right," Ron said and his forehead wrinkled in a frown.  
"Well, we cannot say that for sure," Hermione told them in a stern voice.  
"No, but without it, everything would have probably been better for me, even if I would have ended up tangled in the war regardless. Maybe I would never have had to live with the Dursley's," Harry replied.  
"But if you hadn't lived with them, you would maybe never have gone to that muggle town and would have never met your mate," she argued.  
Harry only smiled. She was right; at least his horrible childhood had brought him and his mates together, and in the end that was worth the years in the cupboard and the starvation, even though it had left him claustrophobic and too small for his age.  
Glancing subtly over to Draco, he saw that the blonde was frowning even more than this morning. He had the suspicion that his mate might be worrying about being dragged into this whole mess of a war because of him, which was quite possible if he was being honest.  
Draco had never been very courageous, so this prophecy, together with their current connection, was probably a nightmare for the blonde; after all, the boy was a typical Slytherin: Intelligent and cunning and the first one to be far away if troubled showed up on the horizon.  
Harry snorted inwardly, Draco was as much a typical dominant as he was a typical submissive, at least as far as he could tell right now.  
Glancing over again, he noticed that he still kept his distance from Pansy and Daphne, who by now looked more than unhappy. He could see that they were trying to get near Draco, but he had placed himself between his two bullies, providing himself with an effective shield against the girls.  
His train of thoughts was cut off when the door to the classroom opened. He followed his friends to their seats and they, like everybody else by now, neither sat down nor pulled any books, quills or parchment out.  
Lucius stood up from his chair behind his desk and gathered their homework with a flick of his wand, before moving their desks to the side again and conjuring the pillows, and then he said:  
"Good morning. We will continue where we left off at the last lesson. I advise you to use today's class as much as possible because I will test your progress in our next lesson."  
Harry watched his older mate, who seemed slightly tense, but he was sure that no one would notice it besides him and Draco. The only thing which gave Lucius away was a barely noticeable tension around his eyes, but he had expected that the man would not let anything show. Beside that, Lucius looked as gorgeous as always.  
He really missed the man. His body yearned for the aristocrat's touch, his hot tongue on his skin and his strong arms wrapped protectively around his small frame at night. He was also starting to feel the strain of not being dominated as frequently since Draco's return, and his instincts were starting to fray due to nervousness. Until now, he not yet felt too overwhelmed with his life, but if things continued like they were, it was more a matter of days, than of weeks. That he had not yet broken down under the stress of his daily life was most likely due to the fact that they saw each other at least semi regularly.  
Right now he could hex Draco for making him miss Lucius in the first place; if it weren't for the stubborn prat, they could already have been sharing a bed for weeks and waking up in each other's arms every morning.  
"Draco," Lucius continued and fixed his son with a stern look. "You will help Mr. Potter with his multimagus training. You can go with him into my private study so that you will not disturb the other students."  
"Yes father," Draco replied politely and Harry groaned inwardly. His friends threw him a pitiful look and pat him on the shoulder, before he picked up his school bag, resigning himself to spending two hours in close proximity with Draco. He really had hoped after his date yesterday that he would have some time before he had to face the blonde again.  
They went up the stone staircase and Harry remembered the last time when he had used this entrance to the office, over two years ago. Back then Lockheart had used the rooms. A portrait of the man had waved from every wall and he had been forced to help him with his fan mail.  
Lucius really had more style, he thought as he stepped into the room.  
Draco went over to a lounge in one corner and flopped down into an armchair, looking at him expectantly. Sighing, he sat down across from him, placing his bag on the floor next to him.  
His mate frowned at him, but then started in a lecturing voice surprisingly similar to Hermione's and without further preamble: "To find your core animal is similar to finding a normal animagus form. Have you read up on how to find your animagus form?"  
Harry simply nodded, he had the feeling that Draco would not like being interrupted, same as Hermione did not, and his second mate continued:  
"Then you know that a person has to concentrate on those character traits which are especially strong or unique in them. These traits are a part of the essence that defines us, the other part is the magical core and the soul, or the heart, depending on what term you would prefer using."  
"Does that mean that I have to concentrate on my magical core to find my core animal?" Harry asked, remembering that the inner core animal of a multimagus was always a magical creature.  
"Not exactly," Draco told him, his voice still very neutral and Harry could practically feel that his mate was as happy about their private session as he himself was.  
"You have to concentrate on what is special about your magic. For example, a spell you are especially good at, or a magical ability. I would advise you to think about your parseltongue, even though it was not originally yours," Draco said, lifting an eyebrow, as if wanting to provoke him, but he only shrugged and said: "The ability is mine. My family does not only go back to Gryffindor."  
"Really? You must show me the person who went to Slytherin on the Potter family tree," Draco sneered, but it was a weaker version than the sneer he had received the last four years.  
Not taking the bait, he closed his eyes and replied: "Maybe one day, when I trust you enough," before starting to meditate.  
He had much more trouble relaxing with Draco so near than with his friends to both side of him, and needed at least double the amount of time to calm himself down. Even though he had done nothing, his heart was racing, probably because it was always stressful to be near Draco these days. His still boiling anger, the hurt of being rejected and the feeling of wanting to be close to a person he still didn't even like, put a palpable strain on his body.  
It took him long minutes, but when his heart rate had finally slowed down and the knowledge of his second mate only sitting a few inches away from him was not as present in his mind anymore, he turned to his magical core and thought about his parseltongue, like Draco had suggested.  
It really was a special gift of his and it always had been important to him, even though it was considered a Dark Power. Since freeing the boa constrictor at the muggle zoo, he had talked with many snakes, mostly during the summer when he had been forced to do chores in the garden the Dursley's the whole day. The snakes had kept him company and made the time pass faster. They had also distracted him when he had been hungry and thirsty and his relatives had denied him any food and water.  
A green light started to pulse in his core and it really was amazing, how much space this ability had claimed, but he could clearly feel something else as well. In fact, there were a lot more different aspects of his magic, but one other thing stood out as well.  
Harry decided to keep this other sensation in his mind but concentrated for now on his parseltongue. This ability felt like a snake, coiling and slithering and hissing in his mind, which wasn't really a surprise. Concentrating even more on his power, he could also feel that it felt very strong, almost deathly and immature at the same time.  
Deathly and immature? How was that supposed to fit together? Examining the strength first, he pondered what kind of strong snakes he knew about, it also had to be a magical one.  
He knew Nagini but didn't know what her species was actually called and his core animal felt different from her, more ancient.  
Then there was of course the Basilisk, the king of all serpents, but surely such a snake would not feel immature? Or was he missing something?  
Turning to the other feeling, he could sense that it had the same immatureness to it. Frowning, he opened his eyes and looked at Draco again.  
"Do you have a question, or did you already figure out your core animal?" His mate asked with a raised eyebrow, making him look like a younger version of his father, only with short hair.  
"I have a question," Harry said.  
"Well?" Draco enquired and he asked:  
"Is it normal that all my magical abilities have the same feeling to it?"  
His mate frowned, clearly confused. Sighing, Harry wished that at least one thing about him could be normal for once.  
"What kind of feeling?" Draco asked, still sounding neutral.  
Chewing his bottom lip, Harry told him: "It feels all kind of immature." He really hated having to give even that much away about himself with the way Draco currently was, but it couldn't be helped.  
His mate smirked: "Well, you are a midget, Potter."  
Harry's eyes widened in realization. Of course, why had he not thought about it as soon as he had encountered the feeling? There was a third aspect that defined him and which would continue to define him. It was not a magical aspect in itself, but his transformation must have given it some magical properties: His youth, or childishness; he was an eternal kid!  
"Thanks!" He quickly exclaimed with a grin, missing the widening of Draco's blue eyes, before closing his eyes again and going quickly back to his magical core.  
This time, he didn't concentrate on his magical character traits but tried to summon the other creatures again. It only took him a few seconds and all the cats, birds, dogs and other animals appeared in front of his eyes again, only now he noticed that it wasn't just cats and birds. Instead, it was kittens and chicks and puppies; all his animals were still children, like he himself was, so his magical creature would probably still be very young as well, which meant that his snake would be a hatchling and that explained how a strong creature could feel so immature.  
Turning to his magical core again, his other forms vanished and he let himself fall into the feeling of the snake.  
Yes, it really was strong, very strong and ancient. Somehow his mind felt as if it was connecting to the snake and suddenly he could taste all kinds of scents on his tongue, could feel his magical and physical strength coursing through his body and the knowledge that every living being would tremble in his presence. A hiss escaped him and then there was a loud, high pitched scream.  
Opening his eyes, he looked down at Draco, who had fallen out of his seat and was cowering and trembling on the floor, his eyes closed and his head determinedly turned to the side.  
Blinking a few times, he wondered what was wrong with his mate and tried to soothe him, not noticing that he was still hissing. Draco trembled even more and then stammered: "Potter, don't you dare forget that I am your mate! You will die yourself if you kill me!"  
Harry was getting even more confused, why should Draco think that he would kill him? And why were his eyes still closed? The blonde couldn't really think that he would ever kill him, he would never do that, not even after Draco's punch; they were bloodmates after all and that at least meant something.  
He wanted to place a hand on Draco's shoulder and calm him down, but what actually landed on his mate's shoulder was not a hand, but the tip of a giant snake's tail and as soon as it touched the blonde, he scrambled to his feet and bolted.  
Confused, but wanting to tell his dominant that he would never harm him and not really realizing that he had indeed turned into a giant snake, Harry followed him.  
All eyes were fixed on the staircase, where Draco had come running from, but as soon as he slithered down the steps, all his friends and fellow students started screaming.  
Harry's eyes wandered over to Lucius, who had sprung up from his seat. Draco stood next to him and Harry heard the older aristocrat shout: "Everybody lie down on the floor and close your eyes!" Then he grabbed Draco by the arm and ordered: "Quick, change into your creature! He is harmless to us then and with a bit of luck we will be able to communicate with him!"  
In the next moment, silver-white scales spread all over their bodies and they transformed into two, very similar Chinese Dragons, only without the legs those creatures normally possessed. They almost looked snake-like as well, but each of them had a mane down their spines in the colour of their eyes and on the tip of their tails, and their whiskers were equally coloured feathery tufts. They were even bigger than he himself and the students were quickly running out of their classroom, which was too small to house a giant snake and two dragons. Lucius and Draco's bodies were partially laying on top each other to fit them into the room, but even then their long forms pushed up against the walls.  
"Harry, can you understand us?" Lucius asked carefully and with a heavy accent, finally looking directly at him.  
His concentration was by now centred on his running classmates; even Ron and Hermione were amongst them and the strange accent which made his mate nearly incomprehensible didn't help his irritation either, so he only frowned and answered very irritated: "Of course I can."  
He tried to get closer to his friends, but his mates blocked his way with a shift of their long bodies.  
He growled in annoyance, he wanted to follow his friends. Why were they running from him? Had something happened during their practice? Draco had also reacted so strangely... he hadn't turned into a Dark Lord all of the sudden, had he? No, he certainly would have noticed if he had transformed at all.  
Coming to a decision, he didn't listen to what Lucius was saying next but quickly slithered beneath a free space between his mates intertwined bodies and floor, his mind set on following his friends and asking them why they were so afraid of him.  
He spotted Ron and Hermione, along with all the other students already on the bottom of the staircase and quickly followed them. When he arrived in the Entrance Hall, his friends ran to the huge double doors, which lead outside. A gasp alerted him to some newcomers, and when he turned his head to his right he saw Albus, McGonagall and even his father standing there, all looking at the ground, but with their wands drawn.  
"A Basilisk!" his Head of House exclaimed and he froze. A Basilisk? Where was the Basilisk? Looking around, he finally noticed how much higher he seemed to float above them, and then it suddenly struck him: He was the basilisk! No wonder everybody was so afraid of him!  
"Albus, we have to kill it!" McGonagall shouted and fear rose in his chest. Killing him? Didn't they recognize him? But then again, how would they?  
In the moment his two dominants appeared in front of him, having caught up with him. He instantly slithered over to them, burying his face into Lucius' scaled skin.  
"Wait!" His father suddenly shouted. "The two dragons; those are Draco and Lucius. Weren't they practicing the animagus transformation today?"  
"Of course!" Albus exclaimed and then asked: "Harry, is it you?" Harry nodded, his head still buried in Lucius' soft main. He barely heard Albus telling the other professors to keep all students from the Great Hall, as Lucius curled protectively around him and then a shock of pleasure coursed through his body, making his scaled skin tingle all over. A soft tuff had lain down over his deadly eyes, but the tuff didn't belong to Lucius, it smelled like Draco. The gesture was oddly comforting and he would have given a fortune to find out what had made his second mate touch him so tenderly. Was it really care? Or did the younger blonde just know that Lucius would expect this kind of behaviour from him? Whatever the reason was, he would not find an answer to the question right now, because the sensation of both of his mates was nearly overwhelming him. Only the knowledge that he stood in the middle of the Great Hall, watched by many Professors and even more students prevented him from groaning in pleasure. Their warmth spread through his body, accompanied by little tingles, like a wonderful massage, and he relaxed in Lucius' embrace.  
"Harry, you need to turn back," Lucius said softly, pulling him from his blissful state. He had not even planned on transforming; normally he should only have been able to see his creature at first and that was why he hadn't realized until now. To actually transform was supposed to need more practice.  
"Can you feel the difference between your human body and the body you are in right now?" his older mate asked softly and he hissed: "Yes."  
"Good. Then concentrate on how your human body always feels. Imagine standing on the ground with two feet, instead of lying on it. Think about how it feels to clench and unclench your hands, or how it feels to pick something up. Try to concentrate on the things which separate your basilisk form from your human one."  
Harry closed his eyes and tried to enter his meditative state again, but it wasn't easy right now. His heart was hammering with the shock of having scared his friends and classmates so much and the excitement of both of his mates touching him together for the first time. His skin prickled pleasantly wherever their bodies touched, which was a lot right now, and the sensation was stronger than any touch he had felt before. This magical spark on his skin had never been there when he had been alone with Lucius and he silently wondered how it would feel when they were all finally mated.  
But maybe this new sensation could help him with his current problem and not only distract him? Calming himself down further, he started imagining Draco stroking his cheek, whilst a single claw of Lucius traced down his sensitive neck. His skin opened under the loving touch, a warm drop of blood ran down his flesh and a shudder went through his body.  
He could almost feel it: The soft touches and caresses of his two mates, the pleasurable pain when one of them sliced or pierced his skin, reminding him that he was their submissive, and their property. Draco ran his hands down his sides and hips, before kneeling down in front of him and softly stroking his tights.  
His magic started to pulse and he could actually feel his legs again, but he was not standing. Opening his eyes again, he saw only the ice blue feathers of Draco's tuff in front of him, but they lifted and opened to the view of Lucius' silver-white scaled body still wrapped around him.  
Silently, so that only Lucius and Draco could hear him, he whispered: "Thank you, Lucius and Draco."  
The two big dragons nodded and his first mate released him before both turned back to their human forms simultaneously.  
"Thank, Merlin!" McGonagall exclaimed and he looked sheepishly at his feet, he hadn't wanted to cause so much chaos. He felt so ashamed.  
When he looked back up, Draco wore a disgusted expression for good measure, probably because some students came back from outside, but in his blue eyes, he could still see the shock of suddenly facing a basilisk. Turning around, he hung his head again, not able to look into Dumbledore or the other teacher's eyes. His father had just come back up from the dungeons, having guarded the entrance to the Great Hall there and a slight frown creased his forehead.  
"I am sorry," he mumbled. His throat felt as if something was chocking it up and his heart clenched guiltily at the frightened looks of the students around them.  
"Ah, no problem, my boy," Dumbledore smiled and waved him off. "Nothing happened and to discover your multimagus form can sometimes be a surprise. I remember quite well when I transformed the first time; I instantly burst into flames. It was an unusual sensation."  
Harry blinked in confusion at the Headmaster, wondering if the man had eaten too many Lemon Drops just before transforming the first time and it had clouded his sense of reality. As if sensing his thoughts, Dumbledore chuckled and said: "You see, I am a phoenix and transformed on my burning day."  
Harry blushed and cleared his throat in embarrassment, but his mentor only winked at him with mirth twinkling in his blue eyes, before saying to the assembled crowd: "But I do believe that you all have Care of Magical Creatures soon."  
The gathered students started to return to their classroom, whilst he stood in the middle of the Great Hall for a moment, unsure, if he should follow the others or not. They still seemed frightened of him, but Lucius' eyes flickered pointedly to the stairs and he gave a curt nod, before falling into step with his two mates. No student wondered in that moment, why he Harry Potter , was still walking next to the two Malfoy's, their thoughts were still on other things and slowly wild chatter erupted around him for the second time that morning.  
As they passed Dumbledore, the old wizard grabbed Lucius' arm with a quick motion and he stopped automatically, as did Draco to his right. Dumbledore didn't say a word, but only looked Lucius deep into his silver eyes and his dominant returned the gaze without breaking the eye contact even once. At his confused expression, Draco whispered: "You can communicate with the use of Occlumency if you are skilled enough and Dumbledore surely is one of those people."  
"Oh," he said, not knowing what else to say. It was the first time that had Draco freely explained something to him without an order from his father, another teacher or being asked.  
Finally, Lucius gave a single nod and they continued their walk. When they arrived at the classroom, students came towards them, but Lucius only declared: "The lesson is not over yet and I have not dismissed you," making them turn back around with a loud groan.  
"Ten points from Gryffindor Mr. Thomas. I am your teacher and you do not complain about my orders unless they are unreasonable," his first mate drawled. Harry saw Draco smirk and rolled his eyes, but said nothing; they were in public after all.  
The classroom was utterly destroyed: Desks and chairs had simply been crushed under the power of the two dragons' bodies trying to fit into a single classroom; school bags were flattened and even one of the windows had somehow shattered.  
He went over to Ron and Hermione, worried that they would not talk to him anymore now after they had seen what monster he could become, but as soon as he was near enough Hermione threw herself around his neck, even going so far as to lift his small frame up to give him an even stronger hug, and Ron pat his back reassuringly.  
"Oh, you must have been so surprised!" Hermione exclaimed, her voice sounding worried. Harry pat her back a bit awkwardly.  
"I am fine, Mione," he told her, feeling uncomfortable at being comforted like this after destroying an entire classroom. He should at least offer to pay for everything.  
"Let the poor kid down," Ron chuckled and Hermione let him down, but asked: "Are you sure that everything is fine?"  
Lucius cleared his throat, giving him no chance of answering.  
"To close this lesson, I would like to tell everybody that I will of course be helping Mr. Potter control his powers. A basilisk is a dangerous creature, but despite common belief, they can control their eyes, they only do not see the need to do so. But Mr. Potter is not a real basilisk, even though he can take on its form," his mate told everybody.  
Parvati Patil lifted her hand and Lucius nodded in her direction to allow her to speak up.  
"Does that mean that you will allow Harry to transform again, Professor?" She asked, her voice shaking.  
"Yes, indeed. He will train in my office again and I will lock him and my son in there and ward the room. It would be much more dangerous to not let him train. Mr. Potter needs to control his powers, or he will be a threat to everyone as soon as he transforms into his magical creature and we are lucky that my son can help him without being in danger himself."  
"Why is he no danger to you and your son?" Dean asked, without raising his hand. Lucius glared at him but did not dock any points. "Snakes are the descendants of dragons. They are practically dragons without many magical abilities, or any if at all; that was why my son and I could communicate with him. The dragon language is similar to parseltongue. The more magic a snake possesses, the closer it is to a dragon and the basilisks still possess about half the amount of dragon blood, and that is why we cannot be harmed by him," Lucius explained as Harry listened attentively.  
He had never known that Snakes and Dragons were related, even though it somehow made sense; they could look very similar after all.  
"There is no homework besides practicing every evening," His older mate dismissed them then, and he noticed that his bag was still upstairs. He quickly summoned it to follow his friends, but Lucius stopped him: "Mr. Potter, I would like to speak to you and my son for a minute.  
"Should we wait for you?" Ron asked.  
Knowing how much Hermione hated to be late for class and not wanting to take the chance, that his friends might listen in on his mates and him, he shook his head and asked: "Would you just tell Hagrid that Malfoy and I will be late?"  
Ron made a face.  
Mirroring his expression, even though he didn't feel like it after the blonde had helped him earlier, he said: "He will be late because of me, so please?"  
"We will tell Hagrid, Hermione said with a small smile and pulled at Ron's arm. They left the classroom and Harry waited until Lucius had locked and warded the room before he turned to his mates and asked: "What happened?"  
His two mates lifted their left eyebrows at the same time and he couldn't suppress a grin at the identical gesture, it was almost as if he had two twins as mates, but not quite.  
"I think we should ask you that, Potter," Draco huffed, before adding: One minute you were all relaxed and the next..." he broke off and glared at the floor.  
"Can you try to describe what you felt?" Lucius asked and motioned to him to come closer.  
Harry stepped closer and tried to remember what he had felt before he had opened his eyes as a giant snake. After a moment he said: "Um... Draco told me that I should concentrate on a special magical ability of mine, like parseltongue."  
Looking up, he waited until Lucius had nodded, before he continued: "I went into my meditation and to my magical core and it was surprisingly easy to find the spot which symbolized my parseltongue. It felt like a snake, a very powerful one, but something was off."  
Draco interrupted his revision: "So that was why you asked if it is normal that your magical abilities all have the same feeling to it?"  
Harry nodded: "Yes, they all somehow felt very immature. Your comment gave me the idea that it could have something to do with my age, I am after all not an adult yet."  
Lucius chuckled, whilst Draco frowned at his words, but he did not explain more about it and instead went on: "It confused me, why such a powerful creature could feel like that, but as I realized that it was probably not fully mature yet, I suddenly could taste all kinds of scents on my tongue and when I opened my eyes, Draco was panicking."  
"I was not panicking!" Draco snapped indignantly and Harry saw Lucius' lips twitch a bit, as he said: "Of course not, Draco."  
Remembering Lucius' shocked look as he came down the stairs, he asked nervously: "Lucius, are you afraid of my form?"  
Lucius chuckled and pulled him closer. Draco scowled at them, but he didn't draw back and let himself be enclosed by his first dominant's strong arms. He missed the feeling so much.  
"I am not afraid; I was merely shocked that my sweet, innocent and very Gryffindorish submissive is a deadly snake," Lucius chuckled. "I think Severus is very happy right now."  
Grinning up at Lucius, he ignoring Draco's irritated frown and asked: "Are you sure? It would mean a lot to me."  
"I am, he is a Slytherin after all," Lucius replied smoothly and let him go again. He instantly missed the warmth of his mate's body, but said nothing and only hoped that Draco would come around soon and that he would be able to forget his second mate's cruel behaviour from two days ago, by then. Maybe that Draco had helped him earlier and had even answered a question for him, was a sign that they were slowly going in the right direction?  
Lucius' expression grew sterner again and he told them: "You should go to Care of Magical Creatures now. I doubt that the oaf will cause any problems, but neither my son nor my submissive will make a bad impression on a teacher, regardless of how unqualified he is."  
Harry glared at Lucius: "Hagrid is not an oaf and he knows a lot about creatures." Sighing he relented: "But I guess his teaching methods are not always the safest."  
"Not always the safest?" Draco asked incredulously. "They are downright dangerous, Potter!"  
"I know," he admitted, only to grin a second later: "At least now your arm would heal within seconds if you were ever stupid enough to not bow in front of a hippogriff again."  
"Harry," Lucius growled warningly and he knew that he had just gone too far, so he apologized:  
"Sorry Draco, I guess that doesn't help our relationship."  
"No, it doesn't," Draco hissed. "And be glad we are not in public right now or you would have just disgraced both our families, but I guess it doesn't matter to you with both of your parents dead!"  
A pang went through his heart at the harsh words and the little hope he had only a minute ago, shattered. Tears pricked at the back of his eyes and he heard Lucius hiss: "Draco that was no better!"  
Trying to swallow the lump in his throat, but not quite succeeding, Harry mumbled: "its okay, we should just go to Care of Magical Creatures." He wanted to go back to his friends before he really could burst into tears. He really had started to hope that they could fix their mating bond, but apparently his second mate hated him even more than expected. He turned on the spot and left the classroom without another glance at his dominants and hurried down to Hagrid's hut.  
He let his tears fall freely as he rushed past students, not caring that even more rumours would fly around by the time lunch came by.  
Why was his second mate so cruel to him? He had apologized for his stupid comment. Did Draco really hate him that much? Was he such a bad submissive? His heart clenched in agony and a sob tore from his throat. He wanted his mates, both of them; he needed them. Why was he forced to be alone, when he had two bloodmates?  
He wanted to just hide somewhere and cry until he fell asleep because of exhaustion, then at least he would not have to feel the consuming pain anymore.  
Hagrid's hut came closer and he forced the tears back down, before wiping his face with his sleeve. Lucius would surely have scolded him if he stained his expensive robes like that, but he didn't want everybody to see his distress.  
Hagrid smiled at him as he arrived and he quickly hurried over to his friends, forcing his face into a small smile, which probably looked very pathetic.  
"You really gave us a scare there," Ron whispered. "For a moment we all thought that Slytherin's monster was back."  
Harry shuddered at the redhead's words, but before he could answer anything, Hermione scowled at them and made a hushing sound.  
Ron rolled his eyes but concentrated back on the lecture and he tried the same, thankful to not have to talk at the moment, but he just couldn't concentrate. His mind kept reeling and his injured heart just wouldn't stop hurting. His right hand fisted into the fabric of his waistcoat in a desperate hope that it would ease the pain, but it was of no use.  
Hermione threw him a worried look and he mouthed: "Just a bit much, that's all," to reassure her, but it seemed to have the opposite effect: Her frown deepened and she chewed worriedly on her bottom lip.  
"Do you want to go and lay down for a bit?" she whispered.  
He shook his head fiercely; the last thing he wanted was to draw even more attention to him right now, so he forced his face into a more relaxed expression and pushed his pain to the back of his mind with all his willpower. Unfortunately, they were only replaced by worries about the new prophecy and his creature form: He couldn't say which of those topics worried him the most.  
But he should probably think about the prophecy if he couldn't stop to worry about something right now, and it was more important than his multimagi form anyway. Sure, he agreed with Dumbledore that they should not pay it too much intention, but he still wondered what it could mean.  
The first and last line was clear to him: He had made his decision to not kill Voldemort, so that had to be the reason for the other things which might occur or not. The second part of the second line worried him much more. Brotherly bonds, what could that mean? Did he have a brother? But no, that could not be. His father had told him that he had never slept with any woman other than his mother and he had not been a twin.  
Or maybe the prophecy didn't mean a real brother? Could someone become a brother through a bond, and if so, who could it be?  
His face paled at the thought of the other person who always seemed to pop up in his life and who was part of the first and the second prophecy about him: Tom Riddle, or Lord Voldemort.  
Sure, they shared some things, like the ability to talk with snakes and their connection to Salazar Slytherin, but he surely could not be the bastard's brother, that was impossible wasn't it?  
And he also would never perform a bonding, which would create such a relationship between him and his enemy! He might not want to kill him, but that was only because he didn't like the idea of becoming a murderer, even though the man certainly deserved death and even worse.  
But what if he were to have no chance to agree or disagree on a bond? He hadn't had the chance with the blood bond either. What if, it just happened? If that really was a possibility, then he should go and talk with Dumbledore.  
His heart suddenly started to hammer wildly in fear. His chest tightened and panic clutched him. No, it could not be that cruel! Even the thing with him and Draco seemed like a joke in comparison.  
Not thinking about the fact that he was in the middle of class, he scrambled to his feet and grabbed his bag.  
"Harry? Where are ya going?" Hagrid's voice barely registered in his mind, but he succeeded in replying: "I have to go to the Headmaster," before dashing off. In his haste he ran into his second mate, who had just arrived, but he only mumbled a quick apology, not noticing that Draco was following him.  
He only stopped when he had reached the gargoyle and only then did he notice the blonde. "Why are you following me?" He asked with a scowl. Did the prat really think that he would take him to a personal meeting with Dumbledore after what he had said? That he would trust him enough?  
Draco lowered his voice to a low hiss, before saying: "I am your fiancé now and father still thinks you are his soulmate, he will have my head if I let you run off like crazy!"  
Scowling, he replied: "I am only going to see Albus, you can leave me alone."  
"No," Draco simply said and crossed his arms.  
Sighing, Harry tried to calm himself down before he could actually shout at his mate. "You are not interested in me and what I want to talk about is private. I also don't trust you, so leave," he said as calm as possible, but Draco only said "No," again.  
Growling Harry hissed: "I said that I don't trust you and that you should leave."  
"There is no need to not trust me; I would never betray my fiancé, regardless of what I think about you."  
"Don't start with that Family Law crap again," Harry said in annoyance.  
"It seems it is too much to ask that a Halfblood understands Pureblood ways. We have something like honour, Potter," Draco drawled.  
Harry clenched his fists, desperately trying to not return the favour of a broken nose and a cracked skull.  
"I don't want you here, so piss off," he growled, without feeling bad about the insult; Draco had hurt him twice now, so why should he stay polite?  
"And I said that I do not care if you want my company or not," Draco hissed back.  
Annoyed, Harry huffed: "Then I will come back later," and turned to go again, but his second mate grabbed his cloak and held him back.  
"Oh no, you will not. I will not take the risk of you running off on some stupid hero mission later."  
Harry tried to wrench his cloak from Draco's grasp, but the dominant was much stronger than him. He glared at his mate, who only smirked back.  
"You know Potter, I still do not believe that you really are a vampire, but I can see why you would be a submissive."  
Harry growled again, anger rising in his chest and tried to free himself again, but with not more success than the last time.  
"Just give it up," Draco sneered. "You are more than three heads shorter; you cannot be stronger than me."  
Unfortunately, Draco was right, but he would not go with him to Dumbledore alone. If he had to take the prat with him, he wanted someone there who could control him. So he said: "Fine, you can come with me, but then we will call for Lucius as well."  
Draco shrugged. "If you really trust him that much," the blonde smirked.  
"I do," Harry said and gave the gargoyle the password. It jumped to the side and he stepped onto the spiral staircase.  
As they reached the door to the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore told them to enter before Harry could even knock.  
He simply entered and sat down on the chair in front of his mentor's desk, which stood there as if Dumbledore had known that he would come. As the old wizard saw his mate, he quickly conjured the second one and then said:  
"I thought you might come by my boy. Do you want to talk about the incident in DADA or about the new prophecy?"  
"I... I have a question about the prophecy," Harry answered with an uneasy look.  
"Very well, shall we call your other mate first?" Dumbledore asked with a knowing smile.  
Harry nodded and his mentor stood up to go over to his floo, before making a firecall. He had the feeling that the old wizard did not only know who was approaching his office, but also what was spoken in front of it, he would not put it past the meddling man.  
Only a few seconds later the old wizard straightened again and the flames in the hearth flared green, before his first dominant stepped out gracefully, hair perfect as ever and with his snake cane in hand.  
"What is it Headmaster, I was just preparing for my next lesson?" Lucius asked, but then saw him and son and lifted a questioning eyebrow.  
"Harry has some questions concerning his prophecy and seeing that one of his mates was already here, I thought it unfair to leave you out my dear boy," Dumbledore said and conjured another chair, before sitting down again and focusing his twinkling eyes expectantly. Lucius did the same, only with a more curious look in his silver eyes. That the older blonde was comfortable enough around him to show him so much expression really made Harry happy and for a moment, his heart started racing again, until he quickly looked away with a flush. Unfortunately, his eyes fell on his other mate, who looked very disgusted next to his father,  
Feeling suddenly very uncomfortable, Harry cleared his throat and wondered how he should phrase his words without making them sound totally crazy or himself paranoid. Sadly he didn't know any elegant ways, he was not Lucius after all and simply started: "Um... The prophecy speaks of me and Tom again and I know it is unwise to pay it too much attention, but I just wondered whether there are bonds, which can make someone your brother even though he technically isn't?"  
Both his mates' heads snapped towards him and they stared at him with huge eyes, but Dumbledore's only continued to twinkle for a moment, before answering: "Indeed, there are some ways. For example blood adoptions, but those things would be in your and Tom's power."  
Harry had the uncomfortable feeling that the Headmaster was leaving something important out and the old man's words just hinted too much to his earlier worries, so he asked: "And are there things which would not be in my power?"  
To his horror, Dumbledore nodded: "Yes. Normally blood is the most powerful substance in our bodies, but in rare cases, the magic can overpower the blood and force the body to recognize magically- familiar relationship."  
Not even his mates looked as if they knew what the Headmaster was talking about.  
"What is that?" He inquired, therefore.  
"It occurs when the magical core of two people are identical. It is different from a soul bond, where the souls recognize that they will complement each other perfectly. In those cases, the two people are considered magical siblings which are equal to blood-related siblings, but as I said, it is a rare phenomenon because the magical core is influenced not only by the genes of the parents but also by experiences in the early childhood."  
Harry blinked and relief washed through him, he was not at all comparable with the Dark Wizard, besides their ability to speak parseltongue. "But he has done so much Dark Magic and Hermione even thinks that he might have used it to enhance his core, so that can't be it?"  
"His mentor shook his head: "Dark Magic stains your soul and not your core and if you enhance your core with a ritual, it is more like putting a second core inside of you. It will not change the core with which you were born and that is the important one for those kinds of happenings."  
Harry felt as if someone had poured ice water down his throat. Desperate to find a solid reason why he could not end up as the Dark Lord's brother, he said: "But we can't possibly be similar in any other way? Our pasts have to be very different from each other."  
Dumbledore smiled mysteriously and a sad expression entered his blue eyes. "I have almost gathered all the Memories. I think they will answer this question as well."  
Harry's heart sunk even more. That sounded bad again, but he would refuse to believe that he could be so similar to that evil snake- bastard until fate proved him wrong.  
"What would it mean if what you just told us is true, Dumbledore?" Lucius questioned.  
"Normally, the two souls would start to recognize each other as magical siblings, but as wounded as Tom's soul is, it is very likely that it would need a further connection between Harry and Tom before it could happen. If the two souls should indeed recognize each other someday, they would be considered family by law, just like any other siblings and they should be able to feel it in the same way you can feel your connection to your mate's. But it would be a different kind of bond, of course. Magical siblings are not mates," Dumbledore explained. "Be assured Harry," the Headmaster continued "that I will help you, regardless of what you discover and decide in the end."  
"I know," Harry nodded. His mind swirling with the new information and the horrible possibility they had shown him.  
"Who do you mean by Tom?" Draco suddenly asked and Harry blinked at him owlishly, before answering: "Voldemort of course."  
His second mate flinched at the Dark Lord's self-given name and then made an odd face: "Is that some kind of code name you use for him?"  
Now Harry gave the blonde an odd look; did his mate read too many detective stories? "No, it is his birth name."  
Draco snorted. "A Pureblood like the Dark Lord would never have a name like Tom. It is too common," he huffed.  
"He isn't a Pureblood, his father was a muggle," Harry replied dryly.  
"Where do you get that stupid notion from, Potter?" Draco sneered and his father threw him a warning look.  
Shrugging, Harry told him: "He told me in the graveyard."  
Both his dominant's eyes widened in disbelief; they looked utterly gobsmacked.  
"A Halfblood or a Mudblood?" Lucius asked in disbelief.  
"Halfblood, but I don't know anything more," he told him.  
Dumbledore cleared his throat and focused his twinkling eyes on him and Draco. "Well my boys, I think we have discussed everything we were able to discuss at this point. I think it is time for you to return to your classes. What do you have next?"  
"Transfigurations, sir," Draco answered politely and rose. Harry followed his example and they said their goodbyes before leaving the office again.  
Draco seemed rather deep in thought while they went down to their next classroom and Harry could not blame him; he had thought about Voldemort and his past a lot as well, but it had been rather quickly overshadowed by the events at Privet Drive. He watched his second dominant from the corner of his eyes and for once, Draco didn't seem to notice it. His posture was straight as ever, but his head faced the ground.  
When they arrived at the Transfigurations classroom, it was still a bit early too for anybody else to be there, but it made no sense to go back to Hagrid, so they just stood there in silence.  
"Do you really believe that the Dark Lord might be your brother?" Draco suddenly asked.  
Harry had not thought that the dominant would actually want to start a conversation, so he had to blink for a few times before he could answer: "Well, he wouldn't be my real brother, only a magical one."  
His mate shook his head: "Magical relations are equal to blood relations, with the only difference being that they do not follow a straight line, but appear randomly. I read about it once, but it was a long time ago and only a few short lines in a breaking of the law, so I did not remember it until the old fool explained it once more."  
Harry gulped; he really didn't want to get Voldemort as a twisted version of a big brother, really, the thought alone sounded crazy.  
"So, would he appear on my family tree?" he asked.  
"Yes, it is really complicated. He would appear on your family tree and you on his, but if you had any living relatives anymore, they would not be considered his. The magical relationship only ties two people together, not entire family, even though it would give you the right to name each other the heir to your lines," Draco had wrinkled his forehead in concentration trying to remember everything that he had read in the law book.  
"Do you want to become a lawyer like your father?" Harry asked curiously.  
"No, but I do want to become a Professional Politician and therefore it is quite valuable to study law and eloquence. You still need to answer my question, Potter."  
"Which one?" Harry asked, having forgotten Draco's first question over their conversation.  
The blonde rolled his eyes exasperatedly and repeated: "If you really think the Dark Lord might be your brother."  
Harry sighed and then said honestly: "I hope not, but it is me we are talking about."  
Draco lifted an eyebrow in question and he elaborated:  
"All crazy stuff happens to me. Who would have thought that I would turn out to be your and your father's mate?"  
"Do you really still believe that?" His second mate asked, sounding as doubtful as always. Maybe Draco really would be happier with some Pureblood witch in a traditional marriage. The thought made him unbelievable sad and he quickly averted his eyes to the floor. But his head snapped back up when Draco suddenly snapped:  
"Potter, whatever you are busy thinking about right now, stop it!"  
Not willing to show weakness, he quickly snapped: "I was not thinking about anything." It sounded weak to his own ears, which was confirmed when Draco snorted.  
"Of course, that is why you looked as if someone just stole your teddy bear," the blonde drawled in a sarcastic voice.  
Harry only glared at him. "But it's nothing."  
"Really?" Draco smirked and Harry got the feeling that the blonde was trying to find a way of bringing at least some of their past banter back to life, and he had to admit that he had missed it to a certain degree; at least with the bickering he got some real reactions from his mate and not only that cold aloofness.  
"Yes, I didn't even have a teddy, so no one could steal it from me," he replied dryly.  
"Well I think, if someone had gotten so many things as you most certainly had, it would lose its value," Draco sneered.  
Harry didn't respond. Draco was so far from the truth, but his mate would not believe him and he didn't want to tell him anyway. The blonde glared at him when he didn't react, but he merely cast a tempus. Their classmates would arrive soon, so he went to stand at the opposite side of the corridor and said: "We better pretend that we were ignoring each other the whole time."  
Draco gave a curt nod and crossed his arm in front of him; perfect Malfoy masks already back in place.  
Ron and Hermione were the first two to arrive and they looked as if they had run up the whole way from Hagrid's hut to the classroom.  
"Harry, why did you run off?" Hermione scolded as soon as they were near enough. He simply waved them closer and then whispered: "I had a question concerning the prophecy, or more like a bad, foreboding feeling."  
"And that could not wait until classes were over?" Hermione asked with a disapproving look, but Ron only answered with another question: "Would you wait for a foreboding feeling about You-Know-Who?"  
Their friend flushed a bright red and mumbled: "No."  
"What was it?" Ron inquired, before glancing over at Draco, who still stood only a few steps away from them.  
Knowing that he and his mate had to keep up appearances, Harry waved his wand and erected a privacy barrier, before asking: "Have you ever heard about magical brother bonds?"  
Hermione gasped and her eyes widened in realization, but Ron still looked confused, so their female friend quickly explained in a hushed voice, even though no one could listen in on them:  
"It is as if your magic had decided that you have a sibling. These bonds arise outside of someone's family when their magical core is practically identical and once this bond manifests, the two people are legally and magically related."  
Ron looked slightly ill at her words and he asked: "But you don't actually think that you and You-Know-Who... I mean, you cannot have the same magical core as him, he is a Dark Wizard!"  
Harry shrugged: "If it is true what he told me down in the Chamber at the end of our second year, then our family lines both go back to Slytherin and apparently the Dark Arts only stain your soul, not your magical core, but Albus said that this would not be enough, experiences in your early childhood also influence your magical core."  
"Do you think he was abused as well?" Hermione asked.  
Relieved that he had cast the privacy barrier and Draco could not have overheard Hermione's last words, he thought about his friend's question. He really could not say if he believed it or not, so he told her: "Albus said, that we can soon start with the memories and that it would possibly help me in finding out if we really could be siblings or not."  
"But don't you think," Hermione questioned, "that it would explain a lot about his character? I mean, it is easy to hate all muggles if you were brought up in an environment like yours, Harry."  
'It would,' he thought, but didn't voice it out loud as he felt as if he would only seal his and Voldemort's fate if he did so.  
"Please, let's just hope that you will stay an only child," Ron said seriously.  
"Yeah," Harry agreed and Hermione nodded as well.  
"Can you imagine celebrating Christmas with him?" Ron suddenly asked and Harry and Hermione both burst into laughter; that was just too ridiculous. Ron snickered as well and then continued: "Just imagine snake face standing in front of a Christmas tree with us, and the rest of my family, singing Christmas carols."  
Harry laughed even harder: "Yeah, and Sirius pranking the hell out of him. Maybe he could transform him into Santa?"  
"Oh Harry, I would die from laughter!" Hermione gasped, holding her sides.  
"Santa? That fat, old muggle in red?" Ron asked.  
Harry nodded; he and Hermione had told him about Santa Clause once and Ron had found the idea of a fat man sliding down fireplaces hilarious.  
Professor McGonagall arrived then, effectively cutting their laughter off. She gave them an odd look as if asking what they could find so funny on this miserable day, and they quickly lifted the privacy barrier to follow her into the classroom before she could say anything.  
They were still practicing the transformation of living creatures, but by now they had to transform a bigger animal into a smaller one, which meant that the Gryffindor Head of House had organized a group of cats from somewhere. The mewing of the twenty animals was nearly ear shattering, at least for Harry and as he went to retrieve a red specimen, he saw Draco wince as well. Sometimes having vampire ears really sucked.  
He still had to concentrate on not making his spell too powerful; Transfigurations were much more delicate than curses, even the slightest increase of the power he put into the spell could make the cat not only shrink to the size of a mouse, but an ant, and that was not what was required from them. He seriously hoped that he would have a grasp on his magic by the time the exams arrived; this year they had to write their OWL's and they were important for their future careers.  
How he was to do his OWL's in Potions, he had no idea, but many jobs required the subject, at least nearly every job at the Ministry, and if he wanted to fulfil his wish and change something in the wizarding world, he probably would have to somehow enter it.  
Sighing, he pointed his wand at the cat, which was once again confined to his desk and muttered the spell. She turned gray and her ears became rounder and she even shrank to her supposed size, but the mouse in front of him still had a furry, orange tail. Scowling, he ended the transformation and tried it a second time.  
"Harry, you still aren't concentrating enough," Hermione pointed out.  
Harry sighed, he knew that already, but he not only had to concentrate on the spell like the rest of his classmates but also on how much magical power he used, which was not very easy with such a delicate spell.  
But to his relief, he had successfully transformed his cat into a proper mouse by the end of the lesson and was rather pleased with himself.  
As he left the classroom with his friends again, they decided to quickly finish their homework, before finally going out to fly for a while, hoping that he would not be called to go somewhere with Draco again.  
Luckily they did not have a lot of homework, with having to practice their meditation for DADA again and only needed an hour to finish everything.  
Ron and he quickly changed into their flying gear and even Hermione decided to not only watch them from the ground and read a book, but to borrow a school broom as well, as long as he and Ron would not do any wild stunts or force her into a race or something.  
Harry and Ron agreed and they simply flew lazily over the Quidditch pitch and the outskirts of the forbidden forest for the rest of the afternoon.  
The flying really helped him forget his problems with Draco for once, the shock of the new prophecy and his rather shocking discovery of his magical creature. As they landed nearly four hours later, he felt like a newly born person and a wide grin stretched across his face.  
"I really needed that," He told his friends and stretched with his broom still in one hand.  
"I thought as much, that was why I wanted to accompany you today as well," Hermione smiled as Ron and her both laid both an arm around his shoulders.  
"Now let's go to the Great Hall, I am starving!" Ron announced and quickened his pace.  
Harry snorted. "When are you not starving?" He asked with a grin.  
"After I have eaten, for about an hour," Ron grinned back and Hermione chuckled.  
They didn't even take their brooms back or change into something more appropriate for dinner, and just joined Neville, Dean, and Seamus at the Gryffindor table. The other students were a bit more relaxed around him again, but for once, no girls watched his every movement and he was thankful for that.  
"Harry, you really surprised us there!" Dean exclaimed with a grin as soon as he was seated.  
"Surprised? You mean he scared the shit out of us," Neville muttered but grinned as well.  
Blushing again, Harry muttered his thousandth apology for the day; he really felt ashamed about what had happened, at least he should have noticed that he had transformed into some kind of creature earlier, but it had not registered in his mind until Lucius and Draco had approached him in the Entrance Hall.  
He watched his friends starting to eat and looked whether Oscar had once again placed a goblet of blood or spiked pumpkin juice next to his plate.  
"Are you searching for this?" Ron asked with a golden goblet in his hand and wrinkled his nose at the dark red liquid. "What is that anyway? Looks disgusting," the redhead inquired.  
"Cherry juice," Harry lied and took the goblet before his friend could actually sniff at it. A movement at the head table let him look up and he watched Lucius and his father sitting down. Neither man paid him any attention, but he didn't mind. One day they would be able to greet each other openly and everybody would know that he shared a room with his two mates and that he had sleepovers in the dungeons. He smiled at the thought and sipped the blood, which tasted like dog today.  
"So, how was it to practice with Malfoy?" Seamus asked and pulled him from his thoughts.  
"Um, it was actually better than expected," he answered, and it was even true, his mate had only started to behave like a total prick afterwards. His five friends stared at him in disbelief, so he explained: "I think he didn't want to put his father in a bad light by behaving badly, you know they have this thing with their family honour."  
Ron made a face. "Yeah and that Dumble... Ouch!"  
Hermione had kicked him hard under the table and gave him a warning look. Ron seemed to realize what he had nearly blurted out and grew beet red, before turning back to his steak. But it was too late.  
"What did Dumbledore do?" Dean asked curiously.  
Hermione quickly saved the situation and told them: "Harry and Malfoy had to serve a detention for all their fighting and Lucius was rather angry. But you know we should not talk about these things so openly." She gave the three other boys pointed looks, who quickly nodded, understanding that it could compromise his new spy. They had seen Lucius at Potter Manor after all, but he would not tell them about the plan in making him friends with Draco, because Draco was not a part of the Order and thus, the contract between him and the Order members would not prevent them from talk about it. At Potter Manor, Dumbledore had set up a memory charm as a safety measure, but he could not do that in Hogwarts and he honestly didn't know how to either.  
Dean, Seamus, and Neville winced.  
"Did you have to serve the detention with Snape?" Neville asked with a frightened voice and glanced up at the head table with huge eyes.  
Harry nodded with a sigh and the boys gave him sympathetic looks.  
"Shall we go back to your room?" Hermione asked suddenly, pushing her plate away.  
Harry had the feeling that she wanted to get them out of the conversation and nodded.  
"But I am not yet finished!" Ron protested with a look at his food.  
"We can ask Oscar to bring you something," Harry said and Ron finally stood up.  
"See you tomorrow, guys," Harry waved and they left the Great Hall again. "We could take a dip in my whirlpool after Ron has eaten," he suggested, as they climbed up the stairs in the Hallway.  
"That sounds good," Hermione said. "This day really was stressful."  
"Yeah, I didn't even have time to go to Potter Manor like I had promised; I really should do that before going to bed," he sighed.  
"You probably should," Hermione agreed with a sympathetic look.  
They entered his quarters and Ron said: "I really don't know how you manage it all, I already feel stressed with only homework to worry about and you have the Order, the Safe House and all that other shit."  
Harry shrugged; he really had no idea either. Maybe it was his vampire genes and Lucius, which helped him to deal with everything, but he really could do with a relaxing bath anyway.  
Stepping into his living room, he froze. "Oh no! I have spent enough time with you for one day!" He snapped and his friends quickly appeared next to him, their eyes landing on the tall, blonde figure that sat in one of his armchairs as if he owned the place and only lifted an elegant eyebrow at them.  
"Give him a break, ferret!" Ron hissed and placed himself in front of him protectively. Harry felt oddly touched at the gesture and smiled slightly.  
"Believe me, weasel, if I had a choice, I would not be here," Draco drawled and rose, as Harry's eyes automatically landed on the tight fitting, silver-blue turtle neck, which clung to every muscle of his body. Why had his eyes been so treacherous? He didn't want to ogle at the prat; not after he had been hurt by him earlier again. Forcing his eyes away from his perfect chest, he stepped next to Ron again. Draco was right, they had no choice.  
"Then at least accompany me to Potter Manor, I still have to go there," he said. If Lucius and his father insisted that he had to spend even more time with Draco after what had happened, he would at least use the time to get rid of some of his duties.  
Draco inclined his head, but Ron asked, his voice incredulous: "I thought we wanted to take a bath in your whirlpool? And you said Oscar would bring me something to eat."  
Harry sighed, but before he could respond to his friend, his mate sneered: "I am sure Potter can call the elf for you before we leave, wouldn't want that you starve. After all, Hogwarts is the only place where you get fed."  
Ron launched at Draco, but Hermione grabbed his arm and held him back. "Just go, and Ron and I will go down to the kitchen," she said with an understanding smile, even though she looked unhappy herself, but Harry assumed that was more for his sake than for her own.  
He gave her a thankful smile in return and said: "I am sorry, you two," before going over to his fireplace. He offered Draco some of his floo powder and his mate tossed it into the flames, before shouting "Potter Manor" and stepping inside. When the flames had returned to their usual red colour, Harry followed him.  
He stumbled out of the hearth at the other end and nearly collided with Draco.  
"Potter, are you always this clumsy and ungraceful?" His mate snapped.  
"Shut up," he replied simply, not in the mood for light conversation. Really, what had hurt him so much were not the words, but the fact that he had hoped. Hoped that there was a chance of his second mate being nice to him after all, but it had been destroyed so quickly.  
"Don't tell me you are still mad at me for the comment about your parents?" Draco drawled and eyed him as if he was a little child. Glaring back, he told him: "I am." He would not tell him his true reason.  
His mate only scoffed. "Really, we insult each other all the time."  
"We do, but there are still things that hurt too much, I at least apologized," Harry growled, before turning around and calling for Annie; he wanted to end this conversation, it only made him feel even worse. With Ron and Hermione he had been able to forget about the new argument with his younger mate, but now everything boiled up again and that after a day which would have been hell without the added pain caused his mate.  
The female elf appeared in front of him and bowed deeply. "Master," she greeted him and he asked: "Where are my guests right now?"  
"Guests are in ballroom eating," Annie answered.  
"Are they doing fine?"  
"There were no problems, sir," the elf told him with another bow.  
"Thank you, Annie. You can go back to your work then," he dismissed her and then turned to his mate, who was leaning against the fireplace with a bored expression.  
"I will just say hello and then we can go again, do you want to come with me?"  
Draco didn't answer but straightened and fell into step with him.  
"So, do we have to go to Hogsmeade again?" Harry asked as they left the Entrance Hall. If they had to really go out, he would refuse; surely their family magic would not punish them if they didn't follow their parent's orders once.  
"No, we are just expected to spend some time together," Draco said.  
Harry honestly wondered what they should do in his quarters, but nodded and simply turned in the direction of the large ballroom.  
He could already hear the animated chattering of all the families and smiled slightly, before straightening his shoulders; his guests didn't need to know in what kind of mood he was. Draco seemed to think something along the same line because his face smoothed out even further as they stepped into the Dining Room.  
Augusta again sat with the Granger's and Luna's father. Her sharp eyes spotted him as soon as he entered with Draco. He gave her a smile and the witch actually smiled back, which made her face much softer.  
For the next 15 minutes, he went from one table to another and asked how everybody was doing and if they needed anything. He was glad when no one had any complaints and they praised his family's gardens and the helpfulness of his elves. Draco accompanied him silently and earned himself many odd and untrusting looks, but the blonde didn't seem to be bothered.  
When they arrived at the table where Katie's mother sat with her husband and a little girl, the witch asked: "Is there any news about our houses?"  
Shaking his head, Harry told her: "Not yet, but I think it will take a while. The Death Eaters really have done their best to curse your houses, at least, that was what had Kingsley told Albus. I had planned on calling a meeting, but the school day was kind of stressful."  
Draco snorted drily and Augusta, whose table sat next to the one the Bells sat at, asked: "What happened? It was not Voldemort again?"  
Harry blinked in surprise to hear another person besides Dumbledore and himself say the Dark Lord's name out loud. Draco and the others flinched, but he quickly recovered from his shock and shook his head: "No, luckily not."  
"Well, what was it then?" Michael asked and looked questioningly from him to Draco, but his mate obviously wouldn't say any more about the matter.  
He really wasn't sure if it was a good idea to tell them about his form, but then again, it probably would be all over the Prophet by tomorrow morning anyway. Sighing, he told them: "Draco and I were practicing my multimagus transformation and I kind of turned into a basilisk."  
"By Merlin!" Augusta gasped and the Bells grew pale.  
"What is a basilisk?" Anna asked curiously.  
"A giant, 50 foot long snake with a deadly bite and eyes. They can kill by merely looking at you," Augusta explained and the Granger's paled as well.  
"Well, I am not that big and Draco will help me to control my powers," Harry explained quickly before his guests could actually panic.  
"Will that not be very dangerous for you?" Anna asked with a look at Draco.  
"No, father and I are dragons, who are related to snakes and thus immune to their powers," he said politely.  
"You and your father are certainly powerful allies if we can trust your loyalty," Augusta said and examined his mate from head to toe. "Well, I think the binding contact does the trick in any case," the old witch mused and turned back to her plate.  
Harry supposed that Neville's grandmother had just seen too much. Like Dumbledore, she had fought in the second wizarding war as well, and even though they were not at war officially yet, behind the scenes battles were already fought.  
Draco looked slightly offended and he quickly decided that they had better go before his mate could start an argument with the stern witch.  
"I think we will leave you to your meals again. I just wanted to check on everybody, but now I have to do some homework," he excused himself and his mate and waved his goodbyes.  
"Tell Mione we said hello," Anna smiled and her husband nodded.  
Smiling, Harry promised them that he would greet their daughter and he and Draco went back to the fireplace in the Entry Hall.  
"Finally," Draco drawled and went ahead to take some floo powder. Harry rolled his eyes as he watched his mate disappear and followed him back to his quarters.  
"You really stumble every time, Potter," Draco commented, as he stumbled out into his living room.  
"Yeah, not everybody can be as graceful as you," Harry huffed and went over to his sofa, asking: "So, what are we going to do now?" He inquired, even though he only wanted to kick his second mate out of his quarters and call it a night. Couldn't they call their visit to his manor a date? Unfortunately, he knew that neither his father nor his other mate would accept 45 minutes together as a proper date, so he went over to his sofa and watched Draco pulling something out of his pocket. His mate enlarged the object to its original size and his eyes fell on a beautiful silver and golden chess board; it looked crazily expensive.  
"Chess?" he asked in confusion.  
"Yes, you mentioned that you play chess sometimes and this way, we do not have to talk a lot."  
Thinking that chess might be a good idea, Harry nodded and looked down at the white pieces in front of him, who actually wrinkled their noses at him; this was definitely Draco's chess board.  
"Let's see, how long you can hold your own against me," his mate smirked and motioned for him to start. He started with a classical move and the next half an hour they spend in silence. It was not the comfortable kind of silence that he shared with his other mate, his father, or his friends, but at least he didn't have to listen to any kinds of insults.  
In the last weeks he had played many games against Lucius, his father and Ron, and Draco's style was very similar to his fathers, so he could actually hold his own, even though he would lose in the long run.  
"Potter, who has taught you how to play?" Draco frowned, seemingly unhappy that he had not yet defeated him.  
Smirking, he answered: "Your father mostly, but also Severus, why?"  
"Ah yes, you mentioned it on our first date," Draco drawled and then added: "But you will not win, I am still better."  
"I know, but you have to admit that I am better than you thought," Harry shrugged with a smirk.  
Draco only huffed and moved a knight.  
He lasted another 15 minutes before Draco defeated his king.  
"Do we have to go on a date every day?" He asked as Draco ordered the pieces to return to their starting positions.  
"I hope not," his second mate said. "But I would not hold out much hope."  
They started again and Harry found his pieces even more unwilling after they had lost the previous round. Maybe, he thought, they could sense that he was a Gryffindor, or Draco had told them because they clearly eyed him with arrogant expressions which only Slytherins possessed.  
The second game was over much quicker and they even played a third one. It was Lucius and Severus who finally ended their forced date.  
"How is the evening going?" his father asked as the two men stepped into his living room.  
"Good," Draco answered nonchalantly and leaned back in his armchair.  
"Did you play the whole time?" Lucius asked and sat down next to Harry.  
"We were also at Potter Manor as I needed to check in on my guests," he told his mate.  
Lucius raised an eyebrow and looked from him to his son and back again: "I hope you have also had some conversation whilst playing. I had expected that you would at least use the time to clear your last row."  
Feeling slightly guilty, Harry looked down at his lap. He knew that he and Draco were expected to get to know each other and talking about what had happened at the end of their DADA lesson would surely have been wise, but he also knew that it would have accomplished nothing. Every time they talked, it ended with some kind of argument or insult. And what else could he talk about with Draco, he didn't know either. Did they even have anything in common?  
Lucius sighed next to him and announced: "I see, well then we will just have to go on a joined date tomorrow."  
Harry blinked at his older mate, wondering if a joined date would be a good idea.


	28. Chapter 28: Malfoy Manor

**Chapter 28: Malfoy Manor**

 **HP**

Harry slumped down on his chair next to Ron and Hermione. He was almost too late for their first class, Charms because he had forgotten to send Oscar to every member of the Order of the Phoenix the day before. He couldn't say how many of them would have time for a meeting at such short notice, so he had sent the message along that it was not an emergency meeting, but he hoped that at least Kingsley, Tonks, his godfather, Lupin and the Weasley's would be there, they were after all the ones mostly involved with the cleaning of the cursed houses currently.  
"Why so late?" Ron greeted him. "Was your little date with ferret face so good that you spent the whole night together?" His friend waggled his eyebrows suggestively, making clear that it was only meant as a joke.  
Harry scowled as expected of him, which wasn't really hard to do and told him: "No, he luckily left before curfew, but I forgot to tell Oscar that he needed to invite the Order Members for this afternoon, so I had to skip breakfast."  
"Order meeting?" Hermione asked curiously.  
Nodding, he explained: "I was at Potter Manor yesterday and the people asked when they would be able to return to their houses."  
"It's understandable," Hermione agreed and then asked: "So, when will everybody be at Grimmauld Place? You still haven't told the new members; should I tell them that they are to come to your quarters?"  
Harry cursed because he had forgotten that as well; slowly he started to doubt that he was a good replacement for Dumbledore. "Yes please, quarter to three would be good," he told her and his bushy haired friend pulled her galleon from her pocket, before tapping it.  
"So, how was your evening?" Hermione asked him after she was finished with the spell.  
Sighing, he told her: "It was not as bad as expected. We played chess the whole evening and didn't talk much. I think that was the main reason why it was bearable."  
Ron made a face: "Still, I wouldn't want to spend so much time with Malfoy, not even while playing chess. Is he any good?"  
"He is, but his style is quite similar to Lucius', so I could hold my own," Harry grinned.  
"Did you win?" Ron asked curiously.  
"No and I don't think I ever will, but it was still far better than sitting with him in the Three Broomsticks and not knowing what to talk about," he said.  
"I can imagine that," Hermione muttered and he smiled at her.  
It was rare that she openly disliked someone this much, even Draco, but his behaviour in the last weeks had obviously been too much, even for her good-natured character. That would of course only make things more complicated after they had finally mated and he was ready to tell his friends, but for now he was glad about her support.  
"Will your dad force you into one of those meetings again this evening?" Ron asked.  
"Yes, but I don't know when exactly. Lucius wants to come along this time, so it will probably not be before the Order meeting as that has priority," he scowled, still not really sure what to think about going to Malfoy Manor. Originally he had been curious about his future home, but Draco's look last night had made it clear that his second dominant didn't want him there.  
Draco had said nothing as expected, but the hardening in his eyes had been enough to convey the message. But that didn't change the fact that he would live there in less than three years and that he still had to introduce himself to the House Elves as their new House Lady. By now the creatures were most likely very agitated, because he had put it off for so long, so it really was good that they would go. But still, he hated to intrude into a home where he wasn't truly welcome.  
"Well," Hermione said and pulled him from his thoughts. "Maybe it will help if Professor Malfoy is there."  
"I hope so, too," he mused. "I honestly have no idea what to talk about with his son, but maybe I will now after this evening."  
Professor Flitwick came out of his office and they ended their conversation for now and turned to listen to the small professor.  
"Good morning class," he squeaked in his high pitched voice, before starting his lesson.  
"We discussed the basic theory of how to pour magic into an object in the last few lessons, today I want you to put this knowledge into practical use," he told them and with a flick of his wand a teapot appeared on each table.  
"These teapots will not have any personal touches like a real magical artefact, but if you do the charm right, it should hold your magic inside. The personalization will be discussed with Professor McGonagall after Halloween if I remember correctly, so for now we will concentrate on this part. Please begin."  
Harry sighed in relief. The theoretical lectures had become a real torture for him. In most subjects he knew the theory already, even in Potions partially, thanks to the magic of Malfoy Manor and the Knowledge Ritual. It had been more than boring to sit through so many hours of theory that he already knew by heart.  
To be honest, the first theoretical lesson on that subject had been very interesting; he could still remember it very well. It had been the day when he had brought back Draco after all, but when he had listened to the second lesson, he had realized that the Manor Magic must have done some work overnight, because he had suddenly known everything that could be known about the construction of a magical artefact.  
Hermione had raised her hand and Flitwick motioned for her to speak:  
"Professor, what shall we make the teapot do?"  
The little professor giggled, an odd sound coming from an rather old looking man, and told the class: "Feel free to use your imagination, but if you make the teapot run or dance, I would advise to give it some legs beforehand, or it will not work, even with enough magic inside."  
Harry nodded with the rest of the class and pulled his wand from his pocket.  
"Do you know what you want to make it do?" Ron asked with a frown at his own teapot.  
Shrugging, Harry examined his own and thought about it for a moment, before answering: "I don't know, but I would like to give it a personal touch with the spell."  
"I think I will let my pot dance," Hermione told them and with a flick of her wand a second pot appeared and with another, they had short legs and arms.  
"Maybe I could make it talk?" Harry asked no one in particular.  
"And how is that personal?" Ron asked back. "Unless you make it talk in Parseltongue."  
His eyes widened in excitement. That would be awesome if he could make it talk in the snake language. He could give the pot to his father; as Head of Slytherin house he would surely like it.  
"That will be really complicated and probably require a lot of energy, at least if you want it to say more than the same sentence over and over again," Hermione told him.  
"He has more than enough magic," Ron pointed out and Harry decided to give it a try at least.  
Pointing his wand at the teapot, he muttered the charm to transfer his magic into it. Hermione had told him that he would need a lot of power to make it actually speak, so he let his tight grip on his magic go a bit. And in the next instant his teapot exploded.  
Only Hermione's quick reaction saved Ron and her from seriously getting injured and himself from being found out by quickly healing cuts as she raised a shield just in time to block the flying shards.  
"Thanks, Mione," he said with a sheepish grin.  
His friend only rolled her eyes and said: "I didn't mean that you should put all that magic inside at once."  
"Did you plan on killing us?" Ron muttered, his arms still raised in a shielding gesture.  
Flushing, he muttered a summoning spell for all the shards and then a repair charm, just before Flitwick's concerned voice asked: "Is everything alright Mr. Potter?"  
Harry looked around but couldn't see the professor, until he appeared behind his stack of books from which he must have fallen.  
"Um... sorry Professor, I think I overdid it," he stammered, feeling ashamed for having drawn all the attention to him again.  
"Definitely Mr. Potter, so be a bit more careful next time," the professor said with a friendly and reassuring smile.  
Concentrating once more, he repeated the spell and this time the teapot didn't explode. He held the spell for about a minute, concentrating on what he wanted to achieve, and then lowered it.  
"Did it work?" Ron asked with a look at his still very silent teapot.  
Shrugging, Harry said. "I don't know, maybe I should test it?"  
Ron nodded and advised him: "Just poke it, but not too hard."  
Hermione rolled her eyes again and mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like boys, but didn't take her eyes from her own two teapots, which were wobbling on their legs by now.  
Poking his own teapot, Harry started at the exclamation of "Ouch!"  
"You did it," Ron said with a grin.  
"But it's not in Parseltongue," he argued.  
"How did you think it would be able to speak that language anyway?" Hermione asked. "I mean, even the spell is in English."  
Frowning, Harry threw a Finite at his teapot and shook his head. "I don't know. I have done Parcelmagic only once, to um... secure Privet Drive," he said with a pointed look and he could see that his brainy friend remembered what he had told her about it.  
"What did you do last time? Was there something special about the spell?" She asked.  
Trying to remember himself, Harry told her: "Well, I used my blood, but that was probably for the ritual and not for the spell... the spell itself was in Parseltongue."  
"Then try it again in Parseltongue," Hermione suggested nonchalantly.  
"How?" he asked, feeling a bit stupid now.  
"Just translate it," Hermione said.  
He needed a moment to translate not only the words, but also the meaning correctly; Parseltongue was after all a language of animals and was quite a bit different sometimes, before pointing his wand at the pot again. But this time nothing happened.  
Getting frustrated, he huffed before repeating the spell again and then suddenly:  
 _"Stupid class, and the teacher looks like a little troll."_  
Harry blinked at his enchanted teapot in utter bafflement.  
"What did it say?" Ron asked; his eyes fixed on the pot.  
 _"Shut your stupid trap, you ugly redhead,"_ the pot hissed.  
"It curses," he answered dumbfounded.  
"It curses?" Hermione repeated; her eyes huge.  
He only nodded, as he listened to the colourful insults his teapot threw at every student by now.  
Hermione looked down at the china and then said carefully: "Maybe you should just stick to normal English, before..."  
She was cut off by Flitwick's voice, who told them: "Please put a piece of paper with your name on it into your teapot and bring it to the front."  
Wincing, Harry wrote his name down and said: "At least he cannot understand it," before taking it to the front. As long as Voldemort didn't get his hands on his teapot, it could curse as much as it liked.  
After his friends had disposed of their teapots as well, they left the classroom and went up to DADA.  
Normally they would have Herbology right now, but Professor Sprout was on a Conference for Herbology Masters and Dumbledore had decided that they would have DADA instead after they had nearly no chance of practicing yesterday.  
When they arrived, the classroom was already open and Draco motioned for him from the top of the stony stairs.  
"I think I have to go up there," He said with a long sigh and jerked his head in the direction of his mate. He really would like to practice with his friends again.  
"Will you really practice your basilisk for now?" Ron asked and gave him a worried look.  
"Don't know. I think I have a second creature form as well, maybe I'll be lucky and we will train that one first," he mused, hope evident in his voice; he really wouldn't be sad about taking another day to get used to the idea of transforming into a giant and very deadly snake.  
"You have a second creature?" Hermione asked curiously. "What is it?"  
"I don't know, yet," he said before Draco interrupted them.  
"Get up here, Potter!" the older boy shouted with a pointed glare at him.  
Sighing, Harry waved goodbye to his friends as if he was never going to be seeing them again, and then climbed up the stairs.  
His mate closed and sealed the door behind him, glare still in place, whilst he simply went to the seat he had occupied the day before.  
"So, Potter, do you think you have a second form?" Draco asked as soon as the blonde had sat down as well.  
Harry sighed. He didn't want to be so close to his mate. The atmosphere around them still seemed very tense as they had still not discussed Draco's insult from the day before and it still hurt. Maybe he should have talked with his second mate on their date the evening before after all?  
But he still was of the opinion that it would not have made anything better, nor would it have gained each other an understanding about the other.  
Right now it couldn't be helped regardless. Lucius expected them to work on his creature form and he had the suspicion that it would be a cold day in hell before Draco was willing to talk about anything anyway, so he just told him: "I think so."  
His mate lifted an interested eyebrow but said nothing, so he asked: "What's wrong with that?"  
"It is rather unusual to have two core animals, even for a multimagus," Draco explained nonchalantly.  
Not knowing what to reply, Harry simply said: "Oh."  
"You should find out what your other creature is so that father and I can work out a plan for you to train your new powers, before actually transforming into a basilisk again. I will transform into my dragon form again, to make sure that you do not escape this time and then you can start with your meditation," Draco told him and gave the rather small office a doubtful look.  
"Will you fit into it?" Harry asked, following his gaze and deciding that he could at least pretend as if nothing stood between them once again when they had to work together. Maybe trying to ignore all of Draco's hurtful remarks was the way to go about this bond? But he knew that he would never be able to do that and besides, Draco's insult had not been the most hurtful thing about his behaviour yesterday.  
"It will be like putting something into a too small cardboard box, but I should fit, dragons are quite flexible," his mate said and then transformed.  
Shimmering scales appeared on his mate's skin and his body lengthened, stretched and curled around and above him until the silver-white dragon with the ice blue mane filled the whole room, his mate even had to crouch under ceiling to accommodate him in the tiny space.  
His huge head rested directly in front of him and he watched in fascination as the shimmering eyes blinked calmly at him. So beautiful; his mate was so beautiful, regardless of which form he was in.  
"So beautiful," he repeated the words out loud, not really aware of it, or he would have held his tongue before admitting something like that, but it was true all the same: Draco was as gorgeous as a dragon as he was in human form His scales reflected the light like shimmering ice, his eyes were clear like the blue sea and his body seemed so strong and lean.  
Suddenly all his anger at his second mate was forgotten for the moment and without even realizing it, he stretched a hand out, until he could touch the body just in front of him. A shiver went through Draco and that was when he finally snapped out of his trance again.  
"I... I am sorry," he stuttered and heat rushed to his cheeks in embarrassment. Draco looked at him with those intense, unblinking eyes and Harry grew even more ashamed. "I... I... will just start meditating," he said and quickly closed his eyes to hide from the situation and those eyes, which had seemed to draw him in.  
It took him nearly as long to reach his meditative state as last time. The quick touch of Draco's body had sent a tingle of magic up his arm, similar to what he had felt yesterday in the Entrance Hall, but not as strong. It was as if his magic wanted to encourage him to do something about their unfulfilled bond. His heart was still racing as those addictive tingles spread through his system and made every single cell sing with pleasure. Without wanting to, Harry wondered what touching his mates would feel like after their bond was completed, and when Draco and Lucius would touch him simultaneously. A shiver threatened to go down his spine, but he quickly squashed it before Draco could notice anything. He didn't need his second mate to know what kind of fantasies he had. He would not give Draco the satisfaction of knowing that he desired him despite all his foul and hurtful words.  
Pushing the embarrassing thoughts to the side, he forced his body into stillness and after some more minutes, he once again finally stood in front of his magical core. The part which resembled his Parseltongue had actually taken on the form of his basilisk and was now winding itself around the rest of the core. He greeted it quickly with a mental hiss and then concentrated on the other power.  
It felt strong as well, but in a different kind of way; more pure and innocent and not as cold as the giant reptile, but warm like the sun. As he found the power in his core, he saw that it was as clear and bright as light and a feeling of deep love, happiness and weightlessness nearly overwhelmed him. Only at second glance did he see black veins pulsing in the rhythm of his own heartbeat. Frowning, he looked at the veins. Somehow they didn't seem to fit into this beautiful place.  
Concentrating more closely on the sensations, he suddenly saw an image flashing in front of his inner eye: His mother, smiling at him, holding him, singing to him. It was the image he had first used for his patrons.  
His eyes widened. Could his second form be a Patronus? But weren't they spells and not actual beings? He pushed that notion to the side; if something unlikely was supposed to happen then surely it would happen to him. But there was another question which concerned him even more: Weren't Patroni embodiments of love and the purest kind of feelings? So what did the black veins mean? Another image flashed through his mind, this time of his father, holding him protectively and with a glint in his black eyes that told him that the man would do anything to protect him. Anything, with no exception. And hadn't he himself had that realization as well? Back at Privet Drive when Lucius had asked him if he would do anything to protect those he loved. Was this feeling, this unusually strong wish to defend those nearest to him what had stained this part of his core? Well, he would only find out if he tried to transform.  
Trying to imagine himself as a Patronus, Harry wondered, what corporal form he could have.  
His mother had been a doe and his uncle a stag, but what was his father? He didn't know, but it was possible that he shared his patrons with his late soulmate, so he would try to imagine some kind of red deer and it was likely that he would have some black spots as well, maybe even more so because he was more practiced with the Dark Arts.  
Closing his inner eyes again, he tried to let the feelings of his patrons flow towards him and consume him. A Patronus was not really corporal, even if those with a form were called corporal Patroni; they had no real substance, they were made out of some kind of mist, or maybe pure magic, lighter than a feather and purely out of positive feelings.  
He could actually feel this happiness and this weightlessness, but he also clearly felt that he was not a doe, he was not female after all, but to his confusion a stag felt wrong as well. So what else was there? And then it hit him, that if he was some kind of red deer, then he would be a fawn.  
His body grew even lighter and the positive feelings even stronger, together with that other, darker one, and this time he could clearly feel his body change. It was rather odd, even stranger than the transformation into a reptile because his body seemed to dissolve and he could not even feel the floor under his feet anymore.  
When he opened his eyes again, Draco was just changing back into his human form and this time, he was staring up at the blonde, not down on him, feeling even smaller than usual.  
"Potter?" Draco asked and Harry watched in surprise as his mate slowly extended a hand to him, but Draco stopped himself at the last moment and quickly drew his hand back, clearing his throat.  
Harry wanted to scowl, but it seemed to be an expression a Patronus was not able to do easily. Had his touch been so unbearable that the blonde didn't want to repeat it? A mixture of renewed hurt and of being offended rose in him and he flattened his ears against his head and looked down at himself, only to freeze in shock. His body, which should have been silver, was not silver but black. Why was he black? Patroni were never black! Unfortunately, he could not think about it any longer because his mate's mocking voice pulled him from his thoughts.  
"No Phoenix for the Gryffindor Hero?"  
The well of hurt rose inside of Harry again, but he quickly squashed it and sneered at his mate. Really, so much for obeying his father and honouring one's fiancé; Draco would never do that, at least not as long as he was his mate. He wanted to say something nasty back, but Draco was quicker:  
"Really Potter, such a beautiful and cute form. I always thought one has to be cute and beautiful as a human to become a cute and beautiful creature, but then again, you certainly are no deadly snake either."  
Harry intensified his glare, but Draco didn't even seem to notice it and only ordered: "Change back, I would like to get an answer when we discuss your creatures."  
Harry's glare darkened even further for a moment, but then he changed back even though he really didn't want to obey right now. He sat back down on the sofa, crossing his arms and waited for the blonde to speak again.  
"A basilisk and a Patronus, even though the colour is slightly off, isn't it?" His mate drawled as if bored and then continued: "I for once have no idea how we are supposed to teach you how to control your powers. Father and I are immune against your basilisk stare, and you cannot train on other students, and we definitely cannot fetch you a Dementor from Azkaban. You are quite annoying Potter, do you know that?" His mate scowled at him as if he was at fault for having such complicated multimagus forms.  
"Well, I am not happy about it either. Maybe I should just drop it and ask Lucius for another assignment," he spat back, fed up with Draco's snide remarks for the time being.  
"And let such a gift go to waste?" Draco sneered. "No, certainly not. My fiancé will at least be educated to the highest standards. It's enough that I have to marry a man, or whatever you try to present yourself as," he gave him a disapproving look, making him feel more uncomfortable in his own skin than he had ever been. It was not his fault that he had been turned at age of twelve and that he was therefore still a little child, or that he was a submissive and would never be as muscled and gorgeous as his two blonde mates. But even though he knew all that, the comment still stung. For a dominant vampire, beauty was a kind of power as well, because for those who needed to hunt it made things easier, but they also had their physical powers to fight for their rank amongst their kind; for a submissive who naturally lacks physical power, their beauty was nearly everything. It could give them power and influence aside from their dominant's, which was even more important when they were not blood bound, because only soulmates felt the need to protect and care for their submissive like Lucius did towards him. And even though he knew that he could hold his own in a magical combat situation and that he didn't need to hunt and had at least one loving soulmate, his beauty was still very important to him. Not only because it would help him to build his own place in the vampire society one day, but also because his beauty could also help his mates. It was like Lucius had said back at Privet Drive: A beautiful submissive meant power and was more valuable than any gem.  
"If you don't like how I look, then go to your father and tell him to end this stupid betrothal. I can't change my body," he said and to his dismay, the hurt he felt was evident in his voice. This conversation had only proved what he had suspected all along: That Draco was only nice to him because he had to be.  
"Do you really think I have not tried that yet? You really are even more stupid than you look. And to think that I will have to marry something like you, I can only imagine the shame if you had to house guests for us. Can you even play an instrument to entertain guests? Or do you know the correct table manners for a banquette?" Draco sneered, venom in every syllable of his sentence.  
"Of course not, I am a boy; where should I have learned how to hold a dinner party? From the muggles I grew up with?" Harry snorted without amusement in his voice.  
"Oh, have they neglected the Pure Golden Boy's education?" Draco mocked.  
More hurt and anguish pierced through Harry's heart at the cruel reminder of his horrible childhood. "You have no idea how I grew up, Malfoy!" He shouted at his mate. "If it were not for your father and Severus, I would leave you right now and demand that they end this crap, but they would be sad and disappointed and I owe them too much to want to make them sad," he hissed.  
Draco looked as if he wanted to say something, but he cut himself off before he could even say a word: "You always sprout that shit about family honour and can't even be polite to me for two hours, and I won't even start about saying anything nice!"  
Draco looked as if he had just been slapped and Harry supposed that he had verbally done exactly that. "Potter, I..."  
Harry sneered at him and cut him off a second time: "Cut it out. I won't speak to a fiancé who can't even call me by my first name in private. Do you really think that I don't realize that Potter was always just another insult from you?"  
He took out his Potions Book in an attempt to flee from this situation, without making his other mate realize anything. "Just leave me alone. We can pretend to have worked well together and I will practice the rest on my own," He said and mentally dismissed his mate for the next 75 minutes.  
For once Draco did what he had told him, and simply sat down across from him. As Harry looked up, the blonde's face was an expressionless mask, but right now he wasn't interested in his mate's thoughts regardless.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius sighed inwardly. They really had tried to hide it well, but one look at their stiff backs told him something had happened again between his son and mate and somehow he just knew that it was not Harry's fault this time.  
In the beginning, Harry honestly did his best to accept his bond to Draco and start their relationship from the beginning once more, but truth to be told, Draco had quite successfully turned their little submissive against him. Apparently, not even the betrothal could stop his son from insulting his young mate completely, even though it had gotten much better. But it was not enough; as long as Harry still got hurt nearly every day, it was not good enough.  
"Draco," he called out, as the students quickly left his classroom, eager to get to the Great Hall for lunch. "Please stay behind."  
His son nodded nonchalantly and leaned against his desk, which was in place once more.  
He really hated to treat his son like this: Draco was an adult by law and he was his mate, but right now he acted like a stupid child with a temper tantrum.  
Sighing, he crossed his arm and leaned against a table himself, exactly opposite his son for effect. "Tell me, what happened now?"  
His son only huffed and glared at the floor, avoiding his piercing stare. "Draco, I will warn you that you had better tell me truthfully what had happened in my office," he said in a voice colder than ice. Instantly, his son looked up. Lucius knew that Draco would recognize this particular tone of voice. He normally used it to threaten all kinds of useful or just disruptive people, without actually uttering a single world; a method which had saved him from Azkaban countless times already.  
Finally, Draco sneered: "His second form is a corporal Patronus, a fawn."  
Lucius blinked in surprise, wasn't a Patronus a spell? But fawn sounded logical with his family background: Lily's Patronus had been a doe, due to the Potter blood and Severus' Patronus had changed to resemble his soulmate's Patronus in their second year, after their mating, as he now knew about. James' Patronus of course, had been a stag like Harry's, but as a child his body was not developed enough to take on an adult form, so a fawn was logical. But all of this did still not explain the tension he had seen and felt radiating from their sweet submissive.  
"And?" he asked pointedly when Draco did not elaborate on the matter.  
"I asked him how it was possible, to be such a beautiful and cute creature when his human form is anything but."  
Lucius groaned inwardly, but outwardly he only intensified his glare and asked: "Draco, do you have any idea what beauty means to a creature that is doomed to be weak physically?"  
With patience he did not feel, he watched his son blink in confusion at the odd question. He actually sighed loudly then and simplified his question: "Women, who are not as physically strong, rich or magically skilled as men, what do they often do?"  
"They become a mistress," his son answered without missing a beat.  
"Correct. And what do they need to become a mistress?" He asked further and finally, his son's eyes widened in understanding, so he continued: "To criticize the beauty of a submissive creature is the most hurtful insult you can hand to them. Harry is not a woman and he is magically stronger than anybody else, with the exception of the Dark Lord probably, but that does not change his instincts. Was there more?"  
"Nothing serious. I asked him whether his muggle relatives neglected his education," Draco shrugged, clearly not understanding what he had done with that simple sentence, but Lucius knew and he could only close his eyes and shake his head in a rare show of denial.  
How could he explain this to Draco, without breaking his promise to their mate and to his best friend? There was no way, not yet at least, but he would make sure when the time came that he would make his son see all his past mistakes.  
But for now, he only fixed Draco with a glare again and said: "You will bring a suitable courting gift to our date this evening. Harry has called in an Order meeting at 3 PM, so we will probably not leave for our Manor until 5 or maybe 6."  
His son scowled even harder, but answered smoothly: "Yes, father."  
He turned around to pick up his cane, but Draco spoke up again: "How will we get to the meeting?"  
Raising an eyebrow, Lucius replied: "WE will go nowhere, only I will. You are not member of the Order, and even if I wanted to take you along, the Headquarters is protected by the Fidelius Charm and I doubt that Harry trusts you enough to tell you the location currently."  
Draco sneered again; it was obvious that he did not like to be left behind, regardless of how hard he tried to convince himself that he did not feel anything for Harry. Apparently, his instincts were more intelligent right now.  
"Then I finally have some time for myself again," his son said arrogantly, but the tone of his voice was slightly off and Lucius only raised an eyebrow again. Somehow he got the feeling that his son would lose the battle against himself soon. Hopefully, it would be even sooner than he anticipated.  
Finally taking his cane, he turned to the door and dismissed his son: "I will come to your quarters as soon as Harry and I are back, be ready by then."  
Without sparing Draco another glance he strode out, leaving for his personal chamber to prepare for the lecture of his next class, cursing all the time that his son had once again hurt their little submissive, and that after what had already happened yesterday.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry sat lazily in his living room with his friends, his legs comfortably propped up on his coffee table with Nagini's heavy head in his lap. He pat his pet snake absentmindedly, as he waited for the new Order Members to arrive, and chatted silently with Ron and Hermione. Oscar had given his new allies the password to his personal chambers, under the stipulation that they only used it when asked, or in case of emergency; he didn't feel like housing a party every evening after all, he only hoped that Ginny would respect his wish as well, or he would be forced to give the Merlin guarding his door, extra orders.  
Most of them had seemed excited at the prospect of their first real Order Meeting and even though he had told them that it would be okay if they didn't have the time, he had the feeling that every one of them would come.  
"I really hope that Kingsley will have some good news," Hermione sighed across from him. "My parents have written to me and they are thankful for your hospitality and like your gardens and all, but they miss their own home and they want to return to their work."  
"I can understand that, it was sudden after all and even though they know quite a lot about our world, it must be difficult to settle into a real magical home," he said.  
His friend chuckled: "It is not necessary difficult, but sometimes very surprising. Only this morning my mother nearly got a heart attack when a House Elf suddenly appeared next to her to tend to the roses in your garden."  
Ron snickered: "At least there are no gnomes, poltergeists or crazy portraits at your manor."  
Harry made a face: "Yeah, but if I spend more time at the Headquarters than at my family manor, I might be tempted to put Mrs. Black there."  
"Do you want to punish her or your relatives?" Ron chuckled.  
"You're right, that wouldn't be fair," Harry replied and then added: "I think someone is coming," when he heard soft footsteps.  
To his annoyance it was Ginny. She had been rather silent these last couple of days and had avoided him, but somehow he could not get rid of the feeling that she had not given up yet.  
"Hi," she said with a happy wink and sat down in the armchair which stood slightly to the left.  
"Hey Gin," Ron greeted his sister but didn't say more when the sound of more steps could be heard from the hallway.  
Harry sighed in to relief, when not only Fred, George, and Angelina entered, but also Lucius.  
His mate stood tall and proud as ever, his snake cane in his left hand, and greeted everybody with a curt nod, before striding over to the sofa he occupied and sat down to his left, thus blocking Ginny's view of him. Harry couldn't suppress a small smirk; neither could the twins or Hermione for that matter, but their expression quickly sobered when the Patil twins, Luna, the Creevey brothers and Susan entered.  
It only took another five minutes for the rest to arrive and in the end, as he had expected, every single new member was there.  
Standing up, he took spoke. "We will floo over to the Headquarter now, it is at Number 12 Grimmauld Place; remember the address, because it is protected by Fidelius and only I can give the address away."  
His friends all nodded and he continued: "I hope that at least Kingsley will be there to tell us how the work on your parent's homes is going, but I am not sure. Who wants to go first?" He asked and they all answered in unison: "You!"  
Smiling, he picked Nagini up and went over to his fireplace, before takings some floo powder and tossing it into the flames.  
When he excited into the living room, Kreacher was just cleaning the floor, which didn't help the appearance of the room much, but he wouldn't say anything if the nasty elf finally did some cleaning.  
Behind him, all his friends appeared. They looked in shock and disbelief at their surrounding and threw him glances as if asking if he was joking.  
Sighing, Harry cleared his throat and they all fell silent again: "No, I am not joking, the Weasley's can confirm it. This really is the Headquarters. I know it is rather shabby, but it was the only available house when Albus called the members back after fourteen years of peace and as you all know, Fudge was not pleased about it, so the Order needed a house which was not suspicious."  
"Not suspicious?" Neville asked, his voice incredulous.  
"Yes," he nodded. "It is located in the midst of Muggle London, so even without the Fidelius, it was already a bit protected," he explained. "Unfortunately, this house belongs to the Blacks and that is why it looks so gloomy;" he told them, they could not give Sirius' secret away after all.  
"The Black's? Who do you and Dumbledore know from that family?" Collin asked with worry straining his voice.  
"He knows me," A deep chuckle came from the direction of the kitchen and some of his friends gasped in shock as his godfather entered with a rather evil smirk on his face.  
"Very subtle," his mate sneered and Harry rolled his eyes at the antics of his godfather, but a little smile sneaked onto his face regardless.  
"That is Sirius Black!" Parvati exclaimed, her finger pointing at the animagus, who went over to Harry and placed an arm around his shoulder, before saying: "Yep, I am Harry's godfather and a member of the Order since it's founding."  
"But you betrayed his parents!" Dean protested.  
Harry quickly shook his head: "Actually, he didn't. The one who betrayed my parents was Peter Pettigrew and he is still alive."  
"What? But I thought...?" Susan didn't end her sentence and only shook her head, obviously too confused to say anything else.  
Ron stepped next to Harry and said: "It is true, he was an animagus and lived with my family as a pet rat, but the three of us saw him in his human form back in our Third Year," he pointed at Harry and Hermione, before continuing: "Professor Lupin and Snape were there as well."  
Now Hermione stepped forwards and took control: "You don't have to worry, we have spent the last two summers in his house and we are still alive."  
The reassurance of so many people seemed to finally calm the worries of the other students down and they slowly nodded.  
"Then let's go down to the kitchen, we have the most space there," Harry said and went ahead with Sirius.  
"So, how are you pup?" His godfather asked. "Is Blondie's class still good?"  
Nodding, he told him: "It is, we are practicing the animagus transformation and I already transformed once."  
His godfather grinned proudly: "Then we can accompany Mooney on the next full moon."  
"I am not sure if that is such a good idea," Harry said, and tried not to sound too suspicious, but Sirius just knew him too well: "Why? You can't be more dangerous than a werewolf."  
"Oh, yes he can," muttered Lucius from behind them and Sirius gave Harry a curious look.  
"The second form is not so bad, it is even quite cute," he told him.  
"The second form? Are you a multimagus?" Sirius concluded correctly.  
Harry only nodded, but said nothing more. He was still a bit ashamed about his basilisk form, even though he believed that Sirius would not be as stupid anymore as to throw a temper tantrum because of such petty things; the story with Severus had taught the animagus that much.  
"Come on Harry, you can tell me, or I will just ask your Professor," Sirius grinned playfully and Harry sighed in defeat. "My first form is a basilisk, but my second form is not as dangerous. It is a fawn Patronus."  
Sirius blinked a few times and then said: "Well, maybe you should not use the basilisk to go on an expedition with us."  
"You are okay with it?" Harry asked carefully, just to make sure.  
"I think, your father's genes needed become visible somewhere," Sirius snickered and then lowered his voice: "Do you plan on telling all your friends?"  
Harry glanced at the group behind him and then shook his head: "Not without asking him first, and I think that he will not appreciate it before Voldemort is defeated. Even with the binding spell, it makes his job potentially more dangerous. Voldemort only has to break one of their minds if it comes to it. Even to tell them about you was a stretch, but you don't have to go to him every two weeks or so."  
Sirius nodded just as they entered the kitchen. Molly was already there and put plates with cupcakes onto the huge table and smiled a friendly smile at everybody as they slowly filed in.  
"Just sit down anywhere," he told to his school mates. "The place at the head of the table is mine and the one next to it is for Dumbledore, but it doesn't matter which one."  
His friends all sat down and Harry helped Molly to put some glasses and juice onto the table as well. Ron and Hermione had already occupied the seats to his left and his mate had chosen the place which would be next to Dumbledore, and when he was finished with distributing glasses, he joined them.  
In the next few minutes, Order members started arriving and Harry had to chuckle when his fellow students saw not only Dumbledore, but also their Head of Houses enter. Their jaws all slightly hung open when his father entered in his billowing robes, as if they could only now believe that their evil Potions Professor was really working for their side, despite having seen him at Potter Manor.  
Looking over the crowd, Harry tried to see who was already there: besides the Hogwarts  
Professors, the entire Weasley clan had come; Lupin had hurried in only a minute ago. Neville's grandmother, Kingsley and Tonks had been the last to arrive. The two Aurors looked very tired and only gave him a weak smile, before asking Molly for a pot of black coffee.  
When after five more minutes no one else had arrived, he stood up and opened the meeting. Not everybody was there, but the most important people were and that was enough.  
"I don't want to stretch this meeting unnecessarily, but many of my guests asked me how the cleaning of their houses is coming along, so I think we should exchange a few reports first." He nodded in Kingsley's direction and the dark skin man rose as well.  
"We have three Auror teams working on the cleaning. Sadly, it is not possible to commission more people with the job, because we still have the daily cases to deal with. In the beginning, every group worked at a house, but we changed our tactic since then and have regrouped. Now one group is working on traps, another on curses and the last one on jinxes."  
Tonks stood up then and continued Kingsley's explanation: "This tactic means that we need more time, but it is safer for our comrades. Most Aurors have a specialization, which provides more safety in dealing with such highly Dark Magic as in this case."  
"Are the houses destroyed otherwise?" Harry asked.  
Kingsley and Tonks sat down again and Remus spoke up next: "They are, but it is nothing a few spells couldn't fix. Arthur and I are currently setting up a group which can do those things after the Aurors are done."  
Harry smiled quickly at Arthur and then asked another question: "Do you know how long you still need to fix the houses?"  
"I think at least four more days, maybe even five or six," Tonks told him.  
"And are there any traces of the Death Eaters who did this?" he asked.  
Kingsley shook his head: "We of course have our suspicions, but there was no specific Magical Signatures left."  
That didn't really surprise Harry. It took a lot of energy to cast a spell strong enough to leave such a trace.  
The next one and a half hours was spent with reports from his father and mate and Remus, who still tried to build contacts with the other werewolves, to prevent them from joining Voldemort. Sadly it seemed as if his efforts would most likely be in vain, at least, as long as they could not promise them a change in the current laws as reward, which was impossible with the current Ministry.  
The new members had listened silently but attentively, and he noticed that they had started to look at him differently after the first ten minutes of the meeting. He would not hold it against them if they had not been able to imagine him in the position as the Head of the Order, with Dumbledore listening to his suggestions and commands like all the other adults.  
The situation at Potter Manor had most likely been different for them, because there he had only commanded his own House Elves in his own home.  
He had sat down during the reports, but now stood up again to end the meeting: "I think we have discussed everything that was needed for now, but before you leave I would like to tell you that I plan on establishing a second Headquarters at my late relative's house."  
"Why another Headquarter?" Molly asked curiously.  
"Because," Harry said as nonchalantly as possible, knowing that Ron's mother would not like what he was about to say. "We have many new members and this place was already getting too small before they joined. I plan on establishing this one for the younger members."  
As expected Molly pursed her lips, but said nothing when her husband only chuckled understandingly.  
"I think that is a wonderful idea my boy," Dumbledore agreed, his eyes twinkling merrily.  
"When can we see the other Headquarters?" Seamus asked eagerly.  
Harry shrugged: "Ron, Hermione and I will have to renovate a lot, but if we find the time, we could do it..." he cleared his throat and then said pointedly "...in the Christmas Holidays.  
His father only snorted and ordered: "The truth Mr. Potter. When do you plan on sneaking out of Hogwarts this time? Isn't it a bit early in the year for such stunts?"  
Flushing, he crossed his arms and said: "Fine, maybe in one or two weeks, depending on our homework, but you can't dock points for it."  
His father only lifted an amused eyebrow and Harry quickly changed the topic, the others were already watching them much too curiously.  
"Thank you all for coming, I think we will see you soon enough," he finally closed the meeting.  
"Harry my dear, do you lot have time for some hot chocolate?" Molly asked, her eyes already on the counter.  
Shaking his head, he answered: "Not this time, but thanks anyway."  
Molly sighed: "Well, you all are busy, I guess."  
"Harry," Dumbledore said and he turned to face his mentor. "Shall I go to your Manor in your place?"  
"That would be great," Harry smiled; he had to go on a date after all.  
"Good my boy, then I will report everything to your guests and you can enjoy your evening without the prospect of having to work afterwards," the man smiled.  
Harry only snorted. He doubted that he would enjoy his evening very much, unless Draco apologized and finally admitted to their bond, which was unlikely to happen.  
He said his goodbyes to Sirius and Remus, regretting that he had no time to ask how their bonding was going, and then led his friends up to the living room again.  
"Hey Harry," Fred said when the first few stepped into the flames. "We would like to help you with Privet Drive."  
George nodded: "That really was an awful place and we would enjoy bringing some magic into that oh-so-normal house."  
Both twins smirked evilly. They knew how his relatives had regarded magic and about the name calling; they had freed him from there once after all.  
"I will tell you when we are going," he promised. They really would need the help and despite having always had bad marks because of pure laziness, Fred and George were very talented with magic, their joke line proof of that. They waved at him and disappeared through the fireplace as well. Now, the only people left were he himself, his father and Lucius.  
"Go ahead," his father said, and his mate gave him a slight nudge. He took some floo powder and a moment later he was back in his living room. Most of his friends had already left, but Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were still there.  
"We will see you tomorrow at breakfast then," Hermione said, referring to his date with the Malfoy's.  
"Are you going somewhere?" Ginny asked, but Hermione only linked their arms and guided her out.  
"... I don't know if I should wish for you to have some fun or not," Ron grumbled with a frown, he knew after all that he was not going on these dates because he wanted to.  
"Just wish that it will be short and painless," he cringed; unfortunately at that exact moment Lucius stepped out of his hearth.  
"I can assure you that it will at least be painless," his mate drawled, looking down at him.  
"I didn't mean it like that," Harry lied, but he knew that his blush was giving him away.  
"Well, I will just go then..." Ron said uncertainly and winked at him. Harry gave him a smile and when he was gone, he turned to his mate.  
"I will change into something more proper and then collect Draco," Lucius said and leaned down to press a kiss onto his forehead.  
"Shall I change as well?" Harry asked and tugged on his school robe.  
"Yes, I believe school robes are not the best attire for a date," his mate smirked and then left.  
Sighing, he went into his bedroom and opened his closet, eyeing the outfits hanging there. Draco would probably not even look, but he forewent his red ensemble and picked up the green one. Frowning, he looked down at the garments, thinking that he had already worn this one quite often, like all the others, when a pop sounded behind him.  
"Master Harry, sir," Oscar squeaked in his high pitched voice and he turned around to face his elf. To his surprise, the little creature was holding up something that looked like a new outfit.  
"Oscar heard that young Master is going on his first official courting date. Oscar had bought Master a new outfit. It is improper to wear old garments," Oscar said with a deep bow and then held the clothes up.  
"Thank you, Oscar," Harry replied, a bit surprised and eyed the new clothes. The long stockings, the shorts, and the coat were made of a deep purple with thin, golden pinstripes and the waistcoat and button down beneath it was black; it was beautiful, much more extravagant than the things he normally wore, but very beautiful.  
He took the outfit from his servant, before changing quickly. When he was finished he called Justitius over to him, who happily attached himself to his sleeve once more and then went back to his living room. Nagini, who had lain down on his sofa after their return looked up and asked:  
 _"Are you going out, little Master?"_  
 _"Yes, my mates want to show me their house,"_ he answered and picked her up again.  
" _Can I come with you? I want to check whether den is big and warm enough."_  
Harry chuckled at his familiar but nodded. His mate's Manor was probably so huge that he would need a whole decade to see even half of the rooms.  
"Harry, are you ready?" Lucius softly asked from behind him. As he turned to the door, he saw both his mates standing there. Lucius had exchanged the robes he had worn in class with a clean pair and for once, even Draco wore a similar outfit, only that his waistcoat was a light silver and not black like his father's, and to Harry's confusion, he held a neatly wrapped package beneath his left arm. As the younger blonde caught his look, he said "This is for you," and held it out."  
Draco had told him that he would get courting gifts from him, but he had not believed that his second mate would actually give him something.  
Not knowing how to react, he stammered a "Thank you," and took the heavy package. It was about 15 inches long and 11 inches wide and felt suspiciously like a book. The paper was a deep, emerald green and it was tied together with a silver ribbon.  
Remembering, that Petunia had always told Dudley that it was improper to open presents when the guests were still there because it would look greedy, he placed it carefully on his coffee table, but his second mate only pursed his lips and snapped: "What are you doing? Is my present not good or valuable enough? Can you already tell what it is from the outside?"  
Harry flinched; Draco honestly sounded offended, and the thought came to him that wizarding traditions might be different from muggle traditions.  
"I..." he stammered, not knowing how to explain his obvious mistake.  
"Harry," Lucius said softly. "In the wizarding world, you open a present immediately unless it is a huge party where it would be impossible to open every gift without neglecting your guests."  
"It's different in the muggle world," Harry told his mates and picked the present up again, before carefully unwrapping it, wondering what was inside. He had not really believed that Draco would actually give him something he would appreciate, or could even use, but his eyes widened as they landed on the golden letters of the antique looking book: Quidditch, a history.  
A wide smile spread across his face and he looked up to his second mate. "Thank you Draco," he said honestly and opened the book, ignoring the huff of the blonde boy.  
"It is a first copy, just so you know," Draco sneered, but his voice lacked the usual venom and Harry only continued smiling, as he flipped through the pages.  
"I can't wait to read it!" He exclaimed with a very unmanly squeal. This really was a great present. True, Ron had given him Quidditch through the Ages, but this book had at least ten times the amount of pages and did not only cover the development of Quidditch in Britain but followed the history through the entire world.  
A thought came to him then; had Draco bought him such a great present as some kind of apology for his last two insults? Trying to find some answer in his second mate's eyes, he glanced up but could find nothing in those ice-blue orbs. Well, Draco was a Malfoy as well; he should have known that he would not find any clue in his mate's face.  
"You can read it when we are back," Lucius said and tugged the heavy book carefully from his grasp, before laying it to the side table again.  
"I think I will read the whole night," he replied and jumped up. He didn't know if Draco had really given him the book as an apology or only because it was part of the courtship to give him presents, but that didn't change the fact that his mate had given him something that he really appreciated. He decided then that he would try to enjoy the evening with his two mates. Maybe he would even learn something that would help him with Draco in the future; the manor was after all not only Lucius' home, there had to be something that could tell him a bit more about his second mate.  
"How will we get to the Manor?" He asked and looked over to his fireplace.  
"We will floo to the Leakey Cauldron and apparate from there," Lucius explained and handed him a black cloak.  
Harry immediately recognized it as one of those courting cloaks, but it was a new one. He supposed that it really would be not right to put him into Narcissa's old cloak once again; he had already felt uncomfortable the first time, but now with Draco accompanying them, he would not wear it. This one had no silver fur but was decorated with beautifully ornamented golden clasps in the front. Taking the cloak, he quickly put it on, closed the clasps in the front and pulled the hood with the veil over his head.  
"I think this one actually suits you better," Lucius said and motioned for Draco to go ahead.  
That was actually something he had noticed in the last couple of weeks: His father and Lucius always insisted that at least one person went ahead and one would wait until he was in the floo. Maybe it was some prime instinct to protect the only submissive of their family so extensively. A few months ago, he would have felt suffocated by this treatment, but as a vampire he could actually appreciate it.  
Taking some floo powder, he quickly followed Draco and was surprised when a strong arm caught him discreetly at the other end.  
"Um...Thanks," he flushed and smoothed out his cloak as his mate had let go of him again.  
"No problem," Draco said smoothly just as Lucius stepped up beside them. "It would not do for the public to assume that my father is courting a clumsy witch."  
Lucius gave Draco a warning look, but said nothing and instead led the way to the backyard, where the hidden entrance to Diagon Alley and the only apparation point of the Wizarding Street was.  
The people in the pub looked at them curiously and Harry could only imagine the rumours that were already spreading about the Malfoy Lord's future wife; maybe he should check the papers tomorrow just to keep up to date.  
"I will side-along with you," Lucius said and held an arm out. "The wards should recognize you, but you have never apparated to our manor before, so it will be safer this way."  
Nodding, Harry grabbed his older mate's arm and the familiar and very unpleasant feeling of apparation flipped his stomach upside down, but only for a second and then he stood on a beautiful path of white pebbles. He followed the line of the path until it changed into one made from black and white marble, which lead to the hugest building he had ever seen and he nearly choked on his own spit as his eyes widened in shock. He could not believe the picture in front of him.  
The building at the end of the path looked faintly familiar to him, but to call it a building, a house or even a manor was an understatement. It was huge, with two outstretched wings, one to the north and one to the south. It was made from marble, but not the cold white one he had expected to see at a Malfoy home. Instead, it was a faint creamy colour, which harmonized perfectly with the golden statues and ornaments that decorated Malfoy Manor.  
Beautiful gardens with sculptured trees lined labyrinth-like pathways, colourful flowers and many breathtaking fountains reached as far as he could see into the black night sky, illuminated by a soft glowing charm, and white peacocks presented their beautiful feathers in between everything. Behind him, he could see that the small pebble path split into two to wind around a huge lake. In the far distance was a huge forest, surrounding everything, but the gate to the estate, he could not actually see.  
His mind still tried to grasp, where he was standing and he could see Draco smirk next to him at his utterly baffled expression, but it was just too unbelievable. This could not be his future home, it was simply impossible.  
Sure, it was already dark outside, so it didn't look exactly like the picture he had in mind, but that was the only difference:  
"This...this is...Versailles!" He finally gasped, having recognized the building in front of him from a postcard Hermione had sent him from her last vacation to France.  
"This is not Versailles," Draco huffed indignantly, but Lucius only chuckled before explaining:  
"Our ancestors built Malfoy Manor during the early middle ages, for a Veela as I had already told you, so it is much older than the French version." Lucius started to slowly walk down the path and Harry automatically fell in step with him, Draco only slightly behind him.  
"But I have to admit that due to problems with the wards in the 17 hundreds, some muggles from France had been able to see the Manor," his older mate continued nonchalantly. "They believed it was a vision of god and my ancestors were too busy getting the wards up again, to bother further with chasing after some stray muggles."  
Harry could only gape at his mate; he could not believe that any Malfoy would have been so careless.  
"The muggles returned to their home country and build Versailles, or whatever they named it." Draco continued the story, just when they stepped into a huge front court. "The muggle building is of course, much smaller than our Manor."  
Gulping, Harry looked up to the many rows of softly illuminated windows and had to grasp Lucius' arm to steady himself again as he remembered in horror, what he had read about the duties of a submissive in Rights and Duties of a House Lady.  
"And you two expect me to manage this as your submissive?" He exclaimed, remembering that it was the submissive's duty to care for the house and the family and take on the role of the Lady of the house.  
"This can't be our home, you have to be joking!" his voice had gained a desperate edge, but right now he didn't care.  
"This is our home," Lucius confirmed.  
"How many rooms does this...thing... have?" He asked, not even trying to count the many windows in front of him.  
Lucius scoffed at his inadequacy at expressing himself properly. "I am honestly not sure," his first mate admitted with a thoughtful look.  
Draco wrinkled his forehead as well and then said: "The muggle Manor has about 350 living quarters, which differ in sizes and number of rooms they consist of, but as I told you, their Manor is much smaller."  
The second wave of dizziness hit him and he had shaken his head to get rid of the feeling. He had always wondered why wizards would need House Elves when they had the help of magic, but now he could see the reason right in front of him. Even with magic, he would not be able to clean this place on his own, and the huge gardens would probably die off within a few month.  
He felt so overwhelmed and he had yet to see the inside. Shaking his head again, he asked another question: "But why so much gold? I thought it was a Gryffindor thing."  
"We Malfoy's indeed prefer silver on our skin, due to our fair colouring, but gold is of more value and it is important to impress a visitor," Lucius drawled arrogantly and Harry had to admit, that a family that owned such a Manor, had all right to be arrogant. This was wealth beyond his imagination, even though he had seen the numbers of their account on the Gringotts document.  
"Shall we go inside?" Lucius asked and the door with the many small glass windows opened on its own accord in front of them.  
Harry had thought that the outer appearance of Malfoy Manor had already shocked him, but it was nothing in comparison to the inner layout. He staggered a bit and his heart missed a beat as he stepped into the Entrance Hall.  
Hermione had told him enough about Versailles for him to be able to recognize the Hall in front of him as well: It was the Hall of Mirrors, only that the hall in front of him was much larger than her description, and it wasn't only an impressive hallway behind the Entrance Hall, it was the Entrance Hall.  
An infinite amount of crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling and reflected the candlelight alongside the many mirrors lining nearly every free surface of the walls. Spaces, which were not occupied by mirrors, were decorated with gold and small statues, but in contrast to the muggle version, he could find no angels. Instead, all kinds of magical creatures looked down on him. He saw dragons and unicorns, griffins, sphinxes and even some sprites. The ceiling was graced with beautiful paintings, which seemed to show events and myths of wizarding history.  
He could only imagine how he looked, with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open, but he could not pull himself together. This was crazy, how was he expected to live here? And how could the mostly cold Malfoy's have a home that glistened warmly in the soft light of candles?  
Shaking his head for what felt like the hundredth time that evening, he looked to his right and was startled a bit, when a whole army of House Elves stood there, silently watching him and clearly waiting for him to address them.  
"Um... Lucius?" He asked silently, not daring to speak louder than a whisper and searched for his first mate, but on the look around, he could find neither Lucius nor Draco. Only when his mate stepped up next to him, did he realize that his light hair and skin had reflected the golden light so much, that he had merged with it.  
"Yes, Harry?" Lucius asked and laid a hand lightly on his shoulder.  
"What should I say to your House Elves?"  
"Firstly, as the Lady of this house, as unfitting as the title is, they are your Elves, and secondly, you just have to introduce yourself and tell them what you expect from them. It probably would be wise to mention our change as well, or they will be upset when we suddenly do not touch their meals anymore."  
"O... okay..." he stammered and went over to the group of Elves, his two mates following him but standing to the back a bit.  
"Hello," he started, feeling more unsure of himself in front of an army of servants, than he had felt in front of his guest at Potter Manor.  
"My name is Harry Severus James Potter and I am the mate of your two masters and will be in charge of you."  
"Yes, young Master," they said in an echo of the title Nagini had given him as well. Speaking of the snake, the elves were watching his familiar rather fearfully, he would address her later.  
"Your masters and I have been brought together by a curse that has turned us into vampires," he explained further and watched the little creatures stiffen like Oscar had done the evening he had bought the little elf.  
He tried to smile reassuringly and said: "Luckily, we are soulmates and can only eat from each other, so you are all safe." The elves nodded and he asked: "I am new to all of this, so I would like it if you just asked all the questions you have," he invited them.  
The elves exchanged some hesitating glances and then a very strict looking one stepped forwards and bowed low. "Young Master, I am Diddy. Diddy is Head Elf."  
Harry gave a smile as sign that he could continue to speak and waited.  
"If Masters don't need food, are Elves required to cook?" Diddy asked.  
Harry thought about it for a moment. He and his mates did not need anything, but that didn't mean that they didn't know many people who still were humans, and his friends and Lucius' business acquaintances would surely come by once in a while, so he answered: "We don't need any food, but I want our kitchen ready to serve for guests at any time. Only because we are vampires, does not mean that we have forgotten our hospitality. And from time to time we like some blood from animals or other magical creatures instead of meals."  
The old elf nodded and then asked: "Will Elves keep their tasks?"  
Harry blinked in confusion and looked over to Lucius, who furrowed his brows before answering: "I believe that Narcissa had assigned their daily chores according to their abilities."  
Turning back to the Head Elf, Harry said: "Your duties will remain the same."  
He just wanted to dismiss them, when something else came to his mind and he called: "Oscar!"  
His Personal Elf appeared with a bow at his side, asking: "What can Oscar do for Master Harry?"  
"I just want to introduce you," Harry said and then looked at the other Elves again. "This is Oscar, my Personal Head Elf. I don't want to take your position from you, I am sure you know the Manor better than anybody else, but when Oscar comes with an order from me, it has priority. He is above all of you, but he lives with me at Hogwarts and has to keep an eye on all our places, so he will not be here very often."  
Looking down at Oscar again, he added: "And he will provide you with a suitable uniform."  
Like last time, a gasp went through the crowd of servants. "You are not dismissed; I merely think that a servant of such an honourable family like the Malfoy's should not run around in rags and old towels." The elves looked relieved and Oscar said: "Oscar will go to Diagon Alley tomorrow, sir."  
Harry smiled at him and then dismissed them all.  
Sighing, he leaned against Lucius for a moment; he really wasn't made for big speeches in front of people, or Elves.  
"Which rooms would you like to see?" his older mate asked and caressed his neck with a single claw. A shiver ran down Harry's spine and it made him nearly incapable of answering, so he straightened again and asked: "Maybe the living room?"  
A dry snort came from his other mate and Harry realized how stupid his answered had been, he was after all in a house that had many more rooms than the 350 of the muggle version.  
"I think we will just give you a tour through the most used rooms," Lucius mused and looked over to Draco, who only shrugged.  
The older vampire moved him to the middle of the hall, where a broad staircase nearly disappeared between all the mirrors and gold; without the guidance he would not have seen it.  
"Normally we simply apparate from one room to the other," Lucius explained, as they climbed up the stairs. "You would need hours to reach the music room from here, so our ancestors placed special wards which allows for the apparation within the manor, even for guests."  
"That sounds useful," Harry mumbled and looked down onto the rich marble of the staircase. Somehow, he still couldn't decide whether this place fit his mates or not. In one way it did, because it was pompous and beautiful and made only from the most expensive materials, but he also had imagined a more cold kind of beauty, not as much ornamentation. Like those modern muggle architecture, beauty through simplicity, with only a few, well placed, but very valuable eye catchers.  
But then again, Lucius had told him that the Manor was meant to impress visitors and that it had been build for a Veela, who had not appreciated the beauty of Dark wizarding family homes.  
They passed many doors, some entirely made from beautiful wood, and others had glass windows, like the entrance door. The theme of mirrors and chandeliers seemed to be present in the hallways as well.  
Finally, Lucius stopped in front of a double door and Draco opened it. The inside was decorated with soft, cream colours. To the right stood a huge lounge, where at least 10 people could easily sit and to the left was a fireplace.  
"This is one of the rooms where we welcome guests," Draco explained with a wave at the lounge.  
"We have a different set of rooms, according to the occasion and the reason why they are coming."  
Harry blinked a bit stupidly. He could not think of many reasons why guests would come: when they were friends then you would have some tea, or if they were business partners then you might need a more formal setting. Draco, who seemed to catch on to his confusion elaborated: "My mother often used this room to drink tea with the wives of the inner circle, but when only two of her friends came, this room would have felt too big, so there are smaller salons as well."  
Lucius nodded and continued: "Most of my visitors are often work related, so I prefer a room with an actual table to work on. My only really close friend is Severus and he often visits me in my personal study, where you can find me most of the time."  
Harry nodded in understanding and went over to the huge sofa. It looked incredibly soft, but also far too expensive to actually touch, and if he had to guess he would assume that it was most likely an antique as well.  
"You know," Lucius drawled in an amused voice. "You are allowed to sit down on your sofa."  
Smiling sheepishly, Harry ignored the huff from his second mate and laid his palm onto the arm rest. It was even softer than he had expected.  
"Your sofa," muttered Draco and Harry quickly pulled his hand back, as if the piece of furniture had burned him.  
"Draco," Lucius snapped. "You are aware that Harry and I are already mated? His name is on the family tree and his vault has joined with ours, so yes, HIS sofa."  
Now Draco looked as if he had been the one who had been slapped and his face closed off again. It had been slightly more relaxed and open in the last hour, as if the younger blonde had understood that he had accepted his gift as apology, and he had liked it. It gave Draco even more of an angelic touch, but whatever he had just realized now, had made him retreat again.  
"Let us move on," Lucius announced smoothly, filling the uncomfortable silence that had arisen again, and holding an arm out for him.  
Harry took the offered arm and Lucius told his son: "I will apparate to the small dining room," before he was pulled along. He really had to get used to apparation if he was expected to live in Malfoy Manor.  
The small dining room really was rather small, at least in comparison with the other two rooms he had seen up until now. Draco appeared next to him, but this time didn't offer any explanation about the room.  
"This is where we usually eat our meals, when at home."  
Harry listened to Lucius' explanation and looked at the dark, wooden table in the centre of the room. Six people could easily sit there and a few plants and ceiling-high windows with long light green curtains, made the place look very comfortable, like a typical dining room of a typical family.  
"I like this room," he said and went over to the window to look out. One lead onto a balcony and Harry wondered if his mates ever ate their breakfast there in the summer; the view over the gardens was so beautiful. It really was a pity that it was already so dark and he could only see the illuminated fountains of the ponds.  
This was so different from everything he was used to, but Harry knew that he could feel at home here. The memory of Lucius' first night at Privet Drive came back and he had to chuckle.  
"What is so funny?" Draco snapped, but he didn't take the bait and just said, his words addressed to his older mate: "No wonder you were offended by my relative's place."  
Lucius chuckled as well and stepped next to him, a look on his face that told him his mate was remembering it as well.  
"You know, they actually believed that they had a very elegant home," Harry snorted.  
Lucius echoed the sound and then said: "It certainly was a nightmare for me."  
"What was the worst?" Harry asked curiously, momentarily forgetting that Draco was still there.  
"The woman at the... what did you call it?"  
Harry rolled his eyes, but also smiled in amusement feeling very nostalgic. "The grocery store."  
"Ah yes, the store. She really was impertinent, flirting with a mated man," his mate huffed in irritation.  
"Believe me," Harry chuckled, "I could have killed her myself. But the look she had when you gave me that lascivious look in front of her."  
"Shall I leave you alone?" Draco suddenly sneered from behind them and Harry grew beet red. He had forgotten about his other mate. It had felt so good to feel Lucius' comfort again; the last weeks had been so hard and he had started to feel so lonely, even with his father spending every night with him, but now he felt guilty and bad again and his instincts were scolding him.  
He really shouldn't have given in to his wish for comfort, not as long as Draco was not ready to join him.  
Unconsciously, he took a step away from Lucius and muttered: "I am sorry Draco. That was insensitive of us."  
Draco gave him an odd look and then said: "I presume that the library will be our next stop?" Without waiting for an answer, the blonde disappeared.  
"I am sorry Harry," Lucius said softly. "I should not have..."  
"It's okay," Harry interrupted him and lifted his arms to indicate to his dominant to bend down and press a quick kiss to his cheek. "It was my fault as well. I just... It's so difficult. I miss you so much and I feel lonely, but my heart hurts when I can't treat you equally," he tried to explain.  
"Hush my love," Lucius said and placed a finger over his lips. "Draco will come around. I already can see some changes in my son."  
Harry blinked; he truly had not noticed anything, but then again, Lucius knew him much better.  
He grabbed his mate's arm again, and a second later they stood in the biggest library he had ever seen. Bookcases supported a rounded ceiling, which was painted to resemble a blue sky with some clouds, but the bookcases were made from dark wood and filled with hundreds or even thousands of books. They stretched to his left and right and from where he stood, Harry could not see the end of the room.  
Here and there he spotted small tables with chairs or comfortable looking wing-back chairs with little coffee tables and candelabras on them. He could not say whether this library only looked larger than his own at Hogwarts, or if it really was. It was hard to tell with the shelves lining up the walls of the tower-like room.  
His other mate leaned against one of the shelves still looking sour, so he carefully kept a proper distance between himself and Lucius.  
"I am not sure, but I think we even have some Parselscript books. Of course, it is very likely that you will find them in your own library as well," Lucius said softly.  
Staring in awe at the room in front of him, Harry told his mates with a grin: "Oh, I should never tell Hermione about this room, or we will never see her again because she will try to first read all of my books and then all of yours."  
But of course, Draco wasn't one to forget his bad mood quickly and sneered to his left: "The Mudblood will never be allowed in our home." His second mate's words had been clearly audible in the silence of the library, even though he had not spoken very loudly, and Harry just knew that he was meant to hear it.  
He was already opening his mouth, but in the last moment he saw Lucius shake his head softly.  
Sighing, he decided to fight this particular war when Draco had finally accepted him; it would still be hard enough then, but definitely impossible right now.  
"Where do we go next?" He asked Lucius instead, turning around to face his older mate.  
"We could go to my study or my private quarters. Last time you were here, you did not get to see much of them. And then there are still Draco's rooms."  
Glancing over to Draco, Harry saw that his eyes had hardened even further, so he quickly answered: "I think your study will be enough."  
Lucius followed his glance, before nodding once and holding his arm out. He quickly took it and Lucius whisked them away once more, without having said anything to his son, but Harry believed that the younger blonde had heard their destination. Sure enough, before he could even take his first glimpse at his first mate's private study, Draco appeared next to him. Draco sneered at their close proximity and quickly stepped away. The well-known hurt in his heart made itself known once again. Looking down at his feet he tried to ignore the pain, but it was difficult. The constant rejection from his second mate hurt too much. He had wanted to enjoy this trip so much, but apparently he wouldn't be allowed to. He barely heard Lucius, as he said harshly:  
"Draco, I do not want to see that look on your face again. Have I made myself clear?"  
"Yes father," Draco said in an emotionless voice.  
Harry looked up again and his eyes met Lucius' silver ones quickly and he saw hurt flickering inside of them for a split second, before his older mate guarded them once more.  
Lucius really stood between a rock and a hard place he mused, feeling sorry for him. What must it feel like to have his own son and mate behave like that? He already knew that Lucius suffered because of their sporadic contact, but only now did he realize that there was more that hurt his mate.  
Sudden anger rose inside of him, mixed with the urge to defend the man he loved, but at the same time he could not act on it, regardless of how much he wanted to. At least, not like he wanted to which would be a good slap in Draco's face and certainly not on their date. So he simply turned around and went after Lucius who had stepped into the middle of the office and finally took a thorough look. Opposite the dark wooden door was a huge, ceiling-high window. To its right stood a wide desk, loaded with scrolls and papers. The walls were lined with shelves, some holding books that looked like lexicons and folders. Striding over, he pulled one of the books aside, only to find the second row with novel-like books behind it. He would not have given it a second thought, if not for Lucius' sudden and surprised coughing. Somehow, Harry got the impression that he had just found a very well kept secret and with a smirk over his shoulder, he pulled one of the thin books out.  
In the next moment Lucius was beside him, trying to take the book from his hands. "Harry, these are only... novels..."  
"Then it won't hurt if I take a look at them," he grinned and ducked under his mate's arm, whilst looking at the title of the book at the same time. Under the Blood Red Sun - A Tragic Love Story.  
For a long moment, he could not believe what kind of book he held in his hands, what kind of book he had found hidden in Lucius Malfoy's private study; the man who was supposed to be colder than the Dark Lord himself and never showed any feelings, with the exception of Draco and himself probably, but even that was rarer than he would wish for. A sappy romance novel with a title even worse than any his aunt Petunia had possessed.  
At that thought, he could not stop himself from laughing. "And I wondered for weeks how you could stand reading my aunt's horrible romance novels! I thought it was because you were captured there and bored to death, you even went so far as insulting the books, but you actually liked them, didn't you?"  
"Of course not, they were muggle," Lucius huffed in indignation, finally grabbing the book and pulling it from his fingers, but the damage clearly had been done. Even Draco, who had looked very sour only a moment ago, had an amused glint in his eyes.  
"But you like the genre," Harry replied, trying to stop his laughter.  
His mate opened his mouth again, but Draco interrupted him before he had a chance to defend himself further: "You know father, I always wondered what books you were always hiding so quickly when I came in unannounced. I always thought it would be some kind of pornography."  
Snickering harder again, Harry turned towards Draco and for a moment his eyes met the laughing ice-blue ones of his second mate. Until Draco realized what he was doing that was, and quickly looked away, mask falling into place again while he stood there stunned. There had been an almost Maraudish gleam in his younger mate's eyes and an easy openness. He wanted to be graced with that openness and that smile again, but he was sure that only his closest friends had ever seen it, and he himself was anything but for the blonde.  
Concentrating back on the office, he eyed the wine-red walls and the light, cream coloured carpet beneath his feet, which covered a large part of the wooden floor.  
"Your study is really nice," he said to Lucius with a clearing of his throat.  
"I know; that is why I spend many hours in here. If you ever can't find me, try in here," Lucius answered him, still looking a bit miffed.  
"I will remember that," he grinned, before asking: "Where do we go next?"  
"There is a beautiful place in our rose garden, I would suggest we go there and simply relax for a while."  
"That sounds good," he said and grabbed Lucius' arm before his mate could even offer it to him.  
His eyes needed a moment to adjust to the dim light of the fountain in front of him, but as soon as they had, he gasped. Lucius had brought him to a labyrinth of silver-white roses, which surrounded him completely, only a nearly invisible opening in the bushes showed him that you could indeed enter without apparating. In the middle of the small clearing was a small fountain, with a statue in its middle, which actually showed two intimately dancing wizards, one of them clearly a Malfoy by his hair and features. It really was amazing how much alike they all were.  
A single bench stood in front of one wall of roses on which Draco was already seated.  
"Do you like it?" Lucius asked him softly, leaning down to whisper his question into his ear.  
"Yes, it's beautiful," he whispered back, not daring to speak any louder in a place as magical as this.  
"These roses are called silver-white witch. They are one of my favourites," Lucius said, taking him by his hand and leading him over to the bench. Before he knew it, he sat between his two mates, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable despite the beautiful atmosphere.  
A House Elf appeared with a golden tray and offered them wineglasses with a delicious smelling red liquid. Lucius took two of them and offered them him and Draco, who stiffened at the smell, but took it without hesitation.  
Sipping at his own blood, Harry watched his second mate from the corner of his eyes. Draco sniffed carefully, before testing a small swig as well. His ice-blue orbs flashed completely red for a split second and Harry was sure that anyone else would have groaned at the delicious taste, but Draco was a Malfoy, so he composed himself before any sound could leave his mouth and took another sip.  
Suddenly his first mate looked back and forth between him and his second mate.  
"Severus and I talked for a bit earlier and we are of the opinion that your idea with the second Headquarters is a very good one."  
Harry blinked at Lucius in astonishment. Hadn't he, and especially his father, been against leaving the school secretly? Glancing over at Draco, he saw that the blonde's eyes had darkened in suspicion as well. Looking back at Lucius, he forced a small false smile onto his lips and said "Thanks, that will make things easier." Something was definitively off and his suspicion was confirmed when Lucius continued: "We think this weekend would be a good time. You are still far enough from your exams, so you should be able to manage your homework despite being away for a few days."  
Nodding, he waited for his mate to continue, but Draco beat him to it:  
"Father, what are you and Uncle Severus planning?"  
Harry quickly suppressed the snort that threatened to rise at hearing Draco call his father 'Uncle Severus' and concentrated back on Lucius, whose lips were twitching in a smug grin.  
"Why should we have planned anything? Harry cannot ignore his duty as the Head of the Order and it can be a chance for you to join him as well."  
Now Draco was glaring at his father, but Harry felt too confused to say anything right now. What had his older mate and father come up with? Why would the renovation of Privet Drive make Draco join the Order? Besides, he couldn't involve his second mate in most things as the risk was simply too high as long as Draco had not officially joined, or at least finally accepted their blood bond (which was even more unrealistic).  
"You mean joining the Order?" Draco clarified.  
Lucius calmly took another sip of his blood, before elaborating in a voice as if he was merely talking about the weather.  
"You have a lot of work ahead Harry if you want to make the house liveable for wizards. Among those things, you will have to raise shields that prevent the Ministry from recognizing magic done by underaged wizards and witches."  
"There are shields like that?" He asked, now feeling even more confused.  
His first mate nodded. "There are. Those wards are quite complicated, but as my legal heir, Draco of course knows the incantation."  
Finally, it dawned on Harry what his older mate was planning. Lucius wanted Draco to help him set up Privet Drive as Headquarters so that they could become closer to each other; it had worked with them after all. Theoretically, it was a good idea, but Ron and Hermione would be there, as would be the twins, which meant this weekend could only end in a disaster.  
"Father! I will not spend a whole weekend with a bunch of Gryffindors. I planned on attending a party in Slytherin House!" Draco exclaimed, pulling him from his thoughts.  
Lucius' eyes had darkened threateningly at his son's words. "You will surely not attend those parties, at least not as long as you are not willing to go along with our submissive. Do not think that I do not know what happens at those kinds of parties. You will not be unfaithful to your soulmate," his first mate ordered coldly. Looking up at him, Harry tried to get a clue as to what he had meant by those kinds of parties. In Gryffindor, they drank butterbeer and simply talked, made jokes and listened to music, but then again, they weren't Slytherins. Not coming to a conclusion, he watched Draco lower his head; it was astonishing how much power Lucius still held over his son, even though the two males should be equals through there mate status. They were both his dominants, but then again, they hadn't completed their bond yet.  
He took another sip from his goblet and listened to Draco saying: "Fine, I will spend the weekend with him."  
Harry knew that Draco most likely had wanted to say more, most likely about his inadequacy as their submissive, but at least in some regards their courtship helped, or at least Lucius' presence did.  
"Good," Lucius said and he wanted to shrink under his dominant's scrutinizing look; Draco of course didn't seem disturbed in the least and met his father's look.  
"Now," Lucius continued, clearly taking charge of their bond again. "Do we have to talk about your behaviour these last few days as well, or can I assume that you two will behave better in the future?"  
Flushing, Harry looked to the ground. Why did Lucius need to bring it up again? He knew that he had behaved poorly. Not only Draco was at fault, but still he just wanted for them to stop insulting each other so that his wounds could heal and he would be able to forgive his second dominant and finally complete their bond.  
"I... I am sorry," he mumbled, not able to look up.  
"We will behave better," Draco drawled to his left.  
"Very well. Then I think it is time to return to the castle," Lucius announced and snapped his fingers.  
The little elf appeared again and Harry placed his now empty goblet on the tray it was holding, before rising to his feet. Lucius took his arm again and they apparated back to the Leaky Cauldron, from where they floo'ed back to his quarters. He barely had time to stumble out of the fireplace, when Draco appeared behind him and rushed past him and practically fled from his quarters. Blinking in surprise, he looked at Lucius questioningly, but his mate only shrugged nonchalantly.  
Picking up his new book, he suddenly asked: "Do you really think that it will help if Draco assists me at Privet Drive?"  
Lucius stopped from brushing off his expensive cloak. "I do," his mate said without any doubt in his voice. "With every minute he watches you, his resolve crumbles a bit. Deep down in his heart he knows that you are his submissive. But why his childhood grudge has gotten so out of hand, I cannot tell you."  
Sighing, Harry flopped down onto his sofa. He honestly had no idea either. He had been willing to forget what had happened between him and his second dominant, but Draco had held onto their old hatred. All around the school, girls had always whispered about how mature Draco already was, but he could not see any of it. Absentmindedly, his eyes wandered over to stare into the flames of his fireplace. Why was Draco not giving in? Everybody who looked a bit closer at the blonde could by now see that he was miserable. The month without blood was visible in his features, and the suffering was audible in every snide remark he made about his and Lucius' relationship. So why?  
Suddenly a warm hand fell on his shoulder. Harry startled and looked up into Lucius' silver eyes. "Do not worry too much. Draco will soon see reason. I can see it in his eyes; I am his father after all," his mate said and leaned down to press a kiss to his forehead. "Sleep well my little submissive, and do not read for too long. I need to go and prepare for my classes now," Lucius explained. Harry didn't really want him to leave, but he knew that it probably was for the best with their bond as it was right now. Currently, he did not have a lot to offer his mate. He couldn't cuddle with him, let alone all the other things they had enjoyed doing together, so he simply said. "I love you, Lucius. And don't work for too long."  
He watched his mate leave mournfully. When the last strand of silver-blond hair had left around the corner, he sighed and picked 'Quidditch, a History' up again, deciding to simply go to bed and read until he fell asleep.  
Nagini already lay on his bed as he entered his bedroom. She only lifted her head quickly, but resumed sleeping as soon as she had seen that it only was him. Pulling out his wand, he changed quickly into his PJ and climbed into bed, before settling the heavy tomb against his knees.  
The book was even more interesting than he had imagined. It started with the invention of ball-games in general, skipped then to the invention of brooms and then started to explain how these two sports had met. He was just about to start the third chapter when a soft knock came from his door. Looking up, he saw his father coming in.  
"Dad!" he exclaimed and stretched his hands out in a pleading gesture. His father understood immediately and transfigured his robes into a long nightshirt.  
"Still awake?" Severus asked as he scooted over to make room for his father to lie down as well.  
"Yeah, Draco gave me this book. It's great!" he answered and pointed to the book which by now was lying on his nightstand.  
"A courting gift?" His father merely asked.  
"Yes, but somehow I think that it was also meant as an apology... or maybe I just want to think that, but it is so thoughtful. He didn't need to give me something that I would actually like," he mused and snuggled closer to his father's warm body.  
"Maybe, it is certainly difficult to say with Draco, he truly is a Malfoy in that regard."  
Harry nodded against his father's chest. Now that he was lying down and cuddling against Severus' strong chest, he felt the tiredness quickly creeping up on him. The day had been long and exhausting with his lessons, his Order Meeting and the trip to Malfoy Manor. He wanted to wish his father a good night, but he was only able to manage a long sigh. The last thing he heard before drifting off was his father's soft chuckle.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **DM**

Draco raced through the corridors and down to his quarters; he needed to be alone. A thousand emotions raced through his chest as he tried to suppress the pictures that were coming up in front of his inner eye. He didn't want to feel these things, he didn't want to see these pictures, but all he could see as he flung the door to his room open was Harry's Slytherin-green eyes, huge in awe at the sight of their manor.  
Another picture pushed itself forwards, this time of the small raven smiling dreamily up at his father. For years he had wanted to have such a gaze focused on him and now his father had it. "You could have it as well," a silent voice whispered inside his mind suggestively and he roared in anger. No, he didn't want Potter anymore, he had gotten over him a long time ago, and even if his dream was within reach now, he would not stretch his hand out for it; Potter had hurt him enough already.  
Flashes of his younger self, wiping hurt and angry tears away in a dark corner of his dormitory flashed in front of him. Angry at himself for remembering those things, those past weaknesses, he stomped over to his nightstand, pulled the drawer forcefully open and grabbed a small item from it. It was a book, bound in black leather, shrunken to the size of his palm. He grabbed it angrily, squeezed it tightly and flung it across the room, just then another memory of him waking up panting and moaning in denied need, played in front of him. He shoved the memory aside. Those days were long gone; he was not the weak, pained child with a broken heart. He was not in love with Harry Potter anymore.


	29. Chapter 29: Arriving at Privet Drive

**Chapter 29: Arriving at Privet Drive**

 **HP**

The next day found Harry literately crawling out of the Chamber of Secrets. In the past weeks since his first lecture with Dumbledore, his mentor had drilled him with defensive and offensive spells, but this time he had tested his endurance in magic-casting, which primary meant that the man had cast spells as strong as he was able to over the last two hours. Of course, as a vampire, he was probably still feeling better than his friends would right now, but that was of no consolation at the moment. He felt drained of magic and utterly exhausted. He knew he needed blood, but he didn't feel right with the thought of drinking from Lucius as long as their bond wasn't completed. Maybe he would have taken his first mate's blood if the process wasn't so sexually charged, but it was and he just couldn't leave Draco out of something as important as this. Draco also needed blood, probably for weeks already, but that of course, hadn't changed the prat's mind yet, and so the three of them were literately starving.  
"I don't understand why you always go down to that horrible place," Myrtle's whiny voice suddenly said from above him.  
Looking up, he scrambled to his feet, patting dust and grime from his trunks, and said: "It's the best place for practice."  
Myrtle huffed and luckily disappeared down the drain next to him. When he heard a sound from behind him, he turned around and watched Dumbledore floating out of the tunnel with much more grace than he had managed. His twinkling blue eyes landed on his dirty clothes and he chuckled.  
"I would say a shower is in order," the man said.  
Harry only smiled weakly back and Dumbledore said: "I heard that you and our Headboy are leaving over the weakened?"  
"Um... yeah. Hermione, Ron, Fred and George will also come with us," he told the Headmaster, thinking that he really needed to get going. He had promised his friends to meet them after his training in his quarters so that they could look up the spells that they would need for the renovation.  
"Then you had better go, I imagine there are still quite a few preparations you and your friends need to make," Dumbledore twinkled at him.  
"Yeah, thanks. I will go then, see you..." Harry quickly tried to remember when their next practice would be, but couldn't remember right now; he was just too tired.  
"In two days," Dumbledore smiled with a wink.  
Smiling sheepishly, Harry quickly left the girl's toilet and made his way down the corridor. As much as Ron and Hermione and he still had to do until Friday, they could at least do it in peace because his father and Lucius had decided that the weekend together would be enough dates for the week, so he didn't have to make time for Draco. This also meant that he would finally have more time for his friends as well. Between his Order-work, dates, and training he had less time to spend with them than he would have liked, but this week would belong to them, at least until Friday after lunch.  
The door to his chambers swung open as usual and he quickly went into his library to check whether Ron and Hermione were already there.  
"Finally!" Hermione exclaimed as soon as he had stepped into the round room. "I thought Dumbledore would never let you go," she said and wrinkled her nose as she saw his dirty and dishevelled appearance.  
"Um... we trained a bit longer. I will just take a shower and then join you," he said to his friend.  
"Take your time," Ron grinned at him from where he lounged lazily on a chair.  
"Ron, we only have three days left to prepare, he better hurry!" Hermione snapped at him.  
"How many spells do you think we will need? We will be finished in no time!" Ron argued back.  
"But we also need to decide where we will buy all the things we will need, like more blankets and furniture!"  
Harry left his two friends to their bickering and closed the library door silently. Using his vampire speed, he returned to his bedroom, fetched a set of clean clothes and stepped into his shower. He luckily didn't feel sore thanks to his vampire genes and the hot water could of course not do much for his cold body temperature, so he only washed before exiting the stall again. Taking his wand from the shelf where he had put it, he cast a drying spell and then started to dress in the numerous layers of his black outfit. When his waistcoat and boots were tied, he checked his appearance in the mirror and called for Oscar.  
"What can Oscar do for Master?" the little elf squeaked with a bow.  
"Could you bring a goblet with blood to the library? I am really starving." He of course knew that animal blood would not help him with his hunger, but it at least would give his growling stomach something to do.  
"Oscar will bring you some blood immediately," the elf promised and popped out of his bathroom.  
When he arrived back in the library, he already saw a goblet and even a crystal decanter filled with blood next to his usual seat, while his friends were sipping on mugs of steaming hot chocolate.  
"So, do you already have an idea of what kind of spells we will need?" he asked Hermione as he sat down. His friend nodded, bent down and retrieved a long list from his bag.  
"I don't think that we will need any muggle-repelling charms, seeing as Privet Drive is a muggle neighbourhood. But we will need expansion charms for the rooms, transfiguration charms to add a few more as well. Then we need a charm, so that the electricity and our magic will not interfere with each other, some protection wards to ensure the security of the floo connection and of course a ward that allows us to practice magic in the first place, we are underaged after all."  
"Draco will cast the ward for that. He is already 17," he told his friends.  
"What? Ferret-face will be going with us to Privet Drive?" Ron roared.  
Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Harry simply nodded. He knew that his friends had been looking forward to their weekend together and Draco Malfoy was putting a damper on their excitement, well, on his as well if he was being honest.  
"The whole weekend?" Ron prodded incredulously.  
"Yeah..." Harry didn't know what else to say, or which words would make the situation better.  
Hermione scowled but then said: "I guess it is a good idea. You really should learn how to get along with each other. I mean, his father has become a good friend of yours."  
"Malfoy Senior is not a friend of Harry, Hermione!" Ron exclaimed in what sounded like outrage.  
"And what, do you think he is then?" Hermione asked pointedly, while Harry continued to watch their discussion; he honestly hoped that neither of them would ask him about his opinion.  
"Well," Ron answered "he is just a new Order Member and Harry is polite to him because he is the leader and has to be. Besides, Malfoy is the best mate of his father and he definitely doesn't want to cause trouble with Snape."  
A low growl had risen in his throat when Ron had called Lucius his father's best mate, but he quickly squashed it before his friends could notice anything. It got harder and harder to suppress this reaction with every insult he heard about his first mate. At least, Draco had taken his father's threat seriously and had stayed at a more appropriate distance from Pansy and Daphne, so his stupid jealousy had calmed down a bit.  
"So, Harry, where should we go shopping for the new Headquarters?" Hermione's voice suddenly pulled him from his thoughts. She had spoken loudly and in a voice that indicated she was slightly annoyed with him. Looking up, he saw her and Ron staring expectantly at him, apparently, their conversation had ended some time ago.  
"Um... er..." he really had no idea where they could go to. Would they simply go to a muggle store? Most items weren't so different from their magical counterparts, like blankets and plates. His mates would surely disagree with him, but they luckily weren't there right now and even so, the Headquarters was his project and no one else's, so he would decide what he wanted to do at Privet Drive.  
Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "If you can tell me what you imagine the house to look like, I think I can find the shop we will need," she told him.  
Grabbing his goblet, Harry used the time to think about a concept for his late relative's house, but all he knew was that he wanted to give it an entirely new look. He didn't want anything that would remind him of his horrible years there in the house. It would be expensive to buy all of those things, but he had the money. Lucius would probably only laugh at the sum he would spend. And it shouldn't resemble Grimmauld Place either, so he said: "I want it to become a friendly, cozy place. Not gloomy. And I think we should give it a modern touch."  
He watched Hermione think for a moment, while Ron continued sipping on his hot chocolate. Finally, she said: "We could drive to Ikea. Is there a bus that drives to London nearby?"  
Harry nodded. "There is. Lucius could tell you about it," he grinned.  
"Why?" Ron asked curiously, he was always interested in funny stories about the Malfoy's.  
"Because," he explained "we took it to London. I told you that he needed some clothes when he was staying with me."  
"Really?" Ron snickered. "Malfoy in a muggle bus? How was it?"  
Remembering the trip with his mate (who had not yet been his mate at the time), he rolled his eyes. "He didn't want to sit down and nearly broke his neck when the bus started, but I had luckily grabbed him in time, so in the end he only fell on top of me."  
His redheaded friend made a face. "That sounds like an awful lot of contact with the prick."  
"It was quite uncomfortable at that time," he agreed, which was true.  
"And now it wouldn't be?" Ron asked further, his face gaining a slightly green colour.  
"No!" Harry exclaimed and then recoiled at the raised eyebrows of his friends. "I mean..." he stammered. He needed to find a plausible explanation. "I mean, now we get along and... it only was to save his neck."  
His friend opened his mouth to reply something, most likely something rude, but Hermione cleared her throat and said. "Then it's settled? We will go to Ikea?"  
Thankful for the interruption, Harry turned towards her and nodded. "Yes, but not on Friday. I think we will need the day to banish all the stuff we don't need anymore."  
"I maybe we should also look for an untraceable expansion charm, so that we can comfortably carry all the items back to your house."

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

As he had predicted, they spend the next two afternoons in his library as well. Despite the tedious work of browsing through numerous books, Harry enjoyed each minute of it. It was almost like in their old days, when he still had been human and did not have two mates and an uncompleted bond to worry about.  
Draco didn't show up during those days, but Lucius always spent at least one hour in the evening with him, where they simply talked about their day. His father also joined them, but often a little later and stayed after to keep him company during the night.  
When Harry entered the Great Hall on Friday for lunch, he instantly saw Draco's dark glare fixed on him upon entry. His second mate sat between his friends at the Slytherin table, his arms crossed and his plate untouched. Across from him, Harry could see Pansy leaning forwards suggestively, but to his inner joy, his mate didn't even spare her a glance. Still, he hated that he still reacted this way to the prat and wanted to kick his own butt for it.  
Turning quickly away from the scene, he followed Ron and Hermione to their own house table. Fred and George had kept three spaces free for them and to his surprise he could also see Neville and even Luna.  
"Hey guys," he greeted them and flopped down, instantly a goblet with blood appeared in front of him instead of a plate, and he took it thirstily.  
"Hey... H... Harry..." Neville greeted with a small smile.  
"What are you two doing here?" Ron asked eloquently, whilst already filling his plate with potatoes.  
"We heard you were going to establish our new Headquarters," Luna told them dreamily, but it didn't really explain anything, so Harry asked: "And?"  
Neville blushed and started to stutter even worse as he answered: "We... We... would like to help... I mean, if you need help..."  
Harry didn't think there was a reason why they shouldn't join them as well but exchanged a look with Ron and Hermione regardless. His two friends nodded, so he told Luna and Neville:  
"Of course you can help, but I have to warn you, Draco is coming as well. Dumbledore has set his crazy mind to making us get along."  
Neville paled at his words, the boy had always been afraid of the arrogant and insulting blonde, but Luna only smiled even more dreamily than usual and breathed: "Of course he does." She earned herself a round of questioning looks from the others, but to Harry's relief she didn't explain anything, as usual.  
"So, do you still want to come along?" he asked carefully.  
Neville seemed to brace himself but then nodded. "I... want to contribute something to the Order as well... I know I am not a good fighter..."  
"Nev, don't talk yourself down. I am sure you will be great if you need to be," Hermione said with a reassuring smile.  
"Yeah Neville, you are a Gryffindor as well," Fred smiled brightly and shoved another fork full of meat into his mouth."  
Neville's blush deepened and he quickly turned back to his own lunch.  
Grinning at his friends, Harry emptied his goblet and then settled for watching his friends eat. Sometimes he missed eating, at least the social aspect of it. It would also come in handy if he could simply go with Draco to a restaurant for one of their dates and hold onto his fork or knife, but that wasn't an option. But on the other hand, the drinking of blood also had a strong social and even sexual component. He probably only missed it right now, because he had not fed for about five weeks and felt lonely.  
"So, what have you planned for the house, Harry?" George pulled him suddenly from his comfortable daze of simply watching his friends.  
Blinking a few times, he answered: "Today we will simply empty the house, I really don't want to be reminded of my late relatives..."  
Ron interrupted him: "That will be a hard task with them still floating around there."  
"Well, maybe they can at least show Malfoy what they think about Pureblood-supremacy," his twin brothers chuckled.  
Harry groaned: "Oh fuck, I forgot them!" He groaned at the thought of how this weekend would turn out with his muggle-hating mate and his magic-hating ghostly relatives in one house. Of course, Lucius didn't like Muggles either, but the man at least knew when it was of no use to open his mouth. Needing to think about something else other than the upcoming weekend, which looked more and more like a looming nightmare, he continued to tell the twins what they had planned in the last days: "When we know what we will need for the house, we will take the bus to London and go to Ikea."  
"Ikea?" Neville frowned.  
"Yeah, it's a popular muggle shopping centre for furniture," he explained.  
"Oh man, dad would love to go there!" Fred exclaimed, making him wince. Sure, Mr. Weasley would be thrilled to accompany them, but they would accomplish nothing with the curious man in toe.  
"Have you charmed your handbag?" he asked Hermione, who nodded. "Of course I have, Harry."  
"Do we need to go to Gringotts before we go to your place?" Ron asked.  
Harry shook his head. "No, I still have the muggle giro-card da... er... I mean Snape got me."  
As if his friends had all gotten a silent command, they suddenly laid the knives down.  
"Shall we go then?" George asked, rubbing his hands together.  
"Sure, he agreed and stood up. As he turned around and glanced over to the Slytherin table, he saw that Draco had already disappeared. His eyes wandered further to meet his first mate and then father's eyes for an unsuspicious good-bye, and found them sitting next to each other at the Head Table. Both men inclined their heads slightly, which made it barely visible, but his vampire eye's caught the gesture. He held their gazes for a moment longer trying to convey to them that he would miss them, before breaking the contact and turning back to his friends. They all stood there with bags over their shoulders, clearly waiting for him.  
"Let's go," he said and went ahead to his quarters.  
Some students followed them with curious gazes, but as they were heading for Gryffindor Tower, they weren't too suspicious.  
"We will floo directly to Privet Drive from my living room," Harry said as they reached the door to his rooms.  
When he entered his living room a moment later, he saw Draco already sitting in one of his armchairs.  
"Really Potter, not only a bunch of Weasels and a Mudblood but also Looney-Luna and good-for-nothing-Longbottom?" His mate sneered.  
Sneering back, Harry hissed: "Yes, they wanted to help as well and in contrast to you, they are at least Order members."  
Draco narrowed his eyes when Ron, Fred, and George snickered behind him. "Well, shall we exchange a few more insults, or can we go?" He asked.  
"We can go," Draco drawled and waved his hand in the direction of a human-sized monstrosity. "Who will take my trunk?"  
Only now did Harry notice the huge trunk next to the armchair.  
"You can't be serious, Malfoy," Ron had seen the trunk as well and was eying him in disgust.  
Fred and George, who looked as if they wanted to say something entirely different, asked: "You know that we are only going for three days, not three months?"  
Harry watched his mate huff arrogantly. "Of course I know, but we are going to a Muggle house; it's probably more a Stone-age-cavern than anything else, so I am prepared."  
Hermione rolled her eyes exasperatedly and sighed, but apparently decided to not say anything; it probably would be of no help anyway, Harry thought.  
Thinking that they would never get Draco to leave 90% of his things behind anyway, he said: "I better call for Oscar then; he can take our things - Oscar!"  
His servant appeared and bowed deeply. "What can Oscar do for Master?"  
"Could you please take our luggage to Number 4, Privet Drive? My bag is still in my bedroom, though..." he told his elf.  
"Of course, Master, Oscar will bring things immediately," Oscar said and with a snap of his fingers all their bags, his mate's trunk and even his own bag stood in front of the little creature. He watched Oscar disappear with their things and then said: "I will go first." But when he turned around, Draco had already grabbed some of his Floo Powder and tossed it into his fireplace. "You said Number 4, Privet Drive, correct?" he sneered, before calling out the destination and stepping into the flames.  
Harry could only shake his head. Really, his second mate was a mystery to him. Draco always declared that he felt nothing for him, that they weren't mates, but then he went ahead through the floo first like Lucius always did. He wasn't stupid enough to not have realized why his older mate always did so; it was to make sure that no threat awaited him on the other side and be able to protect him just in case.  
Hermione gave him a pointed look, but he could only shrug at the antics of his second dominant. He grabbed a hand of Floo Powder as well and quickly followed his mate before the blonde boy could get into any serious row with his relatives.  
"Dad, there's one of those freaks!"  
Harry winced as he stepped out of the hearth. His uncle and cousin hovered in a sitting position over the sofa, but for once no television was going.  
"I do hope you did not mean me, you filthy Muggle?" Draco sneered. He had already dusted off and was looking as immaculate as ever.  
"And so it begins," Harry sighed inwardly, just when Neville arrived behind him. His friend goggled at the two ghosts, but he had no time to say anything because his uncle had seen him and roared: "Boy! How dare you to bring your freakish friends here?"  
The fireplace behind him flared again, but Harry paid it no attention as he said: "Do we have to go over this again? This is now my house. You are dead... well not really, but you are ghosts and can do nothing about it. We are here to renovate the house. I need it for work."  
"Dad," Dudley whined. "Harry wants my room!"  
Vernon immediately started shouting again, Harry could practically see his fat face going redder and redder, but in reality, it of course stayed silvery white and translucent.  
"You will do nothing like that, boy! And do not come here with your hocus-pocus!"  
"Is he always that stupid?" Draco sneered besides him; his disgusted expression had gotten even more so.  
"Yeah, he is," he mumbled. "Unfortunately, when your godfather explained that ritual to ensure the Blood Wards around this house after they had been killed, he didn't know that my relatives would turn into ghosts. But as soon as we don't need those wards anymore, they will disappear."  
Draco only sneered further. "And when will that be?"  
Shrugging, Harry turned to his friends; he didn't know the answer either. He was just about to tell his friends that they should select a bedroom when his uncle started again.  
"I will not house a bunch of your kind in my house!"  
"You don't need to fear us," Luna's voice sounded suddenly and when he turned to the fireplace, he saw her stepping out of it with Nagini hanging over her shoulder and Justitius dangling upside-down on one of her radish earrings.  
"You forgot them," she said at his questioning look and put Nagini's heavy body down; how she had managed such a heavy task, Harry could not fathom. Luna truly was an enigma.  
"Boy, are you listenening?"  
Harry decided that he was not in the mood to listen to his uncle's rant any more (it probably was also the best way to handle his relatives at this point anyway) and turned back to his friends.  
"Just try to ignore them," he told his friends and mate. "Hopefully he will get bored of shouting."  
Luna, Fred, George, Neville (who was shaking in fear), Ron and Hermione nodded, while Draco only continued glaring.  
"We need to decide where everyone will sleep. There are three bedrooms. My old one, the one for my cousin and the one for my aunt and uncle, which is the largest one..." he told them, thinking that maybe Ron, his brothers, and Neville could share the one for his uncle and aunt's, seeing as the girls probably would want to share a room together; besides, Fred and George surely would have no problem in sharing a double bed.  
"I will take the largest room," Draco drawled and gave them all a pompous look.  
Glaring at his rude mate, Harry raised an eyebrow and asked: "You realize that we would have to not only share a room then, but also a bed?"  
"Why would I share a room with you?" Draco sneered.  
"Because," Harry explained with as much patience as he could muster, "we all need to share a room for tonight because the house does not yet have enough bedrooms. And I think you would like to share with Ron or Neville even less."  
Draco threw him a disgusted and scandalized look and then drawled: "I still think I deserve the Master's bedroom."  
Hermione snorted. "There are no such things as a Master's bedroom in a Muggle house Malfoy."  
Draco only huffed. Wanting to prevent an argument, Harry quickly interjected and said: "Then we will take my uncle and aunt's room... Neville, Ron, Fred, George, I would suggest that you take my old bedroom. Dudley's is bigger, but he has so many things in there that you four wouldn't fit in. But please, if you find my old cot, please don't use it..."  
Ron and his brothers nodded understandingly, but Draco and Neville gave him a questioning look, which he ignored politely.  
"Then let's search for our bags and bring them up," he told the group and they left the living room and his still silently cursing uncle.  
They found their bags in the corridor and picked them up. Draco, of course, levitated his huge trunk up the stairs but didn't offer him any help. Sighing, Harry grabbed his small rucksack. He could have levitated it as well, but then Hermione would know that he was already considered of age and would probably not need long to conclude that he was also already mated.  
"Where is the room?" Draco asked in a bored tone when he stepped behind him into the first floor.  
"It's the last one," he told him and then turned to the others. "Hermione, Luna, you can take the first room on your right and you," he turned to the three redheads, but Fred was faster: "We will take the beautiful rooms with the countless locks in front of it."  
His friends disappeared into their rooms and Harry followed his mate to their own, glad that the blonde hadn't been there to hear the comment about the locks. He hadn't even reached the door when he heard Ron exclaim: "Why does this room smell like our bloody Potions Classroom."  
Grinning sheepishly, even though no one could see him, Harry shouted: "My... er... Snape slept in there last summer!"  
"Great!" He heard Ron grumble and finally followed Draco. The blonde was sneering at the bed when he came in and sniffing the air. Luckily he had forgotten to close the window before leaving and enough time had passed so that his mate could not smell that he had slept in here with Lucius as well.  
"This is degrading!" Draco snapped and threw him a filthy glare.  
Why couldn't the blonde keep his mouth shut for one moment? "It will get better after the house is renovated. And we can make sure that you get your own Master's suite with all the brick-a-brac you need to enjoy yourself," he sneered back, before pulling out his wand to quickly cast a cleaning spell on the sheets, but then thought better of it and called for Oscar.  
"Could you please change the bedding for us? And maybe fetch some more if there isn't enough for everyone?" He asked his little elf.  
"Of course, sir. Oscar will get right to work!" Oscar exclaimed eagerly and banished the sheets, along with the two blankets and pillows.  
"Where can I put my clothes?" Draco asked without looking at him.  
"Nowhere yet," Harry replied. "We first need to banish all of my relative's things... and then we have to buy new furniture unless you want to put your things into this cupboard today and move it again tomorrow."  
Draco sneered again and said "I think I can wait until tomorrow," before leaving the room without a further glance at him. But he wasn't alone for long because Justitius came fluttered in and attached himself to his sleeve with a happy chirp.  
Harry pet his familiar's tiny head quickly, before following his mate downstairs. The others were waiting there as well and for a moment he only stood awkwardly in front of them. Suddenly the task of renovating the house seemed so huge and he didn't know where to begin anymore. His hands started to tremble and he cursed his weak, submissive nature. If he had to be honest with himself, he was astonished that he was not yet showing more signs of not being dominated for so long, but he guessed that it was like the things some people experienced in terrifying or life-threatening situations; somehow the body managed to go on but would break down afterwards. He had the growing feeling it was the same with him and that he would only feel the effects of this long period without a leading hand after he, Draco and Lucius had finally completed their bond. Hopefully, they would be at that point soon, or he probably would be a useless mess by then.  
Surprisingly it was Draco who saved him by saying: "Do you wish to stay in this hallway the whole day or shall we set up the wards?"  
"We can start with the wards," he said quickly.  
"Then one of us has to stand at the north end of the grounds and the other at the south," Draco told him.  
"So, you need me for the wards as well?" he asked. He had thought that Draco would cast the spell on his own.  
"Not necessarily, but the wards will be stronger if two people are casting it, besides, you are the house's owner and already bound to the Blood Wards," Draco explained in an overly patient voice.  
"Um... okay... then I will go into the front garden and you can go into the back garden," he pointed at the living room, where the door to the garden was. His mate gave a curt nod and then said: "The incantation is 'Libris in Pace Evoke', and we have to cast it simultaneously."  
"How will we now it will be simultaneous?" He asked helplessly.  
Draco rolled his eyes and drawled. "Just count from three down, but loud enough that I will be able to hear you."  
"But Harry, don't we need an adult for this? I mean, you are both only..." Hermione bit on his lips, probably to stop herself from giving his true age away and then continued "... not yet of age."  
"I am already of age," Draco said, his Malfoy mask perfectly in place."  
"You are?" Neville asked curiously and squeaked in fright when Draco threw him his best, imposing glare. "I am, Longbottom. The rest is none of your business."  
"That still leaves Harry," Ron pointed out.  
"He will be fine," Draco drawled in his condescending voice, making clear that he would not answer any more questions and for once, Harry was glad for his mate's commanding nature.  
"If you say so," Ron muttered but didn't say more.  
Sighing, Harry glanced at his mate, who just ordered "Let's begin". His instincts were purring in pleasure at the first command his second dominant had given him and a flush rose to his cheeks. Hastily he turned around, hoping that Draco had not noticed it. He went outside and checked if any muggles were coming down the street. Only an old lady was bringing her garbage to her garbage bin, but she disappeared back into her house quickly. When the door was closed behind her, he checked a second time and then pulled out his wand, before shouting: "Three, two, one..." He cast the spell and watched in awe as a silver net came from his wand. It rose and spread over the whole length of Number 4, Privet Drive. From the other end of the plot, he could see a similar net rise, until they touched in the middle and started to connect. When all threads were connected, it slowly dimmed and then became invisible. Only when he could see nothing of the new ward, did Harry dare to lower his wand again.  
He pocketed his wand again and returned back inside. Draco stepped into the hallway at the same time and instantly threw him yet another glare. "You could have at least warned me that that snake is out in the garden!"  
"Didn't you see her arrived?" he questioned his mate, who seemed set on complaining about every minute detail he didn't like.  
"Of course I did, but I wasn't aware where exactly she had gone to," Draco sneered.  
"Well, I wasn't either. She is about 30 years old, I don't keep track of her," he replied dryly.  
"So you let a dangerous, poisonous snake out of your sight?"  
"Now, now," Fred interrupted them. "I thought we have a lot to do, today?"  
Nodding, Harry concentrated back on the task at hand and turned (so that he would really be able to concentrate) his back to his mate. "I think we should split up into groups. You can banish nearly everything, only the beds should stay for the night and maybe all tellies, DVD and the Playstation.  
"Ah, and you better not touch Snape's Potions Lab, or he will have our heads," he told his friends. With the exception of Hermione, he only got confused looks, so he sighed and said: "Let Mione show you which things I mean." Turning back to his mate, he asked: "Shall we start down here?" Draco nodded curtly and they all split up. Ron, Hermione, Fred and George went upstairs, whilst Luna pulled Neville down into the basement. Draco was already vanishing into the kitchen and he hurriedly followed his mate.  
The blonde was banishing cups from the cupboard and so he turned to the kitchen table and pulled his wand out.  
"Your family had no taste, Potter," his mate sneered after about five minutes.  
"I know," he sighed. Draco looked at him with confusion glittering in his ice-blue eyes; he had probably expected a fierce defending speech from him, but he wouldn't do that for the Dursley's, he was glad that they were dead and couldn't do much besides annoy him.  
"You know," Draco continued "I had always imagined you would have grown up with more luxury than... this." He made a derogatory motion with his hands, before banishing a pile of plates.  
Harry wasn't really surprised. Many people thought that he had grown up like a king, they just couldn't imagine that the boy-who-lived, the hero who had saved them all from the Dark Lord, could have a worse family life than themselves. But truth to be told he was glad they didn't know, it was better than being pitied; it wasn't very useful right now though. Draco's prejudices were one of the reasons why their bond wasn't progressing. He knew that his mate thought that he was a spoiled, goody-goody Gryffindor who not only got everything he wanted in the holidays at home, but also got away with everything at school.  
His mate wanted to comment further, but in this moment his aunt Petunia came floating in and started screeching:  
"What are you doing with my kitchen, you cursed child?" And then to his absolute horror, she started yelling "Vernon! Come quickly, the freak is destroying my kitchen!"  
Harry wished the ground would open and swallow him. Draco was watching him with an unreadable expression on his face; he shouldn't have agreed to take him along, now he would pay the price for his compliance. By Monday evening he was sure that every single student of Hogwarts would know that his relatives called him a freak and a cursed child.  
In the next moment, Vernon came in as well and soon two ghostly voices were shouting at him. Unfortunately, his submissive instincts decided to act up again just then. He tried to hide his shaking but wasn't sure if he managed.  
"We should never have taken you in! You are the bane of our existence! You freak! We fed you, we dressed you, we provided you with a good education and you bring your freakish friends into our house and destroy it!"  
In the past, he would have sneered at his uncle and tossed the words right back at him, probably even ten minutes ago, but right now he couldn't. All he could think about was running over to his second dominant and hiding behind him, but Draco would never protect him. His heart clenched and he wished Lucius would suddenly appear and save him like he had done all those weeks ago when he had been tortured by one of his visions. But of course, Lucius didn't know how bad he was feeling right now. A terrified mewling sound escaped his throat as panic and fear overwhelmed him. And then suddenly, he heard Draco shout "Defixus!" A greyish light shot past him and a second one and the screaming stopped.  
Turning around slowly, he saw aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon hovering only a few feet away. Their faces were still contorted with their earlier shouting, but frozen in mid-movement and their silvery colour had dimmed to a stony gray. His eyes widened in disbelief and he turned to stare at his mate. Draco only stared emotionlessly back, wand still in hand. He didn't move to comfort him or speak words of reassurance, but that didn't change the fact that he had heard his terrified exclamation and had helped him.  
Hope rose inside of his chest and spread warmth through his body. Draco had helped him and not only that, he had reacted to one of his instinctive sounds, which was typical for vampires and would have no meaning for anyone who was not one of his mates. He couldn't say whether Draco realized it as well, but it was clear that Lucius had been right; his son's defences were slowly crumbling. For the first time since the evening he had brought Draco back, he believed that his second mate would come around after all.  
"Your family," Draco drawled suddenly, but Harry was sure that his mate's voice didn't sound as disdainful as it used to "...is annoying."  
He wanted to snort at Draco's understatement, but then he realized that he was still staring at the blonde. Blushing, he quickly swirled back around to the dining table and muttered a "Thank you." He didn't know how to behave around his second mate right now. Why could Draco not simply come over and envelope him in his arms? Then he would at least know what to do. Of course, he hadn't believed for a second that the blonde would do anything like this, but it would make things so much easier; now the situation was even more awkward than before. And it wasn't only him who radiated this awkwardness, Draco did so as well.  
"We wouldn't want that our savoir to die of fright wouldn't we?" His mate sneered in reply, but his voice still sounded somewhat strained and odd.  
"I guess not," he replied awkwardly.  
He started to clean out the house again, and so did Draco. They worked silently side by side and it was neither as comfortable as with his other mate, nor as unbearable. The inside of the house was a much harder task than he had thought and he quickly realized that even with his large amount of magic, he couldn't banish the contents of a whole shelf at once, or he would get tired too quickly. Draco didn't comment on the poor taste of his not-so-late family anymore, but Harry could often see what he thought by the look on his face; the sneer was an even bigger part of this Malfoy than of the other, but therefore, he found out that Draco's eyes were more open than Lucius', or maybe Draco just didn't care about hiding the feelings he viewed as acceptable for a Malfoy (like disdain and disgust).  
When they were finished with the kitchen, they moved into the living room, which luckily was not occupied by the last ghost anymore. Hermione had already magically packed all DVD's and the telly into cardboard boxes and piled them into a corner (probably just in case he had sent Draco alone into this room for cleaning).  
"I can't believe that my father actually survived living here for..." Draco broke off and frowned.  
"For about two weeks," Harry told him helpfully.  
"Did you force him to do servant's labour as well?" His mate sneered at him.  
"Of course," Harry replied with a smirk. "Your father actually was so nice and helped me bury my dead relatives." He watched Draco wrinkling his nose, before continuing: "He didn't do it without being threatened, and I guessed he realized that having three dead bodies in a house in the middle of the summer could have become even more uncomfortable than quickly burying them."  
"Why didn't he simply kill you?" Draco asked and Harry could actually hear the well-hidden curiosity in his voice; it seemed as if Lucius had really told his son nothing at all. With a sigh, he flopped down onto the sofa and told him: "He couldn't, or more accurately: He could have, but then he would have ended up a prisoner in this house and would have starved sooner or later. And in the beginning, he, of course had hoped that his Master would save him."  
Draco only huffed at his words but refrained from saying anything. Maybe even his stubborn mate could not find it in his heart to defend their former Lord?  
"But no need to fear, I won't force you to cook," he told his mate and earned himself a sneer.  
"Did my father have to cook?"  
Harry actually couldn't even fathom why Draco would ask such a thing, no one in his right mind would expect a Malfoy to cook, unless of course he wanted to poison himself with burned meat and vegetables. "Of course not, but he helped me cut some vegetables once, but I wouldn't dream of letting one of you actually cook.  
"But for chopping ingredients we are good enough?" Draco replied hotly.  
Shrugging, he told him: "Well, Lucius is a Potion's Master. He is good with chopping, much better than me actually."  
"That will not be the only thing where my father or I am better than you," Draco drawled arrogantly.  
"As long as I can still beat you in Quidditch, I am fine," he grinned and stood up again to start cleaning out the shelving unit. A hissing sound reached his ears, but he didn't turn around and Draco didn't throw another insult at him or continue with his questions.  
With a swish of his wand he banished Petunia's expensive china; they were ugly anyway, regardless of how much they might have cost. Looking over to Draco, he saw that his mate was just banishing the sofa before continuing with the armchairs and the coffee table.  
When he opened the next cabinet door, his eyes landed on the chess set he had always used with Lucius during their short stay and took it out. This chess set held so many nice memories for him. He and Lucius had gotten closer using it and it was the first thing the blonde had done for him; teaching him chess. Maybe not the very first, he had comforted him before that, but it was still precious to him. Going over to the pile of boxes, he placed it carefully on top of them. Lucius probably wouldn't want to play with a muggle board ever again, but he still wanted to keep it.  
He and Draco needed another two hours for the living room and then thirty minutes for the hallway.  
"Let's check which other room has to still be cleared out," he told Draco and went up the staircase, not waiting and looking whether his mate would actually follow him.  
Hermione and Ron were working in Dudley's former room. In front of the windows stood more of the cardboard boxes Hermione had conjured, full to the brim with DVD's and video games.  
His friends didn't seem to notice them as they stood half hidden behind a cabinet door, so he asked them: "Much to do in here?"  
"Yes, your cousin really was spoiled," Hermione sighed.  
"He was," he agreed and leaned against the doorframe.  
"And his clothes, my whole family would fit into one shirt," Ron said with disgust in his voice. "But speaking of spoiled," his friend continued "how is it going with Malfoy?"  
"He is still alive, isn't he?" A voice behind him drawled suddenly and said blonde stepped out next to him.  
"Yeah, I can see that," Ron spat back. "But only because you are alive and unharmed doesn't mean that spending so much time with you was a pleasant experience."  
He quickly stepped in before Draco and Ron could start arguing: "It was fine, really. He didn't do anything. He even helped me with my aunt and uncle."  
Ron only glared at his mate suspiciously, until Hermione poked him in his side.  
Clearing his throat, Harry decided to change the topic: "So, where are the others?"  
Hermione smiled at him thankfully, apparently as much in the mood for an argument as he himself, and told him: "Neville and Luna are still in the basement. I told them to keep the washer and dryer. Fred and George had started with your room but well..." she glanced over to his mate and didn't finish the sentence, but it wasn't necessary, Ron and he knew what she meant and he certainly didn't want Draco to get to know even more about his miserable life with the Dursley's; he had already witnessed enough.  
"And now?" He asked and Hermione quickly continued: "Now they are cleaning out the bathroom, I think they have already finished with the guest room."  
"Then Draco and I will continue with our bedroom," Harry said and turned to leave.  
Ron made a choking sound, most likely at the phrase our bedroom, but he ignored it and lead Draco back to the main bedroom.  
"So, that was what the bedroom of a spoiled Muggle looks like?" Draco asked as he stepped inside behind him.  
"Yeah," he answered, not really knowing what else to say, he would certainly not tell his mate how much he had always envied Dudley as a child. His cousin always had everything, whilst he hadn't even owned a teddy bear to play with.  
"How pitiful," his mate sneered and opened the upper drawer of a small cabinet, where his aunt had stored socks and underwear in. "My room is certainly bigger, of course. It even would be wrong to simply call it a single room. I have an entire wing at home."  
Harry honestly didn't have any idea why his mate was telling him that, he had seen Malfoy Manor only a week ago and could very well imagine what Draco's rooms must look like. "I wouldn't know," he said. "You wouldn't show me your rooms when we were there."  
Draco didn't react in any way. Huffing, he went over to one of the nightstands. His eyes fell on a thin cord; he had almost forgotten about it. He quickly looked over to Draco, but when he saw the other boy was still examining the cabinet, he quickly took the cord from the nightstand and pocketed it. Maybe it was foolish to keep such a simple and worthless thing, but it had brought him and Lucius, and thus also Draco, together. If he hadn't bound his and Lucius' wrists together, his first mate would never have witnessed his nightmares and would have never betrayed his Lord to help him.  
Sighing, he pulled his wand out and started to look through Vernon's nightstand. Somehow, he wasn't able to throw his uncle's three golden watches away; neither could he do it with his aunt's pearl necklace, bracelet, and earrings. It wasn't that he wanted to keep them as an heirloom. He just couldn't throw such expensive jewellery away, so he put them to the side as well, before banishing the little drawers. He joined Draco at the wardrobe and started to banish trousers and shirts of his uncle's. Halfway through the cupboard, the door slid open and Nagini slithered in, followed by a hectically fluttering Justitius. He watched his little bat with a smile, who flew over to the hangings and hung himself upside down to take a nap, whilst his other familiar slithered onto the bed and watched him lazily.  
"You really are never alone, are you Potter?" Draco asked with a guarded look at Nagini.  
"No," he agreed. "And I like it that way."  
They fell silent again and worked for the next two hours. Somehow, his aunt had managed to put more clothes, towels, and sheets into the shelf unit than he had imagined possible. When it was already getting dark outside, Luna poked her head inside. She first only stood silently there and watched them, and somehow she had managed to be so silent that neither he nor Draco had heard her, because when she finally spoke up, they both flinched.  
"Hermione wants to know if she should order pizza for everyone?"  
He needed a moment to actually wrap his mind around what Luna had asked after the scare. When his racing heart had finally calmed down again, he realized that he hadn't considered food at all, probably because he hadn't actually eaten in such a long time. But pizza was actually a very good idea because they didn't have a kitchen to cook in anymore. "Sure. Tell her to order two jumbo pizzas and..." he fumbled inside his pocket, where he had pocketed the rest of the money he had found in his uncle's safe "...give her that." Luna took the money he was holding out, before saying in a strange tone: "I will leave you two alone again."  
He stared at her for a moment, even when the door had already closed again, until Draco's sneering voice pulled him out of his stupor:  
"Potter, have you told her about us? Not that there is anything to tell..."  
Rolling his eyes, he turned back to his scowling mate. "Of course not. But Luna just knows things. I don't know how, but she always does."  
Draco narrowed his eyes and hissed: "If I find out you lied to me and have told your friends about our courtship..."  
"Of course I haven't. I wouldn't even know how to tell them, they don't know about your father and me either, not even about our transformation," he interrupted Draco before could start ranting.  
"And what do they think you are eating?" Draco asked pointedly.  
Shrugging, he told him: "They believe I live from fruit juices, so I think they believe I am a fairy or an elf of some sort."  
Draco lifted a single eyebrow. "Fairy would certainly fit."  
"And you aren't?" he replied dryly.  
"I have no preference as long as they are good. But I still intend to marry a woman in the end."  
Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Harry questioned: "Why? For appearances? You must have at least realized that you are dead now and can't father any children anyway." really, it was getting ridiculous. That Draco still had a hard time of accepting him, he could somewhat understand, but he at least should have realized that he really was a vampire by now.  
"Of course I have realized that we are all dead, but that still doesn't mean that I will ever voluntarily marry you. Actually, our vampire status is another reason against this... connection. Marriages in our world cannot end in divorce, so I would be bound to you for all eternity and that is still something I will try to avoid to the very end."  
"But I thought we can do nothing if our fathers decide for us to get married?" he asked in confusion. All these Pureblood rules were so very confusing; he didn't believe that he would ever understand them, not even if he lived for 100 years.  
Draco threw him a look that clearly asked: "How stupid are you?" and then said "Of course we can do nothing if they really want to go through with... this. But I still believe that my father will wake up and that you will end up like all his past lovers: quickly forgotten."  
The words stung. Harry fumbled for one of his Blood Drops before he could actually shout at his stupid mate, or even worse, burst into tears. Unfortunately, the candy wasn't enough to calm him down anymore, not after he had not fed for so long and was deprived of the domination he needed so badly for more than a month now. Turning around to hide his watery eyes, he mumbled: "I will check on Hermione and ask if she needs help with the pizza," before hastily leaving the room, not sparing his mate another glance.  
He opened the next door to his right and closed it silently behind him, before falling onto the couch in the guest room; he didn't want to face his friends like this. They would immediately know that something happened with Draco and when he someday had to tell them about his mating to the blonde, they would not be able to accept it. He hated the situation he was currently in.  
 _"Was your annoying mate stupid again?"_  
Startled, he quickly sat up and wiped at his eyes, but as he blinked through blurry eyes, he saw that it only had been Nagini who had spoken.  
 _"Yes,"_ he nodded and picked her up. Nagini wound her long body around him as if wanting to embrace him.  
 _"What did your annoying mate do?"_ She hissed.  
 _"He didn't do much,"_ Harry muttered. _"He just... told me that he would try everything to not have to mate with me."_  
 _"Just chase him away. You already have one mate, you don't need another. The first mate is strong and cares. His only weakness is that he cannot provide you with offspring."_  
Harry gave a choked laugh. Nagini really was obsessed with the topic of hatchlings. _"It's not that easy,"_ he tried to explain to her. _"Draco and Lucius are both my soulmates. We will die if we ignore our bond for too long. Until now nothing has happened, I think the bond is still content that Draco is back at all..."_  
 _"Then force him to mate. Pin him down and..."_  
 _"No!"_ He interrupted his snake. That idea was just... wrong. Firstly, he was the submissive, he would never be able to do something like that, it was not in his nature, and secondly, he would feel like a rapist.  
 _"Then you are stupid too,"_ Nagini huffed and slithered out of his lap, but she had at least pulled him from his sorrow. At the door, she stopped once again. _"Is there no ritual you can use?"_  
 _"Ritual?"_ He asked in confusion. Did she mean a Magical Ritual? Something to the effect of a love-potion?  
 _"Yes, like all the stupid birds do in Spring,"_ she elaborated.  
Slowly it dawned on him what she meant. _"I should try to seduce him?"_ He asked and imagined himself doing a striptease for his second mate, but the thought was just disturbing. For Lucius he could do it, he had even once done already, but with Draco, he would be afraid the whole time that the boy would laugh and mock him later for it. _"I don't think I should do it... he will not appreciate it,"_ he said, thinking about the many snide comments he had earned about his childish body. Draco would never want to see him undressing.  
 _"Then I really cannot help you,"_ Nagini sighed and disappeared out of the room again.  
He finally stood up as well and made his way down into the living room, where he found Hermione and Luna quietly chatting with each other.  
"Hey Harry," Hermione greeted him as soon as she saw him entering. "We ordered the pizzas. They should be here soon."  
"Great," he grinned back and sat down on the floor next to her. The room really looked very empty with only a few boxes standing in one corner, but it made him more comfortable in his late relative's house.  
"So, what happened to your aunt and uncle?" Hermione asked him.  
Shrugging nonchalantly he told her: "Draco happened."  
Luna gave a dreamy sigh at his words as if imagining a heroic rescue with a romantic ending.  
Hermione shook her head in confusion, before asking: "And why did he petrify them?"  
"They were shouting at me and I think he got annoyed."  
"You know that it's a Dark Spell he used?" his friend prodded.  
"Yeah, I know that spell. But I haven't used it yet," he told her with another shrug.  
"Why do you know that type of spell?" Hermione asked in a disapproving tone of voice.  
"Dumbledore taught me," he half lied. "He says he will not stop me from using a Dark Curse if it is what is needed to stop Voldemort or one of his followers."  
"Well, the spell should wear off after 24 hours. Has he cursed your cousin as well?"  
He shook his head. "No, he hasn't. I guess he is frightened and is hiding somewhere, maybe in the attic."  
At that moment the doorbell rang and Hermione stood up to open the door.  
"You know," Luna said when she was gone. "This house will be a good Headquarters. The Prix-Nyx are protecting it."  
Luckily Hermione came back, so he was spared from looking for an appropriate reply. Instead, he said: "I will get everybody," and stood up. He nearly ran into Neville who was coming up from the basement, looking a bit dusty and very exhausted. "I would never have thought that it would be so tiring to clear out a house," the plump boy smiled weakly.  
"I wouldn't either," Harry grinned back and cast a quick cleaning spell on his friend.  
"But you still look very good," Neville told him.  
"It's probably because of my high magical power," he mused, before saying "The pizza has just arrived. I will just fetch the others. Hermione and Luna are already in the living room."  
Neville nodded and went into said room, leaving him to call for the three Weasley's and his mate. The twins were the first to sprint down the stairs, closely followed by Ron. When Draco didn't show up after another minute, he decided to go up and search for him, but just then a pair of expensive, tailored dragon-hide boots appeared on the upper stairway, and Draco came down with a sneer.  
"I will not continue to do the work for you, Potter."  
Sighing, Harry turned around and went back into the living room without acknowledging the comment; he really was tired of them.  
"That smells delicious!" Ron just exclaimed when he came in. The redhead was bent over a huge Hawaiian Pizza and inhaled deeply, while Luna and Neville were studying an equally huge Meatlovers Pizza. The pizzas lay in their boxes on the ground, with everyone sitting around them. He went over to where Hermione had left a huge space open for him and Draco, but his mate only leaned arrogantly against the nearest wall.  
"I hope you do not expect me to eat the muggle-food."  
Only now did Harry remember, that Draco couldn't eat normal food anymore either, but the blonde boy had no way of explain anything, or his friends would know in an instant that they both had received the same inheritance.  
"I guess not," he said and stood up again, before calling "Oscar!"  
His servant popped in with a bow and he asked him: "Would you please bring Draco and me some pumpkin juice?"  
"Of course, sir," Oscar squeaked and disappeared for a short moment, before reappearing again with a silver tray and two golden goblets. He took the goblets, thanked Oscar and went over to Draco to give him one. For a moment he thought Draco wouldn't accept the drink, but then he stretched his hand out and took it, his face expressionless as ever, even as their fingers brushed for the shortest of moments. Their eyes met, but he could see nothing in Draco's cold orbs; still, he didn't look away. Something seemed to pull him to his mate and made him drown in those eyes. He could just imagine how they would soften for him, or swirl with emotions. He was sure Draco would be as passionate as Lucius, maybe not so careful, not so controlled and wilder instead, but equally loving, if he would only listen to his instincts. Or was this all wishful thinking? They had hated each other for so long and Draco didn't find him attractive at all. Maybe his instincts were wrong and not his mate's. His eyes started to sting at the thought as he continued staring and nothing changed in the icy-blue depth of Draco's eyes. And as quickly as the moment had come, it was ended by Ron's loud voice:  
"Hey Harry, are you sure you don't want to eat?"  
He spun around, his eyes landing on his best friend, who was chewing on a huge bite of pizza.  
"No, you can eat my piece," he grinned but his grin felt strained and forced.  
Ron didn't seem to notice and only shrugged, before grabbing a second slice of pizza and taking another bite.  
"This is really good. What is it called again?" Neville asked with a shy smile.  
"Pizza," Luna answered him, and Neville blushed furiously.  
Quirking an eyebrow, Harry turned to the other girl in the group, who grinned back at him in answer.  
"How sweet, Longbottom is in love with Looney-Luna," Draco sneered next to him and for a split second, Harry thought Neville would run off, but then Luna placed a calming hand on his right underarm and said dreamily: "I thought you were in love yourself?"  
Glancing over at his mate, he could see an angry flush colouring Draco's cheeks, but of course the others couldn't see it.  
"Malfoy's do not fall in love. Love is just another Muggle invention. A good marriage should provide you with more than mere feelings."  
Ron scoffed. "If you want to gain power with a marriage, you probably would need to marry Harry. Don't you already have enough money and influence?"  
His mate threw a filthy glare at his friend. "As if Potter could gain me anything. Neither is he as rich as I am, nor does his family have the same prestige."  
"Are you sure, Malfoy?" Hermione asked sweetly and Fred chirped in: "I think you underestimate our dear Harry."  
"But we wouldn't give you our favourite Gryffindor regardless," George added with a malicious grin.  
Thinking that this conversation was getting much too strange, Harry decided to end it. "Please guys, you are giving me the creeps. How did we even get onto this topic?"  
"You're right," Fred nodded. "You will marry your sugar..." George slapped a hand over his twin brother's mouth and hissed at him: "Are you stupid, Fred? Malfoy is here, you can't talk about something like that!"  
Fred's eyes widened and he looked apologetically over to Harry before his brother let go of him again.  
Hermione cleared her throat purposefully and luckily changed the topic: "I think we should get up early tomorrow. We need to add the additional rooms before we can go to Ikea."  
"Ikea?" Draco asked with a voice that sounded as if he was describing a particularly nasty potions ingredient.  
"Yeah, it's a store where you can buy furniture," he explained silently. Draco wrinkled his nose in disgust, probably knowing that it wasn't a wizarding shop.  
"How many rooms do you want to add?" Hermione asked, ending his silent exchange with Draco.  
"Er... maybe ten? I think then we are on the safe side," he answered.  
"Yes, ten sounds good, we have many new members, and who knows, maybe there will come a time when you need to train them and then they would all need to stay here," his bushy haired friend nodded.  
Harry paled at her words. Him, training his fellow students? He wasn't a fully educated Defence Master, nor a Master in the Dark Arts or anything else. Who would listen to him? True, he was not bad with magic and had quite the store of raw power, and he was the savoir and all, but who would listen to a boy who was three years younger than themselves? Besides, he only needed to collect the Horcruxes, which would probably be better done by a small group than an entire army; he didn't want to alert Voldemort.  
Deciding that he would just let the topic slip for now, he concentrated back on his female best friend, who was just pondering loudly, whilst reaching for a second piece of pizza. "I think we should add two new floors, that way the house will not get too cramped."  
"Yeah, and we could put up a room for Malfoy in the attic like his father had at Grimmauld Place."  
"You forced my father to stay in the attic?" his mate sneered.  
Sighing, Harry replied: "It was the only free room and we didn't force him, you should know why he stayed there voluntarily."  
Hermione luckily decided that they needed another change of topic again and asked loudly: "Do you know when we have to take the bus, or shall I look it up on the internet?"  
"It always drives on the hour," he answered back and sipped on his pumpkin juice.  
"Good," his friend replied and yawned. "This day has really tired me out," five nods followed her words and they decided to only finish up the pizza and not stay up much longer.


	30. Chapter 30: Going Shopping

**Chapter 30: Going Shopping**

 **DM**

Draco frowned as he stepped once more into the former bedroom of his supposed submissive's relatives. He sneered at the double-bed; it was much smaller than the one he had at home and it looked cheap and uncomfortable.  
What had made him insist on this particular room? It wasn't as if one room was better furnished or more spacious than the others in this house, and now he would have to sleep next to Potter. Turning around, he saw him bending over the bag he usually used for school, probably searching for his pyjamas.  
"I will just go change," Potter said when he came up again and he nodded quickly as a sign that he had to heard, before watching the smaller teen leave. Really, how could any fifteen year old boy be so small? He would feel ashamed of himself if he was in the Gryffindor's shoes.  
He decided to quickly change as well and pulled his wand out to summon the silk pair which was neatly packed inside his trunk. Normally he slept only in boxers, or even naked. He was not shy about his body, indeed it was more of the opposite. He knew he looked gorgeous. Sure, his shoulders were not as broad as his father's, but his abs were perfectly proportioned, his legs were long and strong and his face looked like that of a Greek god. There was a reason why he was not only the Prince of Slytherin but also the sex-god of his house. But still, he didn't need to present his perfect body to Potter, especially not as long as the stupid boy thought of him still as his mate. Who knew, maybe that would only encourage scarhead to molest him in his sleep. He quickly changed with a spell and with another swish of his wand his disregarded clothes were folded neatly and on top of his trunk.  
The door opened just when he was pocketing his wand again and Potter strode in.  
He watched as the other boy made his way over to the bed and climbed in, before scooting over to the far end.  
"Are you coming?" Scarhead asked and threw him an expectant look.  
For a moment Draco pondered saying no and leaving for his manor, he could fly back the next day after all, but something held him back and it was not the voice of his father reminding him of their contract this time. Sneering at Potter and the situation in general, he stepped closer until he stood directly in front of the bed, which (in his opinion) was far too small to be called a double bed.  
"Won't you lie down? You know, we might have to share a bed more often if your father and Severus get their way," Potter said and pet the free space next to him. With a wrinkle of his nose, Draco climbed in, noticing that the mattress was even more uncomfortable than it had looked. His fiancé turned onto his right side so that he only saw Potter's back now. With a scowl, he turned to his left and flicked his wand to turn the lights off, before closing his eyes. However, sleep didn't come to him. The knowledge that Potter was sleeping only a few feet away from him was all too present in his mind, and it filled him with a strange inner restlessness.  
What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he sleep? He was only laying next to scarhead, a boy, and he was not attracted to boys. A sudden movement made him turn around to sneer at the boy who was keeping him awake, but as he looked down at Potter, he saw that the small Gryffindor had only turned on his back in his sleep. His eyes wandered over the small figure and suddenly he wasn't able to tear his gaze away.  
Potter's unnaturally huge emerald green orbs were currently hidden behind pale eyelids and long black lashes. His ebony hair looked even messier than usual, surrounding his head like a dark unholy halo of a fallen angel. His eyes slowly wandered lower, until they stopped again at those blood red pouty lips, which looked perfect for ravishing. Draco gulped and quickly forced his treacherous eyes away from them, but they only landed on a slender, white neck and beautiful, fragile looking collarbones. Potter's white t-shirt outlined every dip and curve of his frail body perfectly. His torso looked so small, as if he could surround it completely with only his hands. He imagined water running down those protruding ribs and gathering in that beautiful pit that was the boy's stomach.  
Without thinking about what he was doing, he carefully lifted the Gryffindor's cover and glanced further down. Potter wore a soft pyjama pants in the same offending red that was the colour of his house, but that wasn't what interested him at the moment; instead, he searched for Potter's lower midsection, but to his disappointment he could see nothing that would indicate more about Potter's private parts. Frowning, he continued to stare unashamedly. He did not know a single boy in their age group of who you could not see the outlines of their most private parts. Maybe when they had still been younger, but not now. Of course, he himself had always been large and drawn the attention of females and males alike, even though he had never let a boy touch him. And that thought suddenly jolted him from his dazed state and he dropped Potter's cover back down, before sneering at the sleeping boy. Why had he been staring at Potter? He was not interested in boys, at least not anymore. He might have had a deluded phase during his first year, but since then, many years had passed. Maybe he should check himself for mind altering curses? Growling lowly, he forced himself to turn back around and finally closed his eyes, but as soon as he had done so, images of Potter's pale skin and red lips haunted his dreams.  
The next morning he was awoken by Potter timidly climbing out of their bed at the foot of their shared sleeping space. He glared at the slim back and sat up. What had caused him to be so fascinated with Potter the evening before? At least in the light of day and Potter acting as annoyingly gryffindorish as always, it would not happen again.  
"You're awake?" Potter asked suddenly.  
Draco blinked, in his mental rage he had not noticed that his fiancé had turned around to face him and was now openly staring.  
"Of course I am, no one could continue sleeping with the riot you were causing," he sneered and watched with satisfaction as Potter flinched a little. Feeling much better, he pulled the blanket from his legs, swung them out of the bed and stood up, before summoning his toiletry bag and a new set of clothing, before stalking out of their shared bedroom and making his way to the bathroom. Beaver was just leaving the room and greet him with a small nod, but without any friendly expression on her face, which of course didn't trouble him. He gave her a sneer in returned and earned himself a roll of her eyes, which he commented on with an elegant lifting of his left eyebrow, before disappearing into the small bathroom.  
How he was supposed to dress and ready himself in this room, he couldn't fathom. Even the storage rooms at his manor were bigger. His blue eyes wandered over the white tiles, the tasteless bath tub and the even less tasteful shower curtain with stupidly smiling dolphins. Not trusting that the ugly woman that called herself Potter's aunt had cleaned the bathroom properly (she was a muggle after all and muggles were only slightly more intelligent than animals), he pulled his wand out and cast a cleaning and freshening charm on himself, before changing with another flick of his wand.  
Stepping in front of the small, round mirror, he checked his appearance. The silver long-sleeved angora shirt clung perfectly to every muscle of his torso, giving all viewers a good idea of the hidden perfection beneath. Unfortunately the mirror was not large enough for him to be able to see his legs, but he knew that the black trousers would only outline his long, slender, but still very strong legs. Satisfied and sure that no one would steal his show, he left the bathroom again, sent his toiletry bag back to his trunk, and went downstairs. He was just entering the kitchen, when he unwillingly froze in the doorway. Potter already stood there and was talking to his little nuisance of a House Elf. But that was not what had made him falter in his steps. He had never seen Potter in anything besides his school uniform (which of course were quite exquisite as his father was providing them), or those old rags he had preferred in the past. Today however he wore neither. The black pants seemed to be from a muggle store, if he recognized the fabric correctly, but they hugged the boys thin legs and round behind perfectly. Unconsciously, Draco gulped and his fingers twitched. This backside looked so perfect for digging his nails into possessively, to lick and to nip until bruises formed on the surely soft mounds of flesh. His upper body was covered with a green turtleneck, which fitted so snugly, that it even showed off his fiancés unnaturally slim waist beneath the thick woollen material. Unfortunately, that was all the pullover showed off. He would have much more preferred a thin shirt that clung to Potter's small chest and showed his nipples. He was sure they were a beautiful pink colour and perfectly shaped buds.  
A loud pop pulled him harshly out of his daydreams and he quickly changed his blank look into a sneer just in time, before Potter turned around to face him.  
"I just asked Oscar to bring us breakfast. Did you sleep well?"  
"I slept as well as any human can in the poor excuse of a bed," Draco replied and turned on his heels, intent on fleeing into the living room where he would not be able to goggle stupidly at Potter. Once he was back at school, he would check himself for mind altering curses, this reaction to the skinny Gryffindor was not normal and definitely not a reaction of his own. He didn't really trust the boy to know such advanced curses, but maybe his father had done something to help with the courtship. His father was definitely knowledgeable and cold-blooded enough to use such Dark Spells.  
Apparently, Potter's elf had already set up breakfast, because in the middle of the otherwise empty room, now stood a huge dining table with all sorts of food. Scanning the table, he found two seats with golden goblets as opposed to the other crystal ones. Sneering at the goblets, he leisurely strode over and sat down, before levitating his fiancé's goblet to the far end of the table, he had already spent enough time in close proximity with Potter to last him a lifetime, he didn't need to sit next to him as well.  
The goblet didn't sit down a second too soon, because at that moment the whole bunch of Gryffindors came in. From the corner of his eyes he saw his fiancé noticing where his goblet stood, but the pale face didn't show whether the boy had noticed that he had changed its position or not, while the youngest Weasel had already flopped onto a seat and motioned wildly for his best friends to join him.  
What Draco hadn't calculated was that now that the places next to him were free, the Weasel twins would get the idea of sitting down on each side of him. He glared at them, but as he had suspected they were not impressed. Weasels, after all, were too dense to realize when their company was not appreciated.  
"Good morning Malfoy," they said in unison as if they had all been friends for many years. "How was sharing a bed with our sweet Harry?" They winked suggestively, probably not knowing that their beloved golden boy would soon spend the rest of his nights in bed with him and his father.  
"I slept well enough," he answered nonchalantly and picked his goblet up in an attempt to signal that he was busy and not in the mood for talking.  
"Did you hear that George?" One of them grinned. "Malfoy slept well. I can remember the last time when I slept very well."  
"Of course I can remember it; that was the night when I slept like a baby as well," the other grinned back suggestively and Draco decided that he did not wish to know why both twins could remember that night. A shudder went down his spine; he had always known that those two were too close to each other, even for twins.  
Loud laughter fortunately relieved his mind from some very disturbing images, but as he looked up, his eyes only landed on Potter once more. The boy was laughing alongside his friends, his eyes shining like the purest emerald, his plump, red lips stretched in the most beautiful smile Draco had ever seen. Suddenly jealousy rose in his stomach and coiled like a poisonous snake around his heart. Why wasn't he the one who had brought that smile onto that beautiful face? Who had it been who had dared to make his Harry smile so brightly?  
Draco flinched as he realized what he had just thought. His Harry? What was he thinking? He did not wish Potter to be his, Potter was the bane of his existence, an annoying nuisance, and nothing more, and he wished that their marriage contract would disappear and not for the boy to become his. He did not like Potter and he definitely did not find anything about him attractive, neither his eyes nor his small, delicate hands that held the silverware so tenderly as if they were...  
He gritted his teeth and forced his mind to stop that particular train of thoughts. To make sure, he even drew his eyes away from those dainty hands and back onto his goblet of blood.  
"Oh Fred," an annoying voice interrupted his peaceful scowling a moment later, "I believe our sister's heart will be broken soon." The twin to his left sighed exaggeratedly.  
"Who would have thought, my dear brother," the other twin sighed just as annoyingly. "But love blossoms in the unlikeliest places."  
Draco held his goblet more tightly to stave off his anger, but when one of the redheads opened his mouth again, he finally snapped.  
"Shut up!" He hissed and glared at them.  
The two lifted their hands simultaneously in a calming gesture, but they did not stop grinning.  
"Touchy, are we?"  
Draco did not answer and instead drained the contents of his goblet.  
The rest of the breakfast he watched good-for-nothing-Longbottom, Looney-Luna, the baby Weasel and the Mudblood.  
Longbottom actually managed something close to a conversation for once, although it could not be said to be a very intelligent one, but then again, Looney-Luna was not known for being especially demanding.  
The Weasel was mostly eating, while Granger talked none-stop.  
Potter was actually listening as well, but he of course did not notice that, because he was not looking in Potter's direction.  
Finally, the breakfast was over and the empty plates disappeared.  
"The bus arrives in 20 minutes, we should get going," Potter said as he stood up and looked at his watch.  
Draco sneered again, for a moment he contemplated just staying at the house, but for some reason, that idea felt even more wrong than getting onto a muggle bus.  
"Well, then let's get going," one of the twins announced and the Gryffindors left the living room. He saw Potter throwing a quick look at him, but he gave no sign that he had noticed it and the small raven quickly looked away again with a slight frown. Only when everybody else had left the room, did he follow as well.  
Potter must somehow have saved his old and dirty trainers from his father, because as he stepped into the room, he saw his fiancé sitting on the steps and pulling them on. How the boy had managed to hide them from his father, Draco could not fathom, normally Lucius could smell bad clothing from a few miles away, but apparently not in this instance.  
Pulling out his wand, he flicked it quickly and summoned his pair of expensive dragon-hide boots from the bedroom, before elegantly slipping into them.  
"Let's go," Potter announced and opened the front door.  
The Weasel family looked stupidly excited as they left the small house and stepped into an equally distasteful neighbourhood. He sneered at the pitiful front gardens with their plain flowers, they were nothing like the gardens he was used to from home, and hopefully this would be the only weekend that Potter would force him to stay here.  
He also sneered at the muggles they passed. Normally he liked attention, but not from muggles. He shifted his gaze away from the surrounding and fixed it instead on the group of Gryffindors in front of him. He walked slightly behind them all, not in the mood to socialise. Longbottom and Lovegood were directly in front of him, while Potter along with his two friends, led the way and the Weasel twins walked in between, sometimes leaning over the trio's shoulders to make a comment. Potter even remembered to included Longbottom and Lovegood every so often, the role of the social worker seemed annoyingly natural for the raven.  
Finally, Potter came to a halt in front of an shabby looking glass hut.  
"Now, we only have to wait five more minutes," the Gryffindor said and sat down on one of the wooden benches. Draco wrinkled his nose, how could anybody sit down on such a dirty seat? He would not even have used it after a couple of scourgifies.  
"Dad would really love this!" The Weasel suddenly exclaimed sounding as excited as his Mudblood-loving father probably would.  
"But I bet it won't be nearly as much fun as the rides with our old Ford Anglia would have been," the twins sighed in memory.  
Draco did not make the effort in suppressing his glare. The story with the Weasel's flying car had been one of those stories which had shown how much extra treatment Potter and his little friends always got. He had been so infuriated back then, because normally such an incident should have been enough to guarantee an expulsion, leaving him finally free of at least two-thirds of the golden trio, but no. Gryffindor-friend Dumbledore had to step in and save their arses, it had been so unfair.  
Thinking about it, if the old coot of a Headmaster had been fairer with his treatment of Potter, he would not be in this situation right now. The Dark Lord would have already won, Potter would most likely be dead or at least hidden in the muggle world, and his father would never have started an affair with the boy and, most importantly, their marriage contract would not exist.  
"Maybe we could take our father on a ride in the bus for Christmas?" The Weasel suggested, loud enough pulling Draco from his little fantasies.  
"That would be a great idea!" The twins cheered and Potter added: "And a cheap present. Bus riding is really not that expensive."  
"Maybe they should rather get him a ticket for an airplane?" The Mudblood suggested.  
"Airplane?" Longbottom questioned and to everybody's surprise, it was Looney-Luna who answered: "A device with which muggles are able to fly."  
Draco could already see the headline in the Daily Prophet: "Ministry Worker for Muggle Affairs reveals the wizarding world to the muggles!"  
If it ever came to this present, he should probably inform his father so that somebody could stop the man with a well-aimed killing curse and save them all from the herds of muggles who would want to examine them and then steal their magic.  
"But Mione or I should probably tag along," Potter suddenly mused and Draco had to admit that his fiancé possessed at least some brain cells.  
"That probably would be wise," Granger agreed, but her voice was drowned out by a loud roar that quickly came closer.  
Expecting an attack, Draco quickly drew his wand and turned around.  
"That's only the bus," Potter's voice suddenly said next to him. He turned his head in time to see the boy rolling his eyes, but had no time to shoot back with an insult or snide comment before a shadow fell upon him and the roaring stopped. Potter stepped away from him and into the monstrosity that had just halted next to them.  
"Eight tickets please," Potter said, earning himself a suspicious look from the dark-skinned driver. Draco watched Potter pay before stepping further into the vehicle, closely followed by his group of friends. As he followed them, one glance was enough to decide that he would not go; the floor and the seats were so dirty that he doubted that anybody had ever cleaned the bus, and it smelled worse than the changing room of his Quidditch team in the summer. But of course if he was not going, then no one else was, because for some reason he still was not able to leave Potter out of his sight, which annoyed him even more. Glaring fiercely, he stopped in the middle of the narrow gangway and announced in his most superior commanding voice:  
"We will not do this. It is disgraceful for us to use such a vehicle; even you should realize that Granger."  
Seven pairs of eyes turned to him, disbelief and annoyance clearly written in them.  
"And why do you not simply stay behind then Your Highness?" One of the twins (he could still not tell them apart) questioned in a mockingly arrogant voice.  
Unfazed by the mockery, Draco only straightened and drawled: "Because I will not stay at a filthy muggle house by myself."  
He saw Potter frown from the bench next to him, and for a split second he believed that the boy would give in for the sake of peace, or their marriage contract, or some other reason that did not matter, but then the Gryffindor's dainty hand shot out and pulled him onto the seat next to him.  
"Don't make the same mistake as your father and stay there until the bus starts again," his fiancé snapped, and Draco wanted to ask what one thing had to do with the other, when the bus started and he was violently pushed into the seat by the sudden speed. He gasped in shock and glared at the driver, about to say something, but Potter, who must have guessed what he was about to do, merely said: "All bus drivers drive like this, so no need to waste your breath."  
Huffing, Draco turned his head away from his fiancé and opted on watching the passing landscape. Slowly the suburb turned into one of those disgusting muggle cities with those tasteless gray buildings. Around him the others were chatting animatedly, all apparently very excited about the bus ride, but he paid it no attention.  
After about half an hour of staring outside, the landscape changed once more. The buildings grew more modern and neatly plastered streets with shops flew past them. The bus stopped for a rather long time at a train station, but Potter gave no sign that they should get up. When the bus started again after about ten minutes, they left the city centre and the houses grew less again. They were driving on a broad and very busy street when Potter suddenly asked: "Could you press that button next to you?"  
Shocked that Potter had once again addressed him, despite his clear show of disinterest in their journey, he looked up, saw a red button and pressed it before he had properly thought about what he was doing. Disgust overcame his features and he wiped his hands on his trousers in an attempt to get the dirt off, which had to have clung to the button and now to him, but of course his trousers could not help with it much, he needed water and soap or at least a cleaning spell.  
The bus halted again and Potter stood up. Getting to his feet as well, Draco went ahead, wanting to leave the dirty muggle car as soon as possible.  
"So, where is the shop?" One of the twins asked from somewhere behind him.  
Draco, of course, had already spotted the shop, it was impossible not to. The blue monster with the yellow sign rose not far from them, but of course he did not answer, it was not necessary either, because Longbottom did:  
"I... I believe it is over there," the fool stuttered, probably pointing at said building.  
The group started to walk on the narrow path up to the parking lot, which they crossed as well, always careful to not be run over by a car, apparently not only bus drivers drove like mad Draco concluded.  
From up close the building looked even more bright and colourful than it had been from 300 meters away. Draco strolled once more behind as Potter led the way into a huge entrance hall.  
"Everybody grab a cart," Beaver commanded and of course, the others obediently did as told, evoking another sneer on Draco's part. How anybody could listen to a Mudblood was beyond him, but he certainly would not, and definitely not push a stupid cart around.  
"I would suggest starting separately on the second floor; Harry, would you go with Ron and the twins into the elevator first? I will take the second with the others... and maybe Draco can accompany you as well..." Beaver continued, having silently forgotten about him for a moment.  
"Yeah, no problem," Potter said and pushed the bottom next to the elevator. After a few seconds the doors slid open, revealing a plain looking, windowless rooms, even muggle-elevators looked worse than the wizarding ones.  
Potter and the weasels barely fit inside with their carts, and for a moment Draco pondered taking the third elevator on his own, but he truly did not fancy riding a muggle-elevator all by himself, and then squeezed in next to Potter. The boy pressed the button with the number 2 on it, and with a jolt the elevator rose. A wide hall with beds everywhere greeted them on the second floor. As they excited the elevator, they waited for the others to arrive as well, which fortunately didn't take long.  
"So, how do you want to furnish the bedrooms: Each individually, or all the same?" Granger asked.  
Potter looked around for a second, his green eyes sparkling brightly.  
"I would say each individually. Maybe two people can share a room, some with double beds, and some with two single beds."  
Granger nodded and Weasel asked: "How many double beds do we need? They are for the couples, am I right?"  
Granger and Potter nodded, but the witch said: "We don't have many couples if Privet Drive will only be for younger members."  
"I doubt that mom really won't show up," the Weasel said and his twin brothers nodded.  
"Okay, then we need..." Beaver started musing. "... a double bed for Harry and his mates... er... mate," she quickly corrected herself with a blush, but Draco had heard the slip-up and narrowed his eyes. What had Potter told the girl? It was clear by the Weasel's snickering that the redhead knew nothing, but the Mudblood clearly did and he did not like it. The thought of Potter talking behind his back, insulting him, entered his mind and the green monster coiled in his stomach again. What was wrong with him? He did not feel like himself anymore, not since he had left Hogwarts with Potter.  
"Hadn't we decided on ten bedrooms? Why not make half of it with double beds and half of it with single beds?" The Weasel suggested, stopping Draco's mental rage.  
"You are right, Ron," Beaver said and all the Gryffindor's turned their eyes expectantly at Harry, who scratched the back of his head in a nervous gesture; Draco had already noticed that the raven was making that gesture quite often.  
"Er... let's just look around and when someone finds a bed that looks good, just tell Mione, you have something to note the order number down, don't you?"  
"Of course I have," the witch said and pulled a notebook and a muggle pen from her bag.  
They divided into smaller groups; at least the Gryffindor's did whilst Draco followed Potter and his two best friends at a safe distance. This was the perfect opportunity to get away from his annoying fiancé for a while, but he felt as if something was pulling him towards the boy, it was as if someone had fastened a leash around his heart and given Potter the other end of it to pull him along. His eyes were constantly fixed on the small form. Now and then the boy stopped to down bend a bit to look more closely at a one bed or another and his t-shirt would rise up a bit, revealing that pale smooth skin at which he had already stared the previous night. At other times those delicate hands stroked over the smooth surface of a nightstand or a blanket and his skin started to tingle in anticipation, but what he was waiting for, Draco did not know. He only knew that by now his throat and mouth was awfully dry and that his wand had slipped into his hand at one point, still hidden in his sleeve, but ready to strike if the Weasel or the Beaver were to dare come even closer to the petite Gryffindor.  
Beaver bent down a bit, he had never noticed how much smaller Potter truly was, even in comparison to a girl. She whispered something into the ear of her friend and a moment later Potter's laugh sounded through the hall, clear like the song of silver bells. Draco's hearts started to race, his eyes could only see Potter, everything else vanished in an uninteresting blur and he took a step closer. He wanted to hear that clear laughter again, wanted to be the one who bent down, took in the boy's deliciously sweet scent and evoke that laughter with his words. His mind had blanked with the exception of that single thought.  
His hands started to itch, wanting to touch and not merely to look.  
He took a second step forwards, but suddenly the spell was broken by a loud exclamation:  
"Harry, come over here, this one looks great!" One of the twins shouted and in the next moment Potter was gone from his sight and his heart stumbled. The realization what he had just thought and nearly done, mixed with a disturbing feeling of loss, as if he had just lost the most precious treasure there was on earth.  
Clenching his fists, he tried not to run after Potter like his two friends had done, but the task was nearly taking all his energy. It was as if he was fighting the imperious, his leg muscles were even cramping with the wish to start running after the small boy, but he would not give in. He was no sappy, lovesick fool, and Potter was not his mate, therefore there was no reason why his heart should feel as if it just had lost a part of itself.  
"This really looks good!" He heard Potter's voice exclaim and his head instantly snapped around.  
"The Slivys will love the wood," Looney-Luna's dream voice reached his ears, but the other's ignored her with confusion written over their faces; why they had even invited the girl Draco could not fathom.  
"I will write it's order number down," Granger announced, before asking: "Shall I note down the night stands as well?"  
Potter looked around the bed in question was standing in an alcove which was furnished like a small version of a bedroom.  
"Write down the cupboard as well, if it looks good, we will take the whole set, otherwise we will spend days in here and ten rooms are just too many to put together separately," Potter decided and returned with the Weasel to the section were they had been earlier, while the Mudblood stayed behind and noted everything down.  
Making sure that the space between him and Potter would be even greater this time, Draco followed the raven again. Potter and his friends were pointing at different beds, but none seemed to draw their attention particularly. The next ten minutes went by in this manner, until they rounded a corner and Potter's eyes suddenly lit up.  
"I want this for my room!" His fiancé exclaimed and with two quick steps, the boy jumped onto the huge, light-coloured wooden double bed. As the boy collided with the mattress, his t-shirt rolled up, exposing the flat stomach and his prominent hipbones. The Weasel laughed next to his friend as Potter sighed with a broad smile, turned onto his stomach and pressed his entire body into the blanket, nuzzling the soft material. Draco's eyes were drawn to the suddenly exposed, round arse as his fiancé's legs came up to wind themselves around the cover. His heart started to race again and he could practically feel how those slim, but strong legs would feel wound around his hips, hugging them firmly together in and delicious friction. Something stirred inside of him and an unbearable hunger rose inside of him.  
"Harry, what are you doing?" Granger's voice floated to his ears, but it sounded distant as his blood rushed through his suddenly heated body. He saw the girl stepping closer and grabbing Potter's wrist, but instead of pulling him up, his fiancé made a quick motion and the girl fell on top of him, still giggling.  
Draco' vision flashed red; no one touched his Harry, neither boy nor girl! No one! Quicker than humanly possible he stood next to the bed and yanked the girl roughly up. Only when he saw her wide eyes staring confusedly at him, did the redness vanish and he could think clear again.  
"What disgraceful behaviour," he sneered to cover up his mistake. "But I should not have expected anything better from a mere Mudblood."  
In an instant Potter was on his feet as well, growling with a meaningful look: "If you have a problem, than say it, but don't insult my friends as I will not allow it!"  
Baring his fangs, Draco growled as well, much more threateningly than the smaller boy had done and to his satisfaction, Potter flinched and looked hastily away, but only a second later the fierce glare was back in place.  
"I mean it Draco," Potter said, sounding as if he had wanted to say something else or something more, but with the Weasel and the Beaver were now watching them with shock and confusion, so he couldn't.  
"There is nothing I want to talk to you about!" Draco hissed before turning on his heels and disappearing down the gangway. This weekend was turning into a nightmare with the weasels, thought as he let himself fall down ungracefully onto a couch. Something was definitively wrong with him, by now he was sure of it, and as soon as he was back at Hogwarts he would find out what spell or curse his father had cast on him and dissolve it.  
He sighed and leaned back feeling exhausted like never before, he was hungry too, but regardless of whatever blood he tried, it did not satisfy him. Maybe that was the reason why he did not feel like himself anymore, maybe it had nothing to do with Potter. He had just come to the conclusion that it had to be this, when an inner restlessness overcame him and his eyes started to search for the bane of his existence without his permission, but of course he could not see Potter from where he sat as he had moved too far away in his search for solace. And that was where he wanted to stay, not to return to Potter's side.  
Despite his determination, the restlessness only grew stronger with every second. His mind was providing him with all kinds of absurd images, like Potter laying with the Weasel on a bed, or sitting between those unbearable twins on a sofa, their freckled hands combing through his fiancé's messy locks.  
He shook his head fiercely to chase the images away, but they were only replaced by pictures of Potter's bright smile and emerald green eyes, and his hunger and restlessness grew even further. The silver laughter once again echoed in his ears and he couldn't take it any longer, he needed to stand up and get rid of the feeling, move around a bit, lose this restlessness and distract himself.  
Standing up, his legs automatically carried him into the direction of happy laughter, and before he knew where he was heading, he saw Potter standing between all his friends, surrounding a bed made from black lacquered wood.  
The boy was talking animatedly once more, his eyes huge and shining with joy, as if he had never done something as fun and as exciting as furnishing a muggle house. His friends looked equally happy, infected by his good mood, but none of their faces shone as brightly and none of their lips stretched into such a beautiful, breathtaking smile.  
As if hearing his thoughts, Potter suddenly looked around and their eyes locked. Draco felt as if he was falling into Potter's green pools and drowning in them. The smile was also still there, the lips as plump and red as they had been the night before, and then the small raven blushed and Draco's breathing would have hitched if he had still been breathing. As it was, his heart only stopped for a long moment, until starting to race again; he had never seen something as beautiful as the rosy tint dusting the boy's baby-cheeks. He held Potter's gaze, not able to let it go and the blush deepened even further until it had grown into a full body flush, making him think of a whole different scenario that would bring this flush to his small fiancé's body.  
Finally, Potter looked away, apparently not able to hold the intense gaze any longer, and it left Draco confused and once more angry at the boy, himself and his father. But regardless of how much he did not wish to feel drawn to Potter, he found himself following the group again, his eyes never leaving the raven. He felt like a stalker, always standing a few feet away from the group, often hidden behind a cupboard or another piece of furnishing with his eyes ravishing the small frame. He could not get enough of those slim hips, which moved teasingly as Potter walked, or of those slim but long legs, and especially not of the boy's pale and slender neck. When they finally left the section with the beds and entered the one with the kitchens, his eyes were not able to leave Potter's neck anymore. They were glued to the piece of skin, always roaming it as if searching for something.  
A picture of a bluish, pulsing vein flashed through his mind and his stomach gave a hungry growl. He growled back at his body; he hated that it acted so independently.  
Potter had come to a halt in front of a modern, white kitchen. Some cupboard doors had a bright red surface, giving it a much more stylish appearance than the many wooden ones they had already passed.  
As Granger stepped next to her friend and the boy smiled again, Draco's heart hammered in his chest, as if Potter's smile was a drug and he the addicted. A voice had started to whisper inside of his mind telling him:  
"Claim him, claim your mate, before someone else takes him away," but it had to be his stressed out mind, because as he had told himself and his father and even Potter so often, he had no mate and he was not into boys either.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

He did not fantasize about pushing that petite body onto one of those beds they had passed, ripping all of clothes off of him and kissing and licking every inch of the smooth looking skin. He also had no desire to lick along the boy's loins and kissing a trail up Potter's small, but surely beautiful penis and sucking on it until the boy exploded in ecstasy.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

No, he did not wish to do all of those things, because he wasn't into boys anymore, he had overcome that phase in his second year and now the only thing he wanted was to marry a Pureblood witch and live within a proper marriage like his parents had done.  
He blinked as he realized that the group of Gryffindors stood not in front of him anymore, but were already quite a distance down the hallway. He followed them with long strides, careful to not look as if he was hurrying, and he wasn't; there was, after all, no reason to rush after Potter, surely even the golden boy would not be able to manage to get into trouble in a muggle shopping centre.  
Their last stop on that floor was to pick out the furniture for a living room. Potter was apparently planning on enlarging the small living room of his dead relative's house because he picked out two three-seaters and one two-seater, all in a dove gray colour. He also decided on a light wooden coffee table and a matching wall-unit, before they left for the elevators again.  
Draco joined him in the elevator by accident (of course), and they excited into another huge hall, but this one looked entirely different. In front of him spread a section with glasses of all kinds, diverse sets of plates, bowls, coffee and tea pots, and many other kitchen utensils he could not even name, which came as no surprise; he had after all never cooked in his life, his family owned house elves for that. The only reason he could tell the difference between a plate and a slat was because of his love for potions and nothing else.  
The group had apparently gotten some more orders from his fiancé or Beaver (he had not paid them attention) because they split up once more, Potter and the Weasel going to the plates and bowls, the twins to the glasses and Granger, Lovegood, and Longbottom going to the kitchen utensils.  
Draco, of course, followed his fiancé once more, who was pointing at some plates in the upper row, while the Weasel stretched to get them down.  
"Manual labour suits you, Weasel," he drawled as he stepped closer. Unfortunately, the redhead decided to ignore him for once and simply continued with his task.  
"You know, you could help him," Potter said without even turning around. "I certainly am too small."  
Wrinkling his nose in disgust at the idea, Draco sneered back: "Certainly not Potter, you have your farmer for that kind of labour."  
Draco was sure that he saw Potter's jaw muscles clench, and leaned against a shelf with a satisfied smirk. At least, he was not yet so far gone in his confused feelings that anybody would notice it; that was good enough until he could get back to school. He watched as the Weasel struggled further with the high shelf and bumped ungraceful against it. The plates rattled loudly and the redhead cursed like only a Weasley was able to. Not able to watch the sorry sight any longer (and of course not to help his worried-looking fiancé), Draco pulled his wand out and summoned twenty plates, bowls, and coffee mugs, directing them carefully into their cart.  
Potter turned around and gave him a small, thankful smile, which made his heart flutter in a way that the organ should not be allowed to do.  
"Let us go, I wish to finally get out of this store," he merely said, and turned around before his face or eyes could grow treacherous as well and show something of the confusion he felt to Potter.  
He couldn't see whether his fiancé had nodded or not, but a moment later he passed him, pushing his cart happily and walking to where the other's were already waiting.  
To Draco's horror, their next halt was in a section with countless, horribly colourful pillows, blankets, and duvet covers.  
"Each of you pick two covers out that you like," Potter announced before the boy himself went over to a section with pillows for sofas and started to collect quite a lot of them.  
"Don't you want to pick your own cover out as well? You probably know better what you and your father would like than I do," Potter said as he noticed him, "I will be fine with whatever you choose."  
Only a few days ago he would have accused Potter of being arrogant and have told him that they would never share a bed, but unfortunately with their marriage contract, he couldn't do that anymore, so instead he only sneered and said: "I will send a house elf to fetch some of my family's covers. Neither I nor my father will ever sleep under one of those."  
For a second Potter's face fell, even though Draco could not fathom why of all things he had thrown at the boy in the last two days, this would make him sad, but the raven collected himself quickly again and gave him another smile and a nod.  
Draco did not know why, but somehow seeing the false smile on his fiancé's face made his heart clench painfully and the sudden urge to go and do as Potter had asked him to, overcame him. But being the proud Malfoy he was, he squashed the feeling before it could fully bloom and strode off.  
After only a few seconds Potter caught up to him, and from the corner of his eyes Draco could see that a few simple white sofa blankets had joined the pillows.  
"I think when the other's are back, we can pay and finally go," Potter said and for some reason, the boy gave him something of an encouraging look.  
"Good," he only drawled back, not knowing how to react to a Potter who was trying to be friendly and start a conversation.  
"You don't need to help me with the installation when we get back," Potter said awkwardly, apparently his fiancé had set his mind on starting a conversation and maybe, if Draco had not been so confused in that moment, he would just have picked the topic up, but right now he felt as if every exchanged word with Potter would make the curse his father had put onto him worse, therefore he sneered: "How gracious of you Potter, but you don't really think that I would help you, even if you would want me to?"  
He had hoped to start one of their famous fights, he at least would feel comfortable with an argument with Potter, but the boy only sighed, shook his head and said: "You know, I was totally confused in the beginning as well. It wasn't as if I liked your father. True, the bond helped and at least I was not afraid of him anymore, but still, I had not known him before and we only barely agreed on a truce as we were hiding at Privet Drive. To tell the truth, I still am still fairly confused, before I could completely figure out my first soulbond, you appeared."  
"As I recall, it is your own fault that I did appear, as you put my resurrection so nicely," Draco sneered, the topic of conversation had turned from uncomfortable to unbearable in a split second and he wanted to end it. He had never been the type who appreciated a good heart-to-heart-conversation, no Slytherin was, and Potter was the last person he would talk about his feelings with.  
"I know," Potter hummed, "and I only want to tell you that it is normal and that I would listen if you wish to talk about it. We will not get out of this..."  
Fortunately Granger appeared in the next moment and saved Draco from an answer, otherwise he would not have known what to say in reply or how to shut the boy up, and Potter had clearly not been about to drop the conversation.  
"Don't you want to buy some covers as well?" The Beaver asked and pointed at Potter's cart, who shrugged.  
"Yeah, but seeing as Draco and I will probably keep sharing a room, I told him he could pick some out and he wants to bring some of his own. I guess they will be of a better quality."  
Beaver gave Potter a sympathetic look and said: "Maybe you can set up your own room one day. You will have your opportunity, Harry."  
At this, Draco could not suppress the snort. "Why so melodramatic? It isn't as if this bedroom will be the first bedroom Potter ever possessed."  
He would have bet on many reactions, a command to shut up, an insult or plain ignorance, but not the long, meaningful looks the Gryffindors exchanged. However, he waste another second to think about it as they finally reached a huge warehouse section.  
Granger disappeared into the isles and to his surprise; she called for him a moment later.  
"Malfoy, would you lend me a hand to put these things away?"  
Remembering that besides him and Potter (who no one was aware of) was allowed to use magic and thus could not shrink their purchases, he followed the witch who held a stack of price labels in her hand and pointed at a whole shelf full of huge cardboard boxes with beds, coffee tables and nightstands printed on them.  
"We need all with the exception of that desk," she told him, pointing at the lowest box.  
Giving her a curt nod, he pulled out his wand, checked that no muggle was in sight, and swung it once. The boxes shrank to the size of shoeboxes and Granger opened her handbag and put everything inside.  
He did not ask if that was all because he knew that it could not be, and instead waited patiently until she led him to another isle.  
Ten minutes later they had shrunken and packed everything and joined the others who had already lined up at the end of a rather long line in front of a cash desk.  
When it was finally Potter's turn to pay, the young cashier eyed his fiancé with disbelief.  
"Are you sure you have enough money for all of this?" The muggle girl asked stupidly, and Draco could not stop himself from drawling: "No, we are not sure; we thought it would be fun to wait in line for thirty minutes, to then get told that we cannot take all of our purchases with us."  
The girl looked up with an angry frown at the backhanded insult, but her angry expression turned into a blush as soon as her brown eyes landed on him, but he was not in the mood for blushing girls right now, especially not muggle ones and snapped: "Will you scan these items sometime today, or shall we come back tomorrow? And I believe that you still have to add those." Without looking he took the price labels from Granger, making the muggle blush even more, but the stupid cashier finally started scanning and five minutes later Potter paid with what the boy had called a credit card.  
The other's put everything back into their carts and Granger started to head for a secluded corner.  
"I think we will not be seen if I pocket everything back there," she mused and waved for the others to follow her, but Potter only pushed his cart over to the twins and said: "I will fetch us all something to eat, Ikea has the best hotdogs, just come to the exit when you are finished," and left.  
Not thinking about leaving the small boy to run off on his own, Draco followed him without a second thought. It was getting unnerving, this need for safety, it almost felt like a misplaced protective instinct.  
As he caught up to his fiancé, Potter already stood in front of a long counter and was ordering.  
He watched in disgusted fascination as a young man put six sausages in long bread rolls and put two different sauces on top of them, before covering everything with onions and slices of pickles, before handing Potter the food on a tray. His fiancé paid and finally spotted him as he turned around.  
"Sometimes I really miss eating with my friends, I have always loved just sitting with them in the Great Hall, talking and enjoy the food," Potter said with another of his small smiles which made Draco's heart always flutter annoyingly.  
"Well, you still can sit with them, talking and drinking," he replied as they walked to the exit.  
Potter shrugged, jostling the hotdogs a little. "I know, but it isn't the same, I have always just loved eating. The food at Hogwarts is really delicious."  
Draco noticed that a thoughtful expression had entered his fiancé's face and frowned a bit. What was it with Potter and his strange comments? Granger had made one earlier as well. For a moment he contemplated asking his father; Lucius would surely know more about it, but then remembered that he wasn't interested in Potter and that he was only currently acting so strangely because of his father's spell.  
They stepped into the sunlight and Potter walked over to a wooden bench across from the exit where he proceeded to sit down and place the tray next to him.  
"I guess you don't want to sit?" He asked, but apparently did not expect an answer, because in the next moment he leaned back, closed his eyes and said with a soft smile.  
"I really like this weekend, this was only the second time I went shopping, really shopping I mean, not the short outings to Hogsmeade on the weekend. The first time was with your father, we went to London. Or rather I dragged him to London because he didn't want to go."  
Despite himself, Draco felt curiosity rise inside of him and checking that the others were not yet coming, he asked: "Why did you force my father to go shopping in London? It was muggle-London, I guess."  
"It was," Potter nodded, his eyes still close and a dreamy expression had joined the smile on his face.  
"You know that we were stuck at my relatives' house. Severus took Lucius' wand and I wasn't allowed to do magic, and he needed some clothes. Of course, your father would rather have stayed in his Death Eater robe for the two weeks, but after two or three days, the scent grew unbearable; it was summer after all."  
Draco wrinkled his nose, truth to be told (which he, of course would not do) he had no idea what he would do in that situation. The thought of wearing muggle clothing was repulsing, but so was the thought of spending two whole weeks in the same set of robes without any means to clean them.  
Glancing over to his fiancé, Draco wondered if he should even be curious over the time Potter had to spend with his father. It was unsettling to hear the boy talking about his father as if they were all old friends and he feared the feelings that might arise if he would start thinking more about the time those two had to spend together. He needed to get rid of the curse and then he would finally be able to think about everything more objectively, but right now he wasn't able to. There was once again the monster coiling in his stomach, that green, evil monster, but not as badly as it had done when he had seen his fiancé with his friend on the bed.  
Voices from the exit alerted him about the other's arrival, and as he looked back to his fiancé, he saw the boy happily waving them over and handing out the bought food as they came to a halt in front of him. He remembered what Potter had told him about the social aspect of food and he scoffed. As a Malfoy he knew all about social evening meals, his parents had always held a lot of parties, but it was nothing he would miss particularly. Of course, he was perfectly educated in the art of hosting, as it was expected of him and he could neither say that he liked nor hated those occasions; they were part of a Pureblood's life, a way to build social and political relationships. In fact, even the meetings with his friends could be viewed more under that category, they had never met like this group of Gryffindors to simply do something together and have fun. Slytherins worked like this: even an affair was a well plotted move to reach one goal or another; he would never delude himself into thinking that Pansy or Daphne came to their little visits without any goals. He knew that they were not advised to satisfy his needs, his good looks made sure of that, but first and foremost both wanted to become the next Lady Malfoy. They were even aware that only one of them could gain that title, but that was part of the game.  
Pushing the thoughts about the two girls to the side, he noticed that the Gryffindors were about to leave for the muggle vehicle again. Potter was currently walking between the Weasel and one of the twins and was talking animatedly.  
"... Mione has looked up some spells and they should help with the setting up of everything. We can furnish our bedrooms today and do the rest tomorrow; it is already getting rather late."  
Draco could not see much from where he stood, but he was sure that the twin was grinning right now as he placed an arm casually around Potter's shoulders and said: "So, no kitchen and cooking again? Does that mean we get another of pizzas?"  
The growl rose in Draco's throat without his permission as he saw the familiar and fairly intimate gesture. It had not been loud, but to his surprise, his fiancé's head had snapped up and in the next moment the boy was casually ducking out of the embrace, but the twin must have noticed it regardless.  
"Oh sorry Harry, I forgot. Guess it's logical that you wouldn't like to be hugged if our dear Ronnikins isn't allowed to call you mate anymore."  
Potter's ears gained a beautiful red finish and Draco was sure that the same beautiful pink dusting covered the boy's cheeks right now, as it had done earlier in the shop, and despite himself he found that he wished that he could be closer to the Gryffindor and see it.  
"Yeah, I am sorry, but I can't help it..." the boy mumbled and ducked his head endearingly.  
The twin chuckled and shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry about, you are in a difficult situation, but I really wish you would introduce your sugar daddy to us."  
Draco nearly choked on his own spit. Did his father know what the twins were calling him? And how had they found out anyway? Potter had clearly not told them much, but something must have slipped the boy's mouth. The other twin joined the conversation and said: "I bet it is a hot Latino lover... maybe we should start trying to find out who it could be, George? I mean, we at least know that it cannot be someone from England. At least your pompous Council robes are good for something," the redhead snickered.  
Draco lifted one of his elegant eyebrows. So, the twins had noticed Potter's robes? Well, he supposed that those two were the most intelligent of the entire redheaded bunch, and of course, they had instantly dismissed the idea that Lucius could be their friend's lover (he still refused to call himself or his father the boy's mate). But it was not really surprising that they would have dismissed the possibility, he would have as well if he had not known better.  
His fiancé sighed loudly and he decided to listen again:  
"I honestly would like to introduce you to him, but I can't..."  
"Why not?" the one his brother had called George asked.  
His fiancé shrugged. "He is older, and male and as famous as I myself am, and there is more of a reason why I can't tell you, but I am afraid everybody would freak out."  
"Well our parents, and we, and I guess our dear Mione, at least know that you are the submissive, so there will be no surprise on that front, with the exception of Ron and our love-sick sister, of course," the one who had to be Fred mused thoughtfully. His brother nodded and added: "And we all know that you are some kind of creature, what else could there be?"  
"Believe me, enough. But could we change the topic please?" Potter pleaded in an adorable tone of voice.  
"Sure," the twins agreed in unison and one of them instantly changed the topic: "So, what is it with that Pizza, now?"  
"I thought we could order Chinese takeout today, but we can order Pizza tomorrow for lunch if you want," Potter promised, and Granger, who had hung back joined in by saying: "Oh, I would love some Chinese food. As good as Hogwarts is, they never serve anything other than traditional English cooking."  
The group turned left and Potter stopped next to a huge traffic light with some colourful lights at the top.  
"We have to get to the other side of the street to take the bus back," he explained and pushed a button on the traffic light. Draco glared at the device and shuddered at the memory of the button he had thoughtlessly touched; he hated everything muggle and that would never change. Muggles were so primitive, it was simply disgusting.  
A green manikin sprang to life on the traffic light opposite of them and his fiancé started walking again. As they were halfway across the street one of those 'busses' came into sight and suddenly Potter began running.  
"Harry?" the Weasel called out questioningly, clearly confused about the behaviour of his best friend.  
"Quick, our bus is coming!" He exclaimed and instantly everyone started running as well, like a group of stupid dogs which were blindly following their owner. Draco's mood dropped even further, but he quickened his pace as he saw the other's already entering the bus, he would not be forgotten somewhere in a muggle town. Potter was still paying for everyone as he entered as well, but the boy turned his head with a relieved smile on his face as he noticed him.  
"I was afraid that I had lost you," he said and something deep inside Draco started tingling at the caring words, but outwardly he merely huffed. "No need to worry, Saint Potter, I know how to apparate," he sneered and walked to the far end of the bus where he chose the least dirty seat he could find, hoping for some peace, but luck was not on his side, because Potter, who obviously was afraid he would start feeling lonely, joined him a moment later. His fiancé only smiled at him and leaned back onto his own seat, before closing his emerald green eyes and silently started humming. Despite not wanting to, Draco felt himself relax after a moment. The warmth was radiating from the smaller boy, making his body tingle comfortably. For a moment, he wondered if he had also felt it on their first bus ride, but he had been too annoyed so he couldn't remember anything.  
A small sigh escaped his lips and the urge to scoot closer to that heat overcame him. He had been feeling cold for nearly eight weeks now, since his involuntarily return to the living and had already given up on feeling different again, but here, next to him sat Potter, radiating heat as if the boy was a normal human being. Scoffing, he told himself that this was only more proof that Potter was in fact still human and could not be his mate. Nodding, he decided that he needed to concentrate on more of those facts again, or he would fall victim to his father's curse. The stupid spell was turning out to be stronger than he had realized in the beginning and he would need all of his concentration if he wanted to stay who he was, and not change into a love sick idiot.  
Unfortunately, only a second later he found his eyes wandering over the delicate pale hand of his nemesis that lay perfectly casually on the boy's left knee; it was so easy imagining how that hand would softly and shyly grab his own. Scowling, Draco quickly closed his eyes to prevent them from ogling at Potter even more.  
He was not sure how the Gryffindor managed it, but just before they finally needed to get out of the bus again, Potter nudged him. The raven looked somewhat sleepy and very cute (but Draco had of course not thought that), with his now even messier hair, slightly drooping eyelids and a tired, red flush on his round baby-cheeks, making him wonder even more how Potter had managed to wake up in time.  
They were the last of their small group to exit, but as the others knew the way back to Potter's house by now, it did not matter that they strolled slowly behind them.  
"I hope you were able to enjoy the day at least a little... or that it was at least not unbearable," Potter told him, his green eyes fixed on the pavement in front of him.  
Draco only scoffed in return and said: "You forced me to drive in a horrible muggle-device twice and we spend nearly the whole day in an muggle shop, so what do you think?"  
Truth to be told, the day had not been entirely horrible. True, the shop and the bus had been horrific, but... without his permission his mind wandered back to the smiles and laughter he had witnessed from Potter and a voice told him that those things would be worth much more than a day spent in an muggle shopping centre. His thoughts were interrupted by said raven saying:  
"I am sorry, but you can just relax when we are back and I will deal with our bedroom."  
Draco merely nodded, relieved that he would not have to do more manual labour, that kind of work was simply disgusting and beneath him.  
Potter's terrifying pet awaited them in the front garden, lying lazily in the sun. How the 12 foot long, black creature had not yet drawn the attention from any neighbours was beyond Draco. He had honestly been terrified when he had first seen the creature at his fiancé's side. Normally he was not afraid of snakes, and the incident with the Hippogriff had been an act to harm one of Potter's beloved friends, but Nagini had been the Dark Lord's familiar and he had heard many stories about the reptile devouring grown men in only a few minutes from his friends.  
At the beginning of the last holidays, he had been angry that his father had not taken him to their resurrected Lord, and even though he denied it, he was glad that Lucius had not done it. He had seen the madness in the Dark Lord's eyes as he had called for him and his mother and tortured them to death and he was glad deep down, that he would not have to serve that mad man, but he still hated muggles because they destroyed all the old Pureblood customs. Instead of coming to their world and getting acquainted with the traditions of the wizarding world, the Purebloods had to abandon their traditions to make all the Mudbloods feel more welcome, and that was the main reason why there were so many who hated the Muggleborn and Halfbloods, and why he did not want to be fighting on Potter's side either.  
Stepping into the small muggle house, he forced his mind to focus on the present again and ended his brooding. His fiancé was currently talking with his Beaver friend while they pulled the many items they had bought from her handbag and laid them out on the floor of the living room.  
Potter turned to his friends and once more instructed them; Draco had to grudgingly admit that his fiancé was a natural leader. He was instructing, but kind and answered many question before they had any chance of arising, and it slowly showed Draco why so many people trusted the small youth with their worries, fears and even lives. Potter was surrounded by an aura of trustworthiness, and in contrast to that old, meddling, barmy coot of an Headmaster, Potter was straight forwards and did not play games of riddles with the people who came to him, but simply started to do what had to be done.  
As he watched the hoard of redheads, Lovegood and Longbottom pick up different boxes and slowly going upstairs into their bedrooms to start working, he gritted his teeth. He had to admit that his father's plan was brilliant; the spell Lucius had cast on him that forced a general attraction to Potter on him, combined with the days of close proximity to his fiancé, made him slowly see the Gryffindor in a different light, even though he tried to fight the end result.  
Suddenly Potter stepped up to him, his small arms full of boxes and told him:  
"I will go up into our room and start building everything up. If you want you can go into the garden or read or, I don't know; just feel free to do anything you would like to do." Potter blushed again and Draco's right hand twitched in an effort to lift up and cup the boy's soft looking cheek, but he clenched them into a fist and nodded stiffly before turning to the backdoor. Behind him, he heard Potter's soft steps fading away and his hand on the door handle twitched as the need to follow the boy overcame him once more.  
Sneering at himself, he pushed the backdoor open and stepped into the garden. Potter's nightmare of a familiar still lay there, or maybe again, because she looked as if she might have been hunting in the time they had been away. How anybody would be willing to take the Dark Lord's familiar in he could not fathom, however, Potter at least seemed to have her under control. Eyeing the huge reptile, he carefully made his way over to the garden stretcher that stood to her left. The snake did not even open her eyes and he finally sat down with an annoyed huff as the piece of furniture groaned under his weight; it had probably been damaged by that whale of an uncle.  
Closing his eyes, he tried to relax and enjoy what had to be one of the last warm days of the year. True, he did not feel the sun's heat anymore, but he had always enjoyed lying in the sun and relaxing. He shifted a little, trying to find a more comfortable position in the hard seat so that it would finally allow him to relax and forget Potter for a while, but neither his mind nor his body calmed down.  
Potter would be alone right now, building up their new bedroom, or maybe he would not be that alone. The picture of Beaver falling giggling onto the bed far too close to Potter flashed in his mind and he sat up with a jolt, his fangs already bared. In Slytherin House, they had always made jokes over the closeness of the golden trio, but those jokes suddenly seemed not so funny anymore. He himself had always been of the opinion that Beaver would choose Potter in the end, for the many obvious facts such as fame, power and money, but Potter was his fiancé now... he was his. A low growl left his throat, but he squashed it quickly as he realized that his father's curse was once more acting and pushing him to react in ways he would normally never do. But still, that did not change the fact that he and Potter were engaged and any scandal with the Beaver would reflect back on him as well.  
With two determined strides he was back inside the small house and on his way up the stairs. Chatter and laughter came from the rooms to his left and right, but he ignored them as his mind was set on preventing a scandal that would ruin his name for all eternity.  
He flung their bedroom door open and came face to face with a surprised raven who was holding one long side of their new bed with his right hand, while a foot was stabilizing another side as he helplessly tried to tighten the screws. Potter had to stretch and raise his head to even be able to see him over the bed parts and his thin arms looked all too fragile trying to hold them up. A pang of guilt (a feeling he chose to never experience) made Draco's heart stumble as he saw his small fiancé in that position. Was it not the man or dominant's duty to help their spouses with physically straining tasks? He might not be happy about this engagement to Potter, but he honoured the old Pureblood ways and the education his father had given him.  
"Do you not know a spell for this?" He asked, motioning to the bed Potter was trying to build up for them.  
"No, or I would be using it already," Potter huffed, clearly annoyed. Before the boy could ask what he wanted, Draco had already pulled his wand out and swung it once. The numerous pieces of the bed all rose into the air, placed themselves correctly together while the screws automatically fasten themselves in their holes. The spectacle was over in a minute and he directed the bed to the place where Potter had already banished the old bed.  
Potter blinked stupidly a few times, as if not able to fathom that he had just helped him. Draco stared back, not knowing what he should say next; he never had helped his fiancé, at least not without an order of his father first. Luckily the decision was taken from him by Weasel's loud voice shouting:  
"Dinner has arrived!"  
Without saying anything in the end, Draco turned on his heels, bracing himself for yet another meal with the redheaded horde; at least he would not need to eat anything.  
Downstairs he found Potter's friends already unwrapping many medium-sized boxes with strange looking food.  
"Asian after all?" Came Potter's voice from behind him, and a moment later the boy flopped down directly next to him; the position felt oddly natural, to have the small boy sitting at his feet.  
"The guy's wanted pizza again, but I thought a change would be good," the Beaver explained with a smile before sitting down as well.  
There was a silent pop as Potter's House Elf appeared with two golden goblets, offering one to his young Master and the other to him. Draco sniffed absentmindedly at the blood, he still could not distinguish the scent of animal blood very well. Generally, whenever he compared himself with his father, he noticed how much weaker he still was, but maybe the vampire powers needed some time to build up.  
"So, how far are you with your bed, Harry?" Longbottom's shaky voice pulled him from his musing.  
"Draco helped me with a spell," his fiancé grinned as if he had saved the world and not helped with a bed.  
"Don't tell me ferret did physical labour," the Weasel snickered, and Draco quickly snapped:  
"Are you too stupid to listening? I used a spell. Besides, it was your undersized friend that was struggling with a huge double bed and not mine."  
Satisfied, he saw the redhead shrink under his accusation and a strained silence fell over all of them until one of the twins cleared his throat and asked:  
"So Harry, Hermione, what is this?" The twin pointed to the food, a frown on his face.  
"It is Chinese takeout. We have fried noodles and rice, duck, shrimp, friend bananas with honey, Chop Sue and Satay Sauce," the Beaver listed happily, before grabbing a pair of wooden sticks that lay in front of her. The others eyed her wearily as she started to eat with the things, of course, no Weasel would ever know what chop sticks were, but he had been present at some business meetings of his father's and had come to know important wizards from all over the world.  
He was just contemplating whether he shouldn't eat something as well just to show off, when something pulled at his trousers' leg. Looking down, he met round, green orbs staring up at him.  
"Won't you sit down, please?"  
Without thinking about it he nodded and gracefully sat down on the floor next to his fiancé, his eyes still captured by the other's brilliant emeralds. They swirled like a million crystals, reflecting the light in a thousand shades of green as they innocently stared up at him. He felt himself falling into those green oceans, drowning in them. A strange, transcendent calmness settled over his body, freezing his mind and body. Then his heart thumbed painfully and an overwhelming hunger rose inside of his chest, he felt his sight getting sharper, taking in every smooth detail of Potter's beautiful, pale skin, every curve of his slender neck and every slight vibration of the boy's blood rushing through his carotid.  
And then Potter shifted and the moment was broken. Draco blinked rapidly and quickly looked away, checking if anyone had seen them, but the Weasel-clan, Looney-Luna and good-for-nothing Longbottom were all eating and chattering. Turning to his goblet, he started sipping at the now cold blood, careful not to turn to Potter again during the whole meal. Unfortunately the Gryffindors were not as tired as they should have been after their long day and the evening stretched over the next two hours, and as he finally stepped into his and Potter's bedroom, he was annoyed with them all and especially with himself and his father.  
Potter immediately rushed into the bathroom, his ugly red pyjamas in his hands and he used the time to quickly change as well, turn the lights off and climb into bed; he'd had enough of this day. His thoughts and emotion were like a whirlwind it was making him cranky. As his eyes started drifting close they were suddenly caught by the light from the door as Potter came back, but the boy closed the door quickly again and came over to their bed. He felt the bed dipping as the smaller teen climbed inside and settled down next to him. For a moment silence was all that could be heard, but then Potter softly asked:  
"Draco, are you still awake?"  
Draco contemplated simply not answering, but something inside of him forced his mouth to speak. "Yes, Potter," he answered, trying to sound like his usual, sneering self, but he suspected that he did not quite manage it. Bracing himself for another attempt of his fiancé at starting another heart-to-heart-conversation, he was taken aback when the Gryffindor simply said:  
"Thank you for your help earlier. Good night, Draco."  
Too shocked to react in any other way, Draco simply echoed, "Good night, Potter." Apparently the boy thought that they had gotten closer to each other during the past two days, but of course, that wasn't the case, and he swore he would rectify it the next day.  
Soft breathing sounded to his left and despite the promise he had just made to himself, he turned around and looked at Potter. The boy was truly beautiful.


	31. Chapter 31: Dressing Up

**Chapter 31: Dressing Up**

 **HP**

"The spell is _'Locus Expende'_ , and don't forget to imagine what you want the room to look like," Hermione explained for the tenth time, but Harry was distracted. His eyes once more flickered over to the kitchen, where his second mate sat, sipping on a mug of blood.  
Yesterday he had believed that they had finally made some headway; Draco had been nice enough to his friends (at least by his standards), they had talked a bit during their shopping and the Slytherin had even helped him with their bed, but today it had all changed again.  
Draco had reverted back to his cold, patronizing self, it was even worse than the day they had arrived. At every turn, he got an insulting comment about his clothing style, his height, his appearance in general, his intelligence, and of course his friends. For the first time, he had seen something like annoyance even in Luna's eyes and Neville was by now hiding somewhere on the first floor; it was annoying, disappointing and made him angry on top of it all.  
"Harry, are you even listening?" Hermione waved a hand in front of his eyes, annoyance now clearly visible on her face as well.  
"Yes, yes, I am listening," he mumbled and forced his eyes away from his younger mate, but it was difficult. Yesterday he had seen a side of Draco he would easily be able to love and he had been so happy as he had fallen asleep, why couldn't it last? He had missed his unwilling mate all along, but now his heart was literally aching in his chest, hurting with longing, loneliness and the feeling of being inadequate, of being rejected.  
A loud, exasperated sigh drew his attention again and he looked up just in time to see his friend fling her arms into the air and let them fall heavily back to her sides.  
"Harry, what is going on this morning? There is something, isn't there?" Hermione asked gently and lowered her voice. "Does it have something to do with Malfoy?"  
Sighing, Harry lowered his gaze to his intertwined fingers. He wished he could talk openly to his friends, or at least Hermione, he even believe that she would understand, but it was too risky, so much depended on keeping his relationship to the two Malfoy's a secret, but he could at least admit a little.  
"I am just... so disappointed. Yesterday I was able to talk to Draco and today..."  
"Today he is a complete arse once again," Hermione ended his sentence.  
Nodding, he glanced over his shoulder once more but quickly looked away when he saw that Draco was looking in his direction.  
"You know Harry, I think he is coming along," Hermione mused and placed a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. "But you have been enemies for so long and Draco is a Malfoy, they are proud and beginning a friendship with you would mean realizing and admitting that he had been wrong all of those years."  
"You are probably right," Harry mumbled, still feeling down. "But it still hurts."  
"Well, he hasn't been particular nice today and I know that Ron was nearly up and about breaking his nose once again," Hermione admitted, but her words actually cheered Harry's mood; at least he still had friends that would protect him, even from annoying, blonde ferret-prats.  
"Let's just get started with the room so that we can finish here and return to Hogwarts. We don't have school tomorrow and could go to Hogsmeade to prepare for Halloween," Hermione pat his arm and they both turned back to her notes.  
"I think I know what I have to do," he said and pulled his wand out. "I will just get started."  
Hermione gave him a reassuring smile and he left the living room, already chanting the spell over and over again whilst imagining what he wanted his house to look like. He wanted it to be bright and spacious and comfortable. First, he went through every room on the lower floor, and then he climbed the staircase up and cast the spell on the upper floor. Around him the house seemed to grow, to stretch and to broaden, another staircase appeared, making room for more living space, bathrooms joined each bedroom, the walls grew higher and the corridors longer. Light wood replaced the white tiles Petunia had chosen a long time ago and a second fireplace appeared in the lower hallway, which now resembled more of a small Entrance Hall. As he finished, Privet Drive reminded Harry of those old city houses he had sometimes seen on TV. Satisfied he nodded to himself, went back down and called for everybody.  
"That's so much better than..." George broke off and glanced over to Draco who was leaning against the doorframe of the living room where they all had gathered.  
"It is," Harry grinned and looked around once more; he really liked the new appearance of his house, all that was now missing was the furniture. "I would propose that we start with our own bedroom and then continue with the added ones. Those of us who are finished can just return here and start with the living room or the kitchen," he proposed, and his friends all nodded. They split up and Harry went back to the bedroom of his former relatives, sparing no glance at his second mate; Draco wouldn't help him again anyway, but he had actually found the spell the blonde had used yesterday to put their bed together, therefore he wouldn't need any help anyway.  
Opening the door, he took in the light wooden bed that matched perfectly with the colour of the floor. He had chosen a dark green carpet and hangings for his mates, knowing that they would not appreciate any red, but at least the carpet and hangings had a beautiful, golden pattern.  
Oscar had already brought the boxes with the cupboards and nightstand up and he started by levitating everything that could hold clothing into the adjoining walk-in closet, which was large enough to be an entire room on its own, but after he had seen the trunk Draco had taken along for only three days, he had thought it would be necessary.  
With a flick of his wand the furniture unpacked and with another, it started to put itself together. Screws and cupboard walls flew through the air. Harry had to duck a few times, but the chaos had calmed down within a minute and he examined the wall unit and the three drawers now lining the walls. There were also two room high mirrors hanging to the left and right, making the room look even bigger. Content with the result, he returned to the main bedroom and cast another spell. In this room, they would keep no clothing, but he had bought a desk and shelves for books and a few personal items.  
The last room that had to be furnished now was their huge bathroom, but after a look at their bed, he snapped his fingers and waited for Oscar to show up.  
His little elf appeared immediately, bowed and asked: "How can Oscar help Master Harry?"  
"Please go to Malfoy Manor and fetch some blankets and covers for this bed," he said and pointed at the magically enlarged bed.  
"Oscar will be back immediately," his servant squeaked and disappeared again.  
Harry decided that he would not wait until Oscar returned and instead walked into their bathroom. He had designed it after the Hogwarts Prefect's Bathroom, only much more elegant. A silver, pool-like sunken-in tub spread at the far end of the tiled room. The tiles had a soft, silver-blue colour that matched the silver perfectly. Three sinks hung to his left and a nondescript door lead to a small toilet. There was also a huge shower in one corner and a long bench stretched along the right wall, but some cupboards for towels were still missing.  
His eyes found the small pile of boxes and only a moment later the bathroom was furnished as well. As he stepped back into the main room, he saw that Oscar had already returned and changed the sheets. Now instead of two pillows and blankets there lay three, two in a beautiful shade of gray, one in an emerald green. The green one lay in the middle, indicating that it was meant to be his. A sad expression quickly flickered over his face as he wondered when he would finally share a bed with both of his mates.  
Shaking the thought off, he quickly left the room, this was not the time to sulk; he had friends to help downstairs.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Six hours later he stood with Ron, Hermione, Fred, Gorge, Luna and Neville in the living room, taking in the new look; it looked exactly like he had imagined it. Instead of the noble elegance of his own bedroom, the living room merely looked cozy and welcoming. The sofas they had bought stood without any real order in the centre of the room, placed around a low, but rather huge coffee table. The half-circle the sofas formed, opened to the fireplace and they were packed with plush, colourful pillows and blankets. In another corner, Hermione had set the old telly and PlayStation of his late relatives up and shelves with books and DVD's lined the wall; it really looked like a room out of an Ikea-catalogue.  
"Hey Harry, do you think we could celebrate Christmas here? I bet Padfoot would love to get out of his hellhole for once," Ron asked with an expectant smile.  
Harry didn't need to think about it for long, no one truly liked spending Christmas at Grimmauld Place, but until now, it had been the only place big enough to house enough people.  
"Sure, you just have to convince your mom," he agreed with an equally wide grin.  
The twins waved his words off, and said: "Don't worry, mom will want to see the new Headquarters, and she will be relieved to stay somewhere else for once."  
"We should return to Hogwarts now, dinner has already started," Hermione reminded them and they all nodded.  
As Harry turned to the fireplace, he already saw green flames flickering wildly and knew that Draco had once more gone ahead, or maybe the blonde had just taken flight, now that he finally was allowed to. Sighing and exchanging a long look with Hermione, he grabbed some floo powder as well and swiftly followed his mate.  
Draco was dusting his trousers off as he stumbled out of the hearth, while Dumbledore sat behind his desk, smiling brightly as usual.  
"Ah my boy, I see you are back," the old wizard said and watched as his fireplace roared to life again. "Did everything go well?"  
"Yes, the house looks really good now," Harry smiled and turned to his friends who had just arrived, but a low drawl made him turn around again:  
"As nice as this cozy get-together is," Draco sneered "I will excuse myself now and spend some time with people I actually like."  
Harry, suddenly angry, sneered back; he'd had enough of his mate's stupid behaviour. "Then just piss off, it isn't as if we want you here, either."  
His mate bared his fangs, a low growl coming from his mouth, too silent for anybody else to hear, but instead of replying anything, the blonde merely turned on his heels and stalked out of the office with long strides.  
"Harry," came the soft voice of Hermione, but he cut her off:  
"No, Mione, it is okay. He is just a stupid prat," With those words, he turned on his heels as well and stomped out of the Headmaster's Office; he'd had enough for one day, all he wanted right now was to go down to his father and hide for the rest of the evening. Surprisingly, no one stopped him on his way, even though some of his fellow housemates looked at him curiously. In no time at all, he was in front of his door and disappeared inside. To his surprise the light came from his living room, but as Lucius stepped out of the room, his silver eyes settling on him, he only threw him an angry glare, wrenched the door that led down to his father's quarters open, and disappeared again, leaving a bewildered and confused mate behind; but right now he didn't care for any Malfoy's. He quickly walked down the staircase and at the bottom he pushed the door to the other quarters open. The living room was dark, but a faint light came from his father's private Potion's Lab. The man must have heard his arrival because only a second later Severus appeared in the doorway.  
"Harry, how was..." his father broke off as his eyes took in his tired and sad face, his weary expression and his slumped posture. With four long strides, his father stood in front of him, picked him up and carried him over to the couch, as he proceeded to wrap him in his mother's blanket.  
"And now tell me what Draco has done this time," Severus ordered him in a voice that brook no arguments.  
Harry took his time to snuggle deeper into the folds of his father's black cloak and inhale the soothing scent. He instantly calmed down a bit and sighed as a huge burden was lifted from his shoulders a bit by the mere presence of his father and his caring behaviour.  
"The first day Draco was fairly polite, at least for his standards, and the second day we even talked and he helped me with putting the new bed together..." he started but paused when his father groaned loudly.  
"Let me guess, but the third day he behaved like a stupid idiot that should rather have been sorted into Hufflepuff than Slytherin."  
Harry snickered and nodded, waiting for his father who clearly wanted to say more but was still sorting out his thoughts silently; finally the man said:  
"Harry, I know Draco for 17 years old now, I am his godfather and his Head of House; I believe I can say I know him fairly well." His father paused and waited until he had nodded slowly.  
"Draco is proud..."  
"Mione said the same," Harry muttered, earning himself a smirk from his father.  
"As much as I hate to admit it, Miss Granger is rather intelligent and certainly the most empathic out of the three of you. But what I want to say is that Draco is not only proud, he is also especially afraid of feelings."  
"Why?" Harry asked, suddenly feeling very confused, but if his dad was right then it would at least explain a lot.  
"I don't know, but let's just say he takes the Slytherin sickness up to a whole new level," his father answered.  
"So you are saying that he is afraid?" Harry asked to make sure.  
"Of course, Malfoy's are never afraid, but yes, I believe we can presume as much. That, of course, does not excuse how he is treating you," Severus growled and Harry felt his father's arms tightening protectively around him.  
For a while, they sat in silence, with Harry thinking about what his father had told him. Soon his eyes started drooping, lulled into sleep by the comfortable warmth and closeness to his dad.  
"Let's go to bed and you will drink some blood as well, this all would not have been so straining on you if you had drunk some blood from me and not starved yourself for over a month," Severus declared and lifted him up again. Harry, far too tired to protest right now, simply nodded in agreement and laid his head down on his father's shoulder.  
They entered the bedroom and he was placed onto the soft double bed, before his father's magic washed over him and his jeans and t-shirt changed into a nightgown. He watched his father transforming his own robes as well, and the man climbed into bed next to him and motioned for him to come over. Harry pushed himself up again, his limbs suddenly shaking, and crawled over, sitting down on one of the man's thighs.  
"Drink," his father said softly and with the tart smell of his father's blood just in front of him, he couldn't hold back any longer. His mouth watered as he sunk his fangs in and started drinking. The same feeling of coming home he had already experienced before, filled him again with every gulp he drank hungrily. Warmth spread to his veins and his stomach made a hungry growl. Slowly his gulps grew slower and further apart, and before he knew it his eyes had drooped shut.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **SS**

With a small smile, Severus combed through his son's thick locks. Oh, how he loved this boy. Only a few months ago he had lived with the belief that he was not able to love, at least not since Lily's death, but Harry had captured his heart in the blink of an eye. His eyes wandered over the beautiful, but tired features, over the perfect submissive body his son had received after his transformation, which was only waiting to be claimed by his two soulmates and yearned for affection. A low growl left his throat as his thoughts wandered to said soulmates. He was not sure whether he was angrier about Draco and the boy's stupidity or about Lucius for not having found a solution yet. Apparently, Draco's illogical hate for his submissive went deep enough that even the marriage contract did not help much, or maybe it was his godson's fear that went so deep.  
Regardless of what it was, if Draco did not get his act together soon, he would take him to the side and it would not end well for the headboy.  
Sighing, he shifted so that he would be able to detach his son from his throat, but his movements were stopped by the sound of his bedroom door silently being pushed open. His head snapped up, only to meet silver-blue eyes looking back at him. Lifting a questioning eyebrow at his godson, he watched as those blue eyes flashed red for a second as his godson took in how he was holding Harry close, but before he could react in any way or form, the boy turned around sharply and disappeared again.  
Chuckling silently to himself, he finally pulled his son's head away from him and laid the small boy down. Draco was clearly losing the fight, which had just grown blatantly obvious; the only question was how long it would take until the boy gave finally up. For his son's sake, he hoped it would be soon.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

The next morning Harry awoke rather late, but to his surprise, his father had not left him and instead was silently reading, popped up by his pillows and absentmindedly combing through his hair.  
"Good morning, dad," he yawned and rubbed his still tired eyes, before sitting up.  
"Good morning, finally awake?" His father smirked and placed his book to the side.  
"Yep, what time is it?" Harry asked and leaned forwards to press a kiss to his father's cheek before cuddling into the man's side. He loved cuddling, always had, but with the forced distance between him and Lucius right now, he cuddled even more with him than usual.  
"It is half past eleven," Severus answered and Harry's eyes flew wide open.  
"Shit, I promised to meet up with Ron and Hermione at 12!" He exclaimed and scrambled out of the bed.  
"You should have no problem then," His father smirked as he watched him running frantically to the room. Fortunately, he had one of his Council Robes down here by now, or he would have needed to return to his rooms as well. Ten minutes later he was indeed dressed and ready to leave. Severus by now had moved into his living room and was waiting for him with two goblets of blood.  
"So do you already have an idea for your costume?" His father asked in relation to his planned shopping trip and the masquerade ball later that evening.  
Harry shook his head, he had not spent a single thought on his costume, but hopefully Hermione would have a good idea for him.  
"No, but I want it to be good enough that Draco does not recognize me," he decided spur of the moment and after yesterday, no one could blame him that he wanted at least one day without having to talk to the ferret.  
His father smirked, his eyes gleaming strangely, but he had no time to ask further as the grandfather clock in one corner chimed twelve. Jumping to his feet again, he grabbed his money pouch, shoved it into his trousers' pocket and left with the words: "I have to go now, see you later dad."  
He raced up the stairs to the Entrance Hall and arrived just in time to see his friends stepping off from the marble staircase as well.  
"Hi Harry, how was your evening with your dad?" Hermione greeted him, while Ron made a face next to her at the word dad.  
"Short," he answered truthfully. "We talked a little and cuddled on the couch, but I fell asleep rather quickly."  
Ron grimaced even more, but Hermione gave him a smile that told him that she was happy for him as they turned to the Entrance Doors.  
"So do you already have a plan for today?" Ron asked as they left the castle.  
"Yes, I am planning to avoid the Malfoy's completely; that means you two have to help me find a good costume in which no one would recognize me," he answered with a gloomy, but determined look.  
"You have my support," Ron announced loudly and pat his back rather violently, but fortunately he was not human anymore. Hermione meanwhile had clearly lost herself in thoughts, hopefully pondering his request. A harsh wind billowed out his friends' cloaks and Ron shivered. "I can't understand how you can dress in only shorts and a button down-shirt and waistcoat and not freeze to death," the redhead complained.  
Harry was about to open his mouth and reply "because I am already dead," when his mind quickly stopped him. Instead, he simply shrugged and mused: "Must be my inheritance."  
They left the grounds and started walking down the narrow path that led to Hogsmeade. Hermione was still silent as they reached the small village but snapped at least momentarily out of her musings; you really couldn't give the girl a riddle if you wanted her to be more than physically present.  
"Let's start with my costume," Ron announced, puffing out his chest. "I want to go as Godric Gryffindor."  
Harry had a hard time not to laugh, the picture of Ron as noble knight seemed just so hilarious, but Hermione simply said: "Then let's go to an antiquarian and search for a breastplate."  
Ron paled at her words, but Hermione had already entered a shop directly to their right. "Well then, Sir Ronald," Harry teased and followed the witch inside.  
To his surprise, they indeed found a breastplate, and as the rest of the armour was missing, Hermione was able to persuade the shop owner to give them the piece for a very cheap price. In another store, they found a leather tunic as well, and to Ron's horror, a pair of dark red leggings to wear beneath. As they stepped out of the store they had bought the leggings in, Hermione announced that she wanted to go as Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, and pulled them along into a rather large store that specialized on women's clothes. All she needed was a white tunic dress, a style that never grew outdated in the wizarding world, and so Harry and Ron followed her up a flight of stairs to the first floor where dresses and skirts were located. Harry watched as her brown eyes looked around, but instead on wandering over to the long dresses, they stopped at a section with different skirts, right next to a section with lingerie.  
"Harry, I think I have an idea as to how no one would recognize you this evening."  
Harry didn't need to check where exactly his friend's eyes had wandered to realize what she was planning. "You want to dress me up like a girl?" Well, the idea was actually not a bad one. He was too comfortable in his body and sexuality to be afraid of dressing in a dress for one evening, and he certainly would be left alone.  
"Mione, you are not planning on putting Harry into a..." Ron spluttered, but Harry quickly interrupted him, he actually found their friends plan quite genius.  
"I will do it," he simply said, shutting Ron up and bringing a huge smile to Hermione's face. The girl squealed suddenly, grabbed him by his hand and pulled him over to the lingerie.  
"I always wanted to go shopping with a friend!" She exclaimed happily. Harry simply smiled, not finding it possible to remind her that he still was a boy.  
"Oh, I have already planned your whole outfit! We will dress you up as a beautiful doll, that way we can use a lot of makeup to disguise you even more!" His friend announced, eying him from head to. After a long minute, she nodded to herself. She then turned him around and shoved her hand between his shirt and his waistcoat.  
"Mione!" He screeched in surprise.  
"I am just looking for a label, we need your size," she told him and a moment later her hand left him again.  
Ron meanwhile was looking at them with a horrified expression, but they both stayed wisely quiet as their friend went over to the corsets and picked out an auburn coloured one.  
"I think a dark green skirt would match perfectly," she hummed and left the isle.  
"Harry, has she gone insane?" Ron whispered into his ear as Hermione had disappeared from her sight, but the only answer he could give was a confused shrug.  
"Harry, are you coming?" Hermione called and he quickly started searching for the girl. He found her as expected between the skirts, holding a dark green skirt up that indeed matched with the corset perfectly.  
"Do you want to try everything on, or do you think it will fit?" She asked and Harry quickly scanned the two items.  
"They should fit," he decided, not in the mood to find out if a woman's corset would be tied the same way as his waistcoats; besides, it most likely would not be too small for him, the chance was higher that he would need to shrink it even more.  
"If you are sure," Hermione shrugged and gave him the two items before finally going over to the dresses.  
15 minutes later they stood at the counter, paying for everything. As they stepped outside again, it was already rather late.  
"We should go back now and get ready," Hermione mused with a look at her watch.  
"But we still have three hours and I still want to go to Honeydukes," Ron complained.  
"But I still have to help Harry with his make up and do my own and then we have to get dressed," Hermione explained in a patient voice, but Ron only asked:  
"And?"  
Harry, who had not really listened to his friends' argument, caught sight of a silver-blond mop of hair at the end of the street and quickly pushed his friends into the next shop, which (to Ron's delight) turned out to be Honeydukes. The redhead immediately disappeared further into the store, but Hermione gave him a questioning look.  
"Malfoy," he answered and pulled her behind a shelf full of different kinds of chocolate. They were just in time to see Draco walk pass them with an arrogant swagger to his hips, but to Harry's surprise, he was only accompanied by Blaise and Theo; apparently he truly was listening to his father's command and staying away from Pansy and Greengrass. That at least, gave Harry a measure of hope.  
He watched the three disappear into a store a bit further down the street, and sighed in relief.  
"Harry, what is it with Malfoy? And don't tell me it is only because of what happened this weekend, there has to be more," Hermione hissed into his right ear.  
Shaking his head, Harry only admitted: "You are right, but I can't tell you more. It has to do with the Order and with Lucius as well, and as much as I am annoyed with Draco, I will neither put his, nor his father's life at risk."  
His friend's eyes widened in surprise as she probably tried to imagine what the two aristocrats were doing for the Order that could be so dangerous.  
"Are they both... like Snape?" She finally asked carefully and Harry slowly nodded. That was of course not all of it, but it would be enough to satisfy her curiosity for the moment.  
Ron returned to them in that moment, his arms packed full with a huge paper bag filled with candies.  
"Now we can go back," the redhead grinned and turned to the exit. Making sure that Draco was still in the store, Harry quickly followed him and started a quick pace; he wanted to put as much space between himself and his second mate as possible and as quickly as possible.  
They walk back was fortunately uneventful and half an hour later Harry, Ron and Hermione snuck into the fifth year boy's dormitory and sealed the door.  
"Let's start!" Hermione announced and picked the bag with her dress and his outfit from Ron's bed. She pulled out the skirt, the corset and to Harry's absolute horror, a pair of black panties.  
"Now you are going too far, Mione!" Ron exclaimed while Harry was still too shocked to reply to anything, but Hermione only shot them a glare and said:  
"If he wears his long boxers under the skirt, they will show."  
Harry decided to not admit that he didn't even possess any boxers anymore and just kept silent, inwardly resigned to the fact that he would spend the night in girl's lingerie.  
"And now strip," Hermione ordered, pushing the panty into his hands and turned politely around.  
Giving Ron a helpless look, Harry stood up from where he had sat on his old bed and unlaced his boots, before stepping out of them. His shorts and tights followed, together with his waistcoat and his button-down. Ron didn't even comment anymore about the fact that he had been naked beneath his shorts, or maybe he did not notice it as his friend was occupied with looking everywhere but at him.  
Bending down, Harry stepped into the panty and pulled the small, black silk cloth up. He blushed furiously as the cool, soft material brushed against his private parts, stimulating him at a time he certainly couldn't need it. Memories of equally soft fingers and lips surfaced, but he quickly shoved them away and suppressed any reaction, before quickly covering himself with the green skirt.  
"You can turn around again," he told his friends, who both turned back to him, Hermione already holding the corset.  
"Lift your arms, I will help you. Women's corsets are a bit more complicated as they have no holes for the arms to hold them in place while you lace them."  
He did as told and watched curiously as his friend placed the auburn material around his torso, before moving behind him and starting to fasten it.  
"Tell me how tight you want it," she told him and pulled on the laces.  
It took a while until Harry felt it tighten at all and as he had predicted, it turned out to be too big. Behind him, Hermione sighed in frustration, but pulled her wand out and said:  
"I will just shrink it to your size. Say stop as soon as it is small enough."  
Nodding, Harry waited until he felt the corset cling to his body nicely before he stopped his friend.  
"Your new body is really crazy," Ron said, eyeing him and then added: "You really can pull off pretending to be a girl, but maybe we should figure out something for your nonexistent..." he made a rude gesture and Harry flushed."I don't want any... breasts."  
"But it would look better, Harry," Hermione agreed with Ron, but Harry shook his head; for some reason he was against it.  
"Well, then I just have to make even more of an effort with your hair and makeup," Hermione smiled and waved her wand again.  
Harry jumped in surprise as he suddenly felt curls touching his shoulders and growing past them, he should have expected that his female friend would also grow his hair out; he was supposed to be a girl after all.  
"You really can pull off being a girl!" Ron gasped with wide eyes. Harry, who had yet to see himself, only gave him a small smile and a shrug, but his attention was brought back to Hermione when the witch flicked her wand and a small chest flew from her trunk.  
"What's in there?" He asked curiously but wasn't quite sure if he wanted to know.  
"Makeup, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, those type of things," she answered with a flush.  
"You have jewellery?" Harry asked in surprised, he had never seen his friend with any kind of jewellery.  
"I have, buying jewellery is my weakness, but I never wear it. I am not the type," Hermione confessed and her flush deepened even further.  
Frowning, Harry looked her up and down, but in his opinion she was wrong. Hermione had a naturally beautiful face and a good figure, two things boys love, and her curls would be beautiful too if she only took a bit more care of them.  
"I think you are wrong. You shouldn't be so shy, you are a beautiful witch."  
Ron started to splutter and Harry smirked, apparently the redhead was not as blind and clueless as Hermione had thought. He winked meaningfully at her, before gesturing to the chest.  
"Right, we have no time for that," Hermione said and opened the wooden box. Inside Harry could see a truly impressive assortment of all kinds of jewellery, but no makeup. However, she started rummaging in the chest as apparently her makeup had fallen to the bottom of the middle-sized box.  
"I think we don't need any white makeup, you are pale enough as it is," she mused with a look at his face and then nodded to herself before picking up a black pencil.  
"Look up," she ordered and Harry did as told.  
"I will start with your eyes now," she told him before the pencil touched his lower eyelid. It was an odd feeling having his eyes coloured and a few times he was afraid that he would get pencil into his eyes, but Hermione worked slowly and carefully. After she had lined his eyes with the black colour, she picked up a small jar with golden powder and a brush and continued to cover his upper lids. When that was done as well, she also coloured his lashes and ordered him to look down while she applied some pink rouge to his cheeks.  
"Nearly done," she said after about 15 minutes. "We only have to colour your lips."  
Harry watched her pick a pink lipstick up and motioned for him to open his mouth slightly. Harry decided then and there that he was not a fan of lipstick, it felt uncomfortably sticky, but for this evening it would be fine.  
Hermione took a step back and Harry nearly squirmed under her scrutinizing look.  
"Something is still missing," she hummed, tapping her chin thoughtfully with a finger.  
"Ah! I know!" She suddenly exclaimed, startling him and Ron, before going over to the chest again and pulling out a necklace and a bracelet made of white pearls.  
"Every woman needs jewellery and every doll needs a pearl necklace," she explained and moved behind him to close the necklace around his neck.  
Now Harry truly felt a bit odd, he was still a boy after all, he couldn't imagine that he truly looked like a girl now, necklace or not; maybe this idea wasn't such a good one after all and he would only embarrass himself and his mates at the ball?  
But all his worries disappeared when Hermione conjured a mirror and his eyes fell on a small, but beautiful girl. He needed a long moment to realize that the girl with the big, sparkling green eyes, the fair porcelain skin, the rosy cheeks, the pink, plump lips and the slender waist was him, he looked so different and at the same time, he could still see himself in that beautiful person. His eyes wandered up and down his reflexion again, over the tight corset and the wide, but short, dark green skirt that ended two hands above his knees and he realized, it was not only him he saw in the mirror. If he imagined his curls to be a dark red and not black, then he would definitively look like his mother.  
"You still look too much like yourself," Hermione suddenly said unhappily, pulling him from his daze.  
"What about a mask? It is a masquerade ball after all," Ron proposed.  
Hermione nodded slowly and started to search for something. She finally picked up the Quidditch magazine that lay on Ron's bed and pointed her wand at it, Only a second later the magazine had transformed into a beautiful red and golden phoenix-feathered mask that was fairly small, only large enough to cover his eyes and cheekbones and part of his nose, but as he put the mask on he immediately saw that it would be enough.  
"You look so great!" Hermione exclaimed and then stepped closer, whispering: "You should take a photo and send it to your second mate, maybe it will help him to realize what a good catch you are."  
Harry flushed, not sure if Draco would appreciate his disguise, but he didn't have much time to think about the suggestion, as Ron asked:  
"What are you whispering about?"  
"Nothing, nothing," Hermione smiled, as she pulled a flask of perfume from her skirt pocket and sprayed a generous amount over him. Harry coughed as the sweet scent filled his nostrils, but Hermione only turned to Ron and asked: "So, what do you think?"  
Harry found himself scrutinized for the second time that evening, but in contrast to Hermione, Ron said "He is too flat," and made a crude gesture to indicate what he meant.  
To Harry's horror, Hermione turned around with a thoughtful expression on her face and he quickly refused: "I will not have breasts!"  
Hermione lifted her hands in a soothing gesture. "I think you will be fine enough like this."  
"If you two think so," Ron said, eyeing Harry again. "You should be careful, or some blokes might hit on you," the redhead grinned, before turning to his own costume.  
The next two hours Harry watched as Hermione helped Ron get into his own costume and started to dress up herself as well. When only half an hour was left until the start of the ball, he decided to visit his dad and show him his costume.  
"It might be a good idea to go with him to the ball. You could say that you are a relative of his," Hermione mused. "We could meet in the Great Hall later."  
Nodding, Harry promised to find a reason to address them later and slipped out of the boy's dorm. On his way down to the common room and over to the portrait hole, he got many curious looks, which (to his surprise) ranged from baffled, to flirtatious and very jealous on the girls' side. Therefore he quickened his steps and rushed into his quarters only a few seconds later, from where he went down to his father's rooms.  
He pulled his mask down, opened the door carefully, wanting to surprise the man, but the reaction he got exceeded his every expectation.  
His father was sitting on his couch, a heavy tomb on his lab and reading, but as soon as he stepped inside, Severus lifted his head and his eyes widened as if he was seeing a ghost. The book slid from his father's lap as the man stood up slowly and landed onto the floor with a loud thud.  
"Lily... is it you?" His father croaked out and a pang of guilt shot through Harry's heart, this wasn't what he had planned.  
He quickly forced a small smile on his face and said: "No, dad, I believe mom was taller and curvier and her hair colour was different."  
His father blinked a few times, obviously trying to understand what he had been seeing and then the black orbs widened in realization.  
"Harry? Why are you dressing like a girl?"  
Still conscious about the shocked look his father was giving him, Harry quickly put his mask back on and mumbled: "I just want some peace and quiet this evening."  
His father nodded in understanding, but then suddenly smirked: "You should change your shoes my son."  
Before Harry could do more than looking down, Severus had already pointed his wand at the sneakers he was still wearing and had transformed them into a pair of auburn pumps, which perfectly fit in with his corset. He stumbled for a second, but luckily his vampire grace helped him to get his balance back quickly and grinned at his dad.  
"Thanks," he said, before going over to the sofa and flopping down on it. His father mirrored his action (only much more gracefully) and said "It is truly amazing how much you look like your mother. And she truly must have resembled James quite a lot as well."  
Harry nodded slowly, his father was probably right. Normally, as a boy, everybody told him how much he resembled his uncle (although his father had always told him otherwise) and now, dressed up like a girl, he looked very much like Lily. But well, those two had been cousins after all, there had to be some resemblance between them.  
"Do I assume correctly that I am to escort you to the ball?" His father asked, interrupting the comfortable silence.  
"Yes, Hermione thinks it would be a good idea. If I go down with them everybody will know who I am," he nodded.  
"That is the most likely conclusion," His father agreed and rose to his feet.  
Only then did Harry notice that Severus was still wearing his usual robes and frowned. "Are you not dressing up?" he answered with a slight accusation in his voice.  
"I could tie my hair back, but nothing more," his father sneered in disgust at the mere thought.  
Chuckling, Harry shook his head and said "No, that's not necessary," and stood up as well. He placed a hand on the man's arm, knowing by now how to do it correctly, and they left the quarters together.  
The looks he received from his father's students was even more curious, which was not surprising. The students generally believed that his dad had no relatives or friends, Harry had once thought the same, and it had been correct so far, as the man himself had not known that he had a son. A wide smile spread over his lips at the thought. He had a father, sometimes he still couldn't believe it, it was such an incredible feeling.  
Thinking about it, his life had truly changed in that aspect. Before this summer, he only had Ron and Hermione and a godfather who sadly couldn't help him much due to his status as wanted criminal. And now he had not only a father, but also two mates; fortune really had smiled down on him for once.  
They reached the double doors to the Great Hall, which for once stood wide open. Pumpkin-lanterns were the only source of light and as it was tradition on Halloween a swarm of bats fluttered above their heads. Harry could even make out a glimpse of gold; apparently Justitius had joined his contemporaries. Looking around again, he saw that the house tables and the head table now lined up against the right wall where a huge buffet had been prepared by the House Elves. He and his father were actually some of the last people to arrive. To his left his Gryffindor year mates had gathered; he saw Dean Thomas dressed as a ghost, Lavender looked like a princess and Parvati like an elf.  
"Severus, I see you have brought company," a deep, melodious voice suddenly drawled to his right and Harry turned his head. He groaned inwardly as he came face to face with one of the two people he did not wish to see today.  
His first mate had chosen the easy way and had dressed up as a vampire. He had let his glamours fall and coloured his lips with something that made them look as if he had just drunken some blood. His usual robes had been exchanged for a pompous pair that looked as if it had once been worn by a late relative from the 18th century. The white shirt beneath his waistcoat had frilly sleeves and the silk scarf he wore instead of a tie was equally frilly in style. Lucius had also tied his hair back and sprinkled something red onto the tie to make the outfit perfect for the spectators; of course no vampire would actually be so messy and dirty his clothes with blood, the liquid was far too valuable.  
"A relative?" His mate asked with a sly smirk and eyed him intently, his nostrils flaring.  
"Yes, my niece," his father answered smoothly and Harry could see that both men knew that this conversation was only for eventual listeners.  
"Bonsoir, Madame," Lucius purred, took his hand and to Harry's absolute embarrassment, his mate leaned forwards and kissed it softly. The warm lips had barely touched his skin, but after so many weeks with nearly no contact, his skin tingled as if a thousand ants were crawling over it and he shuddered in pleasure.  
"Good evening," he replied, knowing that his voice sounded very stiff.  
"Well, I can see when my presence is not appreciated," Lucius said softly and the truth behind those words made a wave of pain and sadness flood through Harry's body, but it was true; he wanted to spend a relaxed evening with his friends, far away from his mates and all their problems.  
Lucius was already turning around, when his hand automatically shot out, grabbing the wrist of his mate. "I am sorry, Lucius. Just this evening," he whispered nearly inaudibly even for vampire ears.  
"Don't be, you will see us tomorrow," his mate said without turning around and disappeared into the crowd.  
"Don't worry, Harry," his father whispered and nudged him softly, his finger pointing at the table with the drinks. Looking up, he saw a red-haired knight and a girl in a white, Greek dress standing there.  
"Do you want to join your friends?"  
Harry's lips stretched into a smile, he would forget the incident with Lucius and just have fun for the rest of the night.  
"Yes," he said and turned to give his father a peck on his cheek, before disappearing into the crowd as well.  
He made his way through the mass of students and soon had reached the buffet.  
"Excuse me, can you hand me a drink?" He asked in a sweet, girlish voice and his two friends spun around.  
Harry blinked in surprise as he saw Hermione; she really was beautiful, just like he had thought. His friend only wore the slightest hint of makeup, she had pinned her hair up with a golden clasp and wore a golden medallion around her neck. Ron looked great as well. Hermione had grown his red hair into a bob, and somehow managed to make it look silky; like spun copper. The breastplate enhanced his already high and broad-shouldered posture and they had even managed to borrow a sword from one of the Hogwarts suits of armours.  
"You two look great," he grinned and took a goblet with some lilac and alcoholic smelling liquid from Ron.  
"Be careful, Fred and George managed to pour fire whiskey into the bowl," his friend warned, but Hermione only said: "If the number of potions he needs is any indication, then he could probably drink the whole bowl and would still be rather sober."  
"Right," Ron said and his grin fell a little.  
"Did you plan on getting me drunk?" Harry asked teasingly as they left the buffet to stand somewhere more privately.  
"Maybe..." Ron grinned. "I have never seen you drink until now."  
"And it is better that way, or have you forgotten how old he is?" Hermione scolded him, contradicting her own words slightly.  
"Of course not..." Ron started, but the beginnings of an argument were halted when Dumbledore suddenly spoke up:  
"Welcome students and Professors to our Halloween Ball. I don't want to say much, just to have fun!"  
Loud music started and Harry turned to see that nearly all the students made their way to the middle of the room to dance.  
"Your shoes look great," Hermione said and pointed at his pumps.  
"Thanks, dad transfigured my sneakers," Harry grinned and lifted up one foot to show them off properly.  
"I can't help myself, it is still strange to hear you call Snape dad... not father but dad," Ron said awkwardly and scratched the back of his head.  
Harry shrugged as usual, he didn't really know what to say, for him it felt right to call the snarky Potions Master dad, but his instincts probably had a lot to do with it.  
"There really are a few amazing costumes," Hermione changed the topic.  
"And a few truly scary ones," Ron said with a shudder and as Harry followed his friend's gaze, he saw that they had landed on Lucius.  
"Yes, he truly looks like a real vampire," Hermione agreed.  
"Well, he has the money to buy a good costume, doesn't he?" Harry asked awkwardly.  
"True," Ron nodded and added "But I think your father would have made an even better vampire, I mean he already nearly looks like one."  
Harry threw his friend a glare, as it was expected of him, but their conversation was once again interrupted as Ginny stepped in between her brother and Hermione.  
"Have you two seen, Harry? I can't find him anywhere," she pouted and fumbled with the red tail of her cat-costume, which should probably have made her look sexy.  
Ron opened his mouth and by the look on his friend's face, Harry could already see that he wouldn't like the response, but luckily Hermione beat him to it:  
"He isn't feeling well, but maybe he will stop by later," she said quickly and threw Ron a pointed look.  
"I bet he is feeling bad because of all the potions his so called father forced down his throat," Ginny glared and Harry ground his teeth together to suppress the urge to growl at the girl.  
"He has a stomach ache," Hermione said pointedly, but as usual Ginny did not catch the hint:  
"I knew it; we should have stopped the git. Poor Harry, he is such a sweet boy, he is far too nice and helpless to defend himself from Snape."  
Harry, who finally couldn't hold his tongue any longer, cleared his throat, hoping that his voice would sound different enough as he said: "Excuse me, but I believe you have a wrong picture of Severus. Sure, he is strict, but he is also one of the most caring people I know."  
Ginny, who had not noticed him until now, looked up and narrowed her eyes after she had examined him for a long few seconds. "And who are you?" She snapped rudely, but Harry wasn't impressed.  
"I am Professor Snape's niece," he answered nonchalantly, but Ginny only snorted.  
"Then I guess it is no wonder that you would defend him, he will probably Crucio you otherwise."  
Next to him, Hermione gasped in shock and opened her mouth to say something, but Ron's sister was unfortunately not finished yet.  
"You know, I don't believe that shit about a mate, so why are you here? Does Snivellus want to force Harry into marrying you? You can forget that because he will marry me!"  
At those words, Harry could only roll his eyes; he had gotten tired of Ginny's possessive illusions a long time ago.  
"No, we are not going to be engaged, Harry is after all already courting his mate," he replied with a cold glare.  
"And you think I will believe that excuse? Harry is the most gorgeous, nicest, richest and famous bachelor right now, who else would you want?"  
A vain actually started throbbing at Ron's right temple then, and Harry wisely kept silent as his friend drew in a deep breath of air, before snapping:  
"Gin, how about you go join some of your friends and we tell Harry that you were looking for him if he shows up, okay?"  
Ginny gave her brother an angry glare, but fortunately left again with a huff and a hissed "I will be keeping an eye on you," for Harry.  
"You better marry your sweetheart soon Harry" Ron grumbled as his sister was finally out of earshot.  
"Yeah, Harry agreed, even though he knew that it would still be a long while before he was able to marry his mates, if ever. First, they needed to complete their bond and then there still was the issue with Voldemort.  
"Let us grab some more drinks and then go dancing for a while," Hermione proposed, but for some reason, they had no luck that evening, or rather, Harry had no luck that evening. They had just reached the food table when the third unwelcomed voice demanded his attention:  
"Good evening Ms. ..."  
Harry sight inwardly, but turned to Draco, who was eying him politely, but with a hungry gleam in his silver-blue eyes. He, like his father, had simply dressed as himself.  
Forcing a cocky grin on his lips, he said: "Oh, I will not give you my name; those are the rules of a masquerade ball after all." He could practically feel the irritation radiating from his two friends to his left and right, and quickly sent a prayer up to whichever god might there that they would remain silent.  
"But you are not a student of our school, a beauty like you would have captured my attention earlier," his second mate purred and Harry had to use all of his willpower to not glare jealously at the prat. So, as a girl Draco suddenly found him good enough, but as a boy he wasn't even worth some politeness?  
"I am not. I am a relative of your Head of House; you must be his godson Draco, he has mentioned you a few times," he replied as politely as he was able to.  
"I hope he has told you only good things," Draco joked with a smirk and leaned forwards. For a moment Harry was afraid he would kiss his hand as well, but the blonde only picked up two drinks from the table behind him and handed him one.  
"So, a relative of my godfather; then you are related to the Prince's?"  
"Yes," Harry nodded, not saying anything further. When his mate realized that he would not get more of an answer, his eyes flickered conspicuously over to Ron and Hermione and he said: "As the godson of your relative, it is my duty to warn you of the company you are currently in. A Mudblood and a Bloodtraitor are not the right type of acquaintances for one of the noble Prince family."  
"Actually, Harry has introduced them to me and I find them quite agreeable," he responded. Next to him, Ron was snorting amusedly and he could feel Hermione soundlessly giggling as well. Draco must have noticed the amusement of his friends as well, because he shot them a glare, before turning back to him.  
"Are you thinking about transferring to Hogwarts?"  
"No, I am just here for a visit," Harry told his mate, once again not giving anything away, but by the gleam he saw in his second mate's eyes, he knew that the blonde was not discouraged by his answer, just the contrary. Sighing inwardly again, he listened as Draco spoke with a seductive smirk:  
"I could show you the castle and try to persuade you otherwise."  
Harry's eyes widened in surprise at the proposal. Was his mate just that much of a playboy, or was there something else behind his sudden, strong interest in his godfather's niece? He truly hoped for the latter, but after what he had witnessed with Pansy and Daphne, it was hard to convince himself. Lifting his drink to gain sometime, he glanced over at Ron. The redhead gave him a look that spoke of all the teasing they could do afterward if he would only accompany Draco, but Hermione only gave him an accusing look.  
In the end, his wish to be close to his mate once more won out over his rational mind, which warned him that this idea was suicidal, and he placed his goblet down before holding out his hand as elegantly as possible for Draco. His mate took his hand with a much more careful grasp than he was used to and linked their arms, before leading him away. As he passed a group of Professors, he saw his father frowning with a worried expression, but the man fortunately said nothing.  
They exited the Great Hall and silence fell over them as the double doors shut out the loud music.  
"Hogwarts is the best of all wizarding schools; it is not only a rumour but an established fact. The Department of International Education examines every wizarding school each twenty years and until now, the titles have always gone to our school," Draco started, apparently truly intent on showing him the school.  
"Impressive," Harry said honestly, realizing how little he knew about his school; it was embarrassing.  
"It is," his mate said with an elegant inclination of his head and continued his speech as he led him up the marble staircase: "Our school has four Houses; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin and each House stands for a strong character trait. Slytherins are known to be cunning, Hufflepuffs are said to be loyal, Ravenclaws studious and Gryffindors brave."  
Harry had to admit that he was impressed how objectively Draco was describing their school, up until now he had prepared himself for a Hymn about Slytherin and maybe some mean words about their opposition.  
"Our Headmaster is a prejudiced, old fool who does not understand that the Dark Arts are just another kind of magic, but he is also powerful and the Professors he had chosen for the subjects are all competent enough. This year even my father is teaching."  
"He is?" Harry asked in mock curiosity as they came to a halt in front of a window that presented a nice view over the path that led up to the castle.  
"Yes, he is the DADA Professor this year," Draco said, unlocked their arms and placed a hand on the small of his back, not too low to be considered rude. A pleasant warmth spread through Harry and tingles exploded from where his mate was touching him. He could feel their soulbond humming in desperate anticipation, but Draco clearly didn't notice it or didn't understand what it meant, as he only frowned slightly.  
"Harry Potter is attending this school as well, isn't he? Do you know him?" He asked to change the topic and to find out a bit more about what his mate was truly thinking about him.  
Draco's frown deepened, but he answered nonetheless. "Potter is a Gryffindor, which means that we have been natural rivals from the first day onwards. It is always like that with Slytherins and Gryffindors, their characters are just too different."  
Harry frowned as well, but at the vague answer he had gotten and prodded a bit further: "But you must know him at least a little."  
Draco seemed to suppress a sneer but said: "Potter is... probably not like you imagine him to be. He is small and weak looking, not like what an attractive man should look like, I think you would be disappointed."  
A pang of hurt went through Harry's heart and he quickly turned his head to look out of the window and to hide his sad expression. Was that the problem, that he was not attractive enough? Was Draco disappointed that he was stuck with such a small and fragile looking boy as his mate? Was he ashamed of him? Lucius always told him how beautiful he was, but father and son did not necessarily have to have the same taste and maybe it was only Lucius' feelings which made the man overlook his disappointing physique.  
"You are not offended that I insulted Potter just now, are you?" Draco's voice suddenly asked and he quickly cleared his throat.  
"No," he said, but his voice was scratchy as he looked up into ice blue orbs. Those orbs seemed to pierce right through his soul and for a moment he was afraid that Draco would recognize him, but is made only said "good," in an equally husky voice and took a step closer.  
Harry's heart began to race as he suddenly grew aware of the heat radiating from his second mate. Draco was so beautiful and so strong and he could be so nice, just like Lucius and Oh, by Merlin, he wanted his mate so much, wanted to put all their differences to the side and fulfil their bond.  
"Good," Draco said again, this time his voice was only a low, seductive whisper and in the next moment, Harry felt warm lips descend on his. He gasped in surprise as those lips massaged his own softly, tenderly. Draco's tongue slid into his mouth, stroking and examining every corner of him.  
A growl left his mouth and his mate echoed the sound, stepping even closer until he was pushed against the cold window behind him, their bodies pressed tightly together.  
Harry lost himself in the sensation, only aware of those fangs scratching over his bottom lip and two strong hands grabbing his hips possessively. He whimpered helplessly, longing filling every cell of his being and his eyelids fluttered open again. Across from him, Draco had closed his eyes as well, but as if the blonde had noticed his gaze, those too fluttered open slowly. A dazed look was glazed over those icy orbs, making them look so much softer, but then, suddenly, the moment was gone.  
Draco stumbled away from him, his eyes growing wide and horrified. As if in a daze, Harry lifted a hand to prevent him from fleeing any further, but Draco only shook his head, whispering "I can't," and bolted.  
Confused, hurt and angry with himself, Harry watched the white-blond tips of his mate's hair disappear into the shadows of the hallway. Had Draco recognized him after all?  
It had to be that, because why else would he have left a girl he was clearly interested in? And that led him to the reason why he was angry with himself. Now, he not only had a second mate who found him unattractive and repellent, but said mate had now also found a girl he liked. A girl, that didn't even exist.  
Hermione had been right, he should have said no; then he would not have made everything even worse.  
Without his permission, his feet started moving, but instead of carrying him back to his friends, they carried him down to the quarters of his dad. The realization of what he had just done grew stronger and stronger with every step, and by the time he had entered the rooms of his father, his heart felt like a hurting chunk of ice.  
Warm light greeted him and his eyes landed instantly on the one person he wished to see right now. His dad was looking at him with the same worried expression he had given him before he had left the Great Hall with Draco, and without thinking twice, he ran over, flung himself into his father's arms and started crying.


	32. Chapter 32: Winds Of Change

**Chapter 32: Winds of Change**

 **DM**

Draco sneered at his reflection. The last thirty hours had been horrible and he was looking the part. After he had returned from Potter's late relatives' horrible house, he had tried to find his father, but had failed. Annoyed and restless he had returned to his rooms and planned on reading for a while before going to bed. However, he had not been able to concentrate or even sit down for more than a minute at a time. Potter had not left his mind and the need to search the boy out had grown with every passing second, until it had become unbearable. Of course, the outcome had been of no surprise to him, after all, he had still been under the influence of his father's curse.  
In the end he had grit his teeth together and given into his frantic mind and had gone to search for his fiancé, but only after he had promised himself that this would be the first and last time that he did something as undignified as running after that scarhead like a lovesick puppy.  
But Potter had not been in his room, neither in his living room, nor in the bedroom he had once shared with his father and was currently sharing with his godfather. He had shoved the question of how Potter had managed to wrap those two intelligent and stern men around his pinkie determinedly to the side, and had instead continued with his search.  
His next thought had been the Gryffindor Tower and as the current Head Boy he was allowed to go inside, but he wanted to spare himself the embarrassment of asking for Potter in the lion's den for as long as possible, especially considering that Weasel and Beaver knew about his weekend with their little hero-friend.  
Ultimately Draco had decided to check his godfather's place and had gone back down into the dungeons. The quarters had already been dark when he had arrived and for a moment he had pondered simply leaving again, but his godfather was not known for his early retreat at night and as soon as he had taken a step inside his skin had started to tingle, telling him that his suspicions had been right.  
He couldn't say if it had been his instincts or something else that had drawn him to the private bedroom of Severus, but before he had realized where his feet were carrying him he had pushed the bedroom door open carefully and frozen at the sight that had presented to him.  
His godfather had sat in his bed, propped up against a pillow and with an equally sparsely dressed Harry Potter in his lap.  
Fury had consumed him as he had realized what Potter had been doing, and for a split second his vision had turned red. Potter was drinking from his godfather, from another male, even though the traitorous boy had always proclaimed that they were mates. His heart had clenched in anger, pain, jealousy and fury at the sight, mates were not supposed to drink from anybody besides each other, taking blood from another man was equal to betrayal. But Potter had been doing just that and he did not even have the decency to only drink from the man's wrist, no, he had nuzzled Severus' neck, sat cuddled into the Potion Master's tender embrace and even allowed the man to comb through his thick, silky looking locks, through the locks Draco himself had yearned to touch since he had first laid eyes on the small raven. A tender, loving expression had swirled in those usually cold, black orbs and a low growl had risen in Draco's throat. Then his godfather had looked up, but far from being disturbed, the man had only challengingly lifted an eyebrow, a mocking expression on those harsh features.  
Too afraid to confront his godfather and too angry with the world, he had turned on the spot and fled, determined to finally confront his father. And he had found him. Lucius had returned to his office from wherever he had been an hour earlier, but at his angry accusation, his father had only laughed and told him to finally shape up and accept his destiny.  
Of course, he had not believed that Lucius had not used a curse on him, he knew his father far well to believe everything that the man said, and therefore he had snuck into the forbidden section of the library and buried himself in books about mind-altering magic. He had set there and read the whole night and the whole next morning until Blaise and Pansy had found him and forced him to join them for breakfast. He had only given in grudgingly, and the only reason why he had done so at all was because of the still infuriating strong need to see Potter again, but Potter had not been at breakfast and he also had not visited Hogsmeade as far as he had been able to tell.  
By the time he had met with his father to go to the Halloween Masquerade Ball, he had been a nervous wreck. He had tried to read some more books, but the curse had forced him to search for Potter more often and often the longer he had not seen him, and at 7 PM panic had ruled his mind. His father had only watched him with his usually cold, emotionless facade and had said nothing as they had silently changed into some old robes from some very late relatives.  
His nerves had then calmed down a little, because he had known that Potter would be at the ball and he would finally see him again, and that in return would give him the strength to search for a cure to his curse after the feast. But the Weasel and the Beaver had arrived alone and his father had instantly left to join Severus, giving him no time to ask after the small raven, and to top off his miserable evening, Pansy and Greengrass had appeared and attached themselves to his side before he had been able to sneak off and search for his irritating fiancé.  
It had been one of the hardest tasks he had been presented with in his life to try and pretend that everything was fine and that he was enjoying the evening and the company of the two girls, but after three days of watching Potter, all he had been able to think was how much more beautiful Potter's green eyes were, how much more alluring his hips danced when he walked, how much more naturally graceful the small teen was and how much sweeter his smile had been. As often as he had been able to do so inconspicuously, he had looked out for the boy, in the hopes that he might only be late, but Potter had apparently decided to skip the ball.  
It had been when he had been up and about to just leave the ball as well and search for Potter again, that he had noticed that his godfather had for once not come alone, but with company. His dead heart had nearly stopped at the sight of the beautiful, delicate girl on the man's arm; he had never seen a creature as beautiful as that girl. Her black curls bounced and reflected the light from the pumpkin-lanterns, her skin was descendent of a noble paleness, her lips had been plump and kissable looking, her chest flat just like he preferred it and her waist... oh her waist had been so slim and delicate. But that was not all that drew him to the girl:  
Her skirt had been short, but only short enough to show off her long, perfect legs without being improper, every movement of her had spoken of a good, Pureblood education and her eyes had been sparkling with intelligence behind the phoenix-feathers mask she had been wearing.  
He had of course not been the only person who had noticed the girl, many boys had been craning their necks, but the girl had not seemed to notice a single one of them.  
Without thinking for a second, he had excused himself from Daphne and Pansy, saying that he needed to introduce himself to his godfather's guest. The girls, who had by now noticed the black haired beauty as well, had been more than reluctant to let him go, seeing (with good reason) a new threat in the girl, and when he finally had been able to shake them off, he had noticed, to his horror, that the girl had disappeared from his godfather's side. His horror had only grown as he had seen her address the Weasel and the Beaver, but determined to warn the beautiful Pureblood witch (there was no way that she could be anything else) of the two Gryffindors, he had made his way over, only to be beaten by the Weaslette, who was once again whining over Potter, or rather the attention Potter was not giving her.  
He had waited patiently and listened to the argument that had unfolded in front of him, until the female redhead had finally left and he had struck before anybody else could delay his introduction to the girl any further.  
The girl's voice had been like liquid gold, soft and gentle and he had nearly lost himself in the angelic sound, but in contrast to the softness that had spoken through her voice, her eyes had revealed a strong, unwavering spirit, so had her crooked, cocky smirk and her quick witted replies. He had not needed five minutes to realize that this was the type of woman he had always dreamed about marrying later, at least, since he had rid himself of that deluded crush he had harboured in his first school year. He had forgotten about Potter all together then; the girl had a soothing affect on him, as if he had just returned to the place he was meant to be and their conversation had grown naturally and easily.  
He had been slightly disappointed to hear that the girl was not planning on transferring to Hogwarts, but even more delighted that his godfather had mentioned him to his young relative; besides, he could always contact the girl's parents for an official courtship during the holidays and maybe even pay her a visit.  
Without even thinking about it, he had offered to take her on a tour through Hogwarts and to his delight she had agreed after only a short moment of hesitation.  
He had led the girl out of the Great Hall, followed by many envious looks, but he had barely noticed them. As promised, he had told the girl a few important things, truly in the hopes that she might change her mind and transfer after all, and as he had not yet had been able to predict in which House she would be sorted into, he had done his best to present her with a neutral picture of all four Houses. Of course, he believed that she would join his house, the girl was a Prince after all and all Prince's had gone into Slytherin, just like all Malfoy's had done and all Black's up to that disappointment by the name of Sirius.  
His godfather's relative had listened intently, her presence a comfort and warmth at his side, at least until she had suddenly mentioned Potter. He had not wanted to talk about the boy, everybody always wanted to talk about the famous Boy-Who-Lived, but she had been persistent until he had given in. His words had not been completely honest, he had come to know many sides of the little raven, but he had wanted to make sure that the girl would not develop an even deeper interest in the Gryffindor; he had already lost so much to Potter, he would not give him this beauty.  
But for a moment he had been afraid that he had gone too far as the girl had turned her head away, staring motionlessly out of the window of the first floor, and despite all of his pride he had asked her, in an teasing uncaring voice, but with a racing heart. And no, she wasn't offended and she had looked him in his eyes and he had finally lost himself in her enchanting presence. Without thinking about propriety and about the fact that he was engaged, he had leaned forwards and pressed his lips to the girl's soft lips. The most intoxicating sweetness had exploded onto his tongue as the girl had gasped, and his tongue had slipped inside her hot cavern, his whole body had started to tingle as if magic was wildly coursing through every vein, and without his permission his eyes had closed.  
For a beautiful long moment, all he had been able to feel was the girl in his arms, her slim hips under his hands, her warm lips on his and her velvet tongue dancing with his own.  
He didn't know what had made him open his eyes again, but as he had done so and once more looked into those big, emerald orbs, her face had suddenly transformed into more boyish features, the curls replaced by thick, messy black locks and her slightly confused expression changed into a smile that could raise the sun on a cold winter day.  
A pain as if someone had pierced his heart had gone through his chest, as if punishing him for his doing, his soul had cried out in agony and he had finally realized that his father and Potter had been right all along. Potter was his mate; there was no curse, only his fear to accept the boy he had yearned for over four years now, and he had realized what he had just done as well. He had betrayed his soulmate, the one person who would be able to love him unconditionally, who could bring warmth to his cold, dead body and who could make him happy.  
Horrified by his mistake, he had pushed the girl away from him, with only one thought left in his mind: to find Potter and to apologize for his mistake and his betrayal. But once again he had not found the boy. He had gone back into the Great Hall and even checked the Gryffindor tower, but the boy had been nowhere to be found. He had not dared to ask his father, too ashamed, and he certainly had not dared to once again enter his godfather's quarters, even though the chance was high that his fiancé would be there.  
And now he was sitting in his room, even though classes had started already and was staring at his shrunken diary, the book where he had written down all of his pains and secret feelings. Slowly the daze he had been in since he had returned to his quarters yesterday left him and was replaced by an unbearable need to find his fiancé and... and... he didn't know the answer himself. He needed to apologize, but he had never done so in his life before, and he needed to explain his stupidity, but to do all this he needed to find the boy first, he never would have imagined that Harry Potter would be so good at hiding.  
His grandfather clock chimed and his eyes flew wide open. It was Thursday; he would have Potions now with the Gryffindors, and Harry would be there.  
With a plan in mind, he stood up, grabbed his school bag and left his quarters without a second glance back.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry followed his friends out of their Charms classroom. Even though he had drunk from his father yesterday and also had a full night's rest, he still felt tired and exhausted, but it was more a mental exhaustion than anything else.  
His encounter with Draco and the sudden interrupted kiss had let him falling from the heavens down to the earth again harshly, leaving him feeling shattered and broken. He had thought about it through Charms and had come to the conclusion that Draco must have recognized him after all; that was the only logical explanation. He should not have accompanied his mate, by doing so he had tricked him and lost every chance of getting onto good terms with his second mate, he had really screwed everything. The worst thing was that he yet had to confess his stupidity to Lucius.  
The thought of his first mate brought another pang of guilt to his heart. Lucius had once again been so understanding. His mate had immediately noticed that he had wanted to spend the evening with his two friends and given him space. Lucius had also tried everything that was within his power to help him and his son get closer, and the aristocrat had also accepted it as he had withdrawn after Draco's resurrection. And how was he paying him back?  
Sighing, Harry looked up as darkness descended around him, only now noticing that they had just entered the dungeons. He had even forgotten that he would have classes with his father next; Potions, one of the many classes he shared with Draco this year, but he doubted that the blonde would be there as he had been missing in Charms as well.  
"Cheer up Harry; you always have fights with the git. Just be glad that you have managed to hoodwink him like that," Ron told him with an encouraging pat on the back, just as they stepped into the gloomy hallway of the dungeons.  
"Yeah, you are right," he answered, looking left and right to find a place to hide in for a minute; he needed to get away and sort his mind out and even more importantly; he needed to get far away from the conversation his friends had tried to force onto him for the entire day now.  
His eyes fell onto the boy's lavatory and he quickly excused himself.  
"Hey guys, would you take my bag? I have to go to the loo," he said and pushed his bag into Ron's hands without waiting for an answer, already halfway through the bathroom door.  
Blissful silence stretched around him as the door had closed, and for a moment he slumped against the wooden surface, sighing in defeat. His life had become such a mess since Draco's resurrection, everything had gone wrong, even though everything should have slowly become better. They should have completed their bond and they were supposed to meet every evening secretly in his private quarters to make passionate love with each other and whisper sweet nothingness into each others' ears. Well, maybe not the last thing, his mates were Malfoy's after all, but a boy was allowed to dream wasn't he?  
With another sigh he pushed himself away from the door and dragged his feet over to one of the sinks. Turning the water on, he splashed some cold liquid onto his face, but as he always felt cold these days, it did not help to wake him up. With a frown he rose again, turned to the towel, only to freeze in sudden fright as he was harshly slammed into the tiled wall. Heavy breathing was all he was able to hear for a moment, until a pair of lips descended onto his neck, ghosting over his flesh lightly. Harry tried to struggle and somehow kick his attacker off, but the person was much taller and stronger than him and he was easily pushed even more harshly into the wall, but all his struggles came to an abrupt halt as the person finally croaked out, his voice pained, desperate and clearly lust-driven:  
"Harry..."  
Harry froze as he recognized the voice of his second mate, so desperate and husky. Before he could reply anything, he was harshly turned around and hot lips claimed his own. The kiss was harsh and violent and nothing like he had imagined the moment Draco would finally acknowledge him, but he submitted instinctively, a submissive mewl leaving his throat.  
Only when strong hands gripped him by his hips, lifted him up and Draco's muscled body forced itself in between his thighs, did he start to struggle again. He knew as a submissive he had no right to deny his dominant the wish to claim him, but this was not how it was meant to be, he did not want to mate in the dirty, cold dungeon lavatory.  
He tried to squirm free, but Draco bit harshly down on his bottom lip and growled warningly. One of his mate's slender hands slid beneath his shirt, while the other pulled on the laces of his corset, opening it far enough that the boy could reach his sensitive nipples, but in contrast to the feelings Lucius had been able to evoke inside of him, Harry felt nothing besides panic. He struggled again as a nail pinched his still soft nub, but Draco only stepped closer, making it even harder for him to move as his mate's tongue forced it's way inside his mouth. Tears started to fall from Harry's eyes as Draco's now free hand descended once again onto his hips and made its way inwards, until it lay above his most private area and started to rub him through the material of his shorts.  
He struggled one last time, making loud, panicked sounds in his throat, but his second mate was just too strong. He felt Draco fumble with the button of his pants and closed his eyes to brace himself against what was coming next, when suddenly Draco was yanked off of him and he fell harshly, but unharmed to the floor. Lucius stood there, his silver-blue eyes furious, the claws of his right hand digging into the neck of his struggling son. Harry's eyes widened in disbelief as Lucius pushed his son to the lavatory door, kicking it open and growled:  
"Go to our rooms. Now!"  
Draco started to growl as well, but a second push from his father made him move and a second later his second mate had disappeared.  
As Lucius turned back to him, his face had changed from furious to worried and with two long strides he was by his side and picking him up.  
"Harry, love, are you alright?" Lucius asked, calling him love for the first time since the night they both had confessed their feelings; but Harry could not answer, his body refused to respond to his brain and answer, and all he could do was stare back into worried eyes.  
He flinched as fingers brushed against his arms, but relaxed slightly as he realized that it was only Lucius who was trying to find out if he was injured.  
"I..." he stammered, his voice barely more than a whisper "... am fine."  
His reassuring statement was ruined by his sniffling and the tears still streaming down his face, Draco had truly frightened him.  
"I... I thought he would make me... make me mate here," he croaked out, suddenly needing to word his fears.  
"Hush, I know, but I was in time, and I will talk to him. Everything will be fine now, Draco has finally accepted his connection to you," Lucius said soothingly, before slowly picking him up. Harry instantly snuggled into the protective embrace and inhaled the comforting scent of his strong dominant.  
He was carried out of the lavatory and up the stairs to the Entrance Hall. He didn't protest as Lucius started to swiftly walk into the direction of his private quarters, glad to be far away from the dungeons and his second mate. His mind was still too shocked to truly catch up on what had nearly happened to him, to what Draco had nearly done and he simply slumped like a dead weight against Lucius' chest until they had entered his living room. Lucius laid him carefully on his sofa, stroked once through his mop of hair and said:  
"I will send your father up."  
Harry only nodded; his body and mind still feeling numb, and watched as his first mate left with a last, worried look at him.

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 **DM**

Draco slammed the door of his father's office close behind him, still seething. How dare his father pull him from their mate? He had the same right to claim and mate with the little raven as his father, and he would not be denied that right, he would fight for it if it was necessary, Harry Potter was his as well. His mind was still swirling from the sweet, intoxicating scent of his little raven, his mouth still salivating from his delicious taste and his hands itching to touch the soft, smooth and warm skin again, he would not renounce those feelings; they had made him feel alive for the first time since his resurrection.  
The office door opened with a slam and he spun around, snarling in anger and bearing his fangs. His father stood there, looking calm as ever, but before he could strike, the man simply said: "Follow me Draco, I will tell you some things about our mate."  
"You only want to deny me our mate!" He snarled, not caring that spit was flying from his fangs.  
"No, I will take you somewhere where we can talk and you will listen and learn, but I warn you son, it is not my intention, but if you do not listen to what I have to tell you, I will not let you near our mate again," his father growled, suddenly standing directly in front of him, radiating with power he did not yet possess.  
Sneering again, but realizing that he had to obey for now, he inclined his head and with a nod his father turned around, walked to his fireplace and said "Privet Drive Number 4," before stepping into the hearth and disappearing. He sneered at the destination but followed regardless, he would not let his father win so easily only because he had spent a few months more with their mate.  
As he stepped out of the fire at the other end, the first thing he noticed was that his fiancé's relatives were frozen with the same spell he had already used on them. His father cleared his throat and opened a rather huge vial before handing it to him.  
"Drink, I want you sane and in full control over your emotions and instincts when we talk."  
Sniffing on the vial, Draco recognized that it was a strong calming draught, which would have knocked him out or even killed him a few months ago with this dosage, but he had always been a good potions student and knew that it would not harm him anymore. Drowning the liquid, he took a deep, calming breath of air as he felt his muscles relax and his mind becoming clearer, and as he now looked over to his father again, he saw no jealousy, but only a deep worry in those guarded silver-blue eyes that were so familiar to him.  
A picture suddenly jumped to the forefront of his mind and he winced as he realised that he nearly had nearly forced Harry to mate with him in a dirty lavatory; it had definitely been good that his father had stopped him; his fiancé truly did not deserve such a shameful place for their mating.  
"Thank you father," he said, without wording what exactly he was thanking the man for, but his father gave him a curt nod, signalling that he had understood.  
"Let us begin Draco, and when we are finished I hope that you will understand why I have been so very protective about our mate. I cannot tell you everything as I do not know everything myself either, but I hope it will be enough for you to find a proper way of approaching Harry when we are back."  
Giving a nod, Draco followed his father into the hallway and watched as Lucius raised his wand and cast a nonverbal spell. Their surrounding flickered for a few seconds, and as it stopped, Draco stood not in the renovated version of Privet Drive, but in the old one he had come to know after his arrival on Friday.  
"What are you doing, father?" he asked, but his father only ordered him:  
"Look around and tell me what you notice."  
"It's a muggle house. It is small and dirty, what else should I notice?" He questioned, but when Lucius gave him no answer, he started looking around with a huff.  
A small chest of drawers stood against the wall between the kitchen door and living room, but he couldn't imagine that his father had meant for him to notice the ugly plastic-flowers that stood on top of it, neither could it be the photos which showed Harry's fat whale of an uncle, his equally repellent cousin and that horse-like excuse for a woman. He glanced over those photos only swiftly before turning to the coat rack. Two large jackets hung there and a woman's cloak that muggles probably would call expensive and elegant, but was only plain and without style in his eyes. The six pairs of shoes beneath it were clean and stood in two neat lines, nothing noteworthy either.  
Turning to the living room, he left his father behind and walked back into the room they had come from. The sofas had changed back into the stiff looking couch that looked as comfortable as a plastic seat and in one corner stood the black box his fiancé had called 'television'. He also found a few more pictures, mostly of a fat, blonde child during every phase of its ugly development.  
Striding through the room, he reached the back door and looked into the garden, where three chairs stood and that was the moment it hit him. Three chairs, three jackets, six pairs of shoes, each too big for his mate and photos that only ever showed the same three people, but his mate had lived here as well, hadn't he?  
Going back to the pictures, he scanned them again, with much more attentiveness this time, but Harry was not in a single one of them. He went into the hallway again and threw his father a questioning look, who seemed pleased with his expression, but reacted in no other way and merely continued to watch him. Looking to his left and right, he decided to examine the kitchen first before going upstairs.  
Truth to be told, he was not sure what he was searching for in a muggle kitchen, but he still began to open one cupboard after the other, most were filled with spices and plates, but one shelf drew his attention as his eyes landed on a cup with the name 'Petunia' on it. Petunia had been the name of Harry's aunt, he remembered that much, therefore he started to look through the other cups as well. He found two more cups, with the names 'Vernon' and 'Dudley' on them and even one with the name 'Marge', but none with the name Harry. Frowning, he closed the cupboard door again and returned once again into the hallway, where his father inclined his head and led him upstairs, only to come to a halt in the middle of the second floor.  
His eyes wandered to a door with at least seven locks on it and he remembered the Weasley twins making a comment; what did they say again?  
 _"The beautiful room with the countless locks in front of it?"_  
They had sounded rather sarcastic, but back then he had paid it no mind, now he turned to said door, opened it with a flick of his wand and stepped inside.  
At first sight he thought the room was empty, but then he caught sight of a single, Gryffindor scarf and his eyes widened.  
"After the Potter's died, Harry was brought to this house, due to the blood ward that could be cast here. Harry's aunt was his mother's sister, but I know from Severus that the woman never held much love for our kind, neither did her husband," his father started to tell him in a low, silent voice before he could process into what room he had just stepped in. He watched as Lucius flicked his wand once and a moment later a photo album came floating through the door. His father grabbed it and opened it on a page, before showing it to him. It took Draco a moment to see the small, black haired child of maybe three years of age, crouching in front of a flower bed, while his fat cousin was playing in something that looked like a miniature pool. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to find out what his young mate had been playing with, only to realize that he was not playing, but pulling weeds.  
"Harry is very good at cooking, he knows how to do laundry and how to care for a garden," his father continued meaningfully, while Draco still stared at the small picture, feeling horror rise inside of him. He had always believed that the 'Golden Boy' had been brought up like a king, even better than he himself, with a whole army of House Elves to do his every bidding, but this picture spoke volumes about a very different childhood.  
"Harry has never told me anything," his father continued then, and he finally forced his eyes away from the photo, "but when I first arrived here he had nightmares..."  
"What kind of nightmares? About the Dark Lord?" Draco asked around the lump in his throat, not knowing if he truly wanted to know, but realizing that it was crucial for the future with his mate.  
"Severus told me that Albus Dumbledore had confessed that Harry's family life had been so abusive, that he had not been able to watch it anymore. Harry has been beaten, starved and worked like a House Elf, and in the end Dumbledore has done the only wise thing, and preformed a ritual that allowed him to invite Harry to Hogwarts three years earlier by making every witch and every wizard in our world believe that the Boy-Who-Lived was already turning 11 instead of only 8."  
With a loud thud the photo album landed on the ground as Draco's suddenly shaking fingers lost their hold on it.  
"Three years earlier?" He breathed nearly inaudibly, but his father only nodded.  
Three years earlier, that meant that his mate had gone to Hogwarts at the age of eight, which would make him only twelve now.  
Suddenly he remembered his mate's panicked whimpers as he had pushed him against the toilet wall and started to explore his mate's body, he remembered the hot, salty tears which he had so thoughtlessly ignored and the way his father had ripped him so furiously away from their little submissive.  
Suddenly feeling nauseous, he closed his eyes, but only more pictures and memories sprung up in front of his inner eye. Now it finally made sense why his father had always treated their mate so carefully, now it made sense why Harry was still so very small and looked so incredibly child-like, or why the boy's green orbs always shone with such innocence.  
Harry was only twelve years old, he had been beaten and starved and he... and he... he could not even voice the words inside his own mind, he felt so ashamed. How was it possible that a twelve year old boy had behaved so much more mature than him these last few months? How was it possible that his mate could even stand the sight of him?  
And by Merlin, he had not only nearly raped a child he was meant to protect with his immortal life, but also had betrayed him. Shame overwhelmed him and he pressed his eyes tightly together, wishing to deny his stupidity, but unable to.  
Finally he drew in a shaky breath, opened his eyes again and asked the one question that had been circling in his mind for a few minutes now:  
"Do you think he will ever forgive me?"  
His father gave him a long cold look, but then his eyes softened like they only did when they were in private, and he answered: "If anybody will find it in their heart to forgive you, then it is our mate, he has forgiven much greater mistakes in the last few months."  
Sinking down on the old, dirty cot next to him, Draco asked: "Did you know about... all this when you mated with him?"  
He truly wasn't sure what kind of answer he had hoped he would get; on one hand, it would be horrible to think that his father had not even known about his mate's true age and on the other hand, it would be even worse to imagine that his father had known but not taken it into consideration, and there was no doubt that the two were mated already, their mating marks were the physical proof.  
"As I already told you, a curse from our former Lord turned me into a vampire and as I was bound to Harry at that point, he was turned as well and it was sheer fortune that we turned out to be soulmates. The curse took every conscious decision from my mind, but no, neither I nor Harry at the time knew how young he truly was, it was only a few weeks later that we learned about it."  
"And since then did you two..." Draco broke off, not knowing if he even had the right to ask such things after all he had done, but his father answered him again:  
"No, you will notice that the mating stays more like a blur of sensations in your mind, therefore Harry did not feel as if he has had sex yet. At first he did not yet feel ready, and after he had brought you back he refused to so much as kiss until you were able to join the bond."  
Draco blinked in confusion, he truly had thought that Harry and his father were doing it on a daily basis, but then again, he had not known about his mate's true age until now.  
"Why?"  
"Because," his father said smoothly, sounding as if he was contemplating how to word his thoughts correctly, "Harry did not want to hurt you by excluding you. He said he could see the confusion and pain in your eyes and that he could not kiss me with a clear conscience as long as you were unhappy."  
Draco felt himself pale, his mother and father had always been caring, loving people in private, but never before had anybody besides one of them considered his feelings so carefully, and that even though he had done nothing else but stomped all over Harry's again and again. His heart clenched painfully and needing to change the topic for the time being, he turned to his father again:  
"Why did he even bring me back? Did he know that... I am his soulmate as well."  
This time his father needed much longer to answer his question. The man sat down next to him, leaned his snake cane against the cot and was silent for a long moment, until he started carefully telling him:  
"I do not believe that he realized what you were to him, but he must have felt 'something'. He seemed distracted the days before, and did not tell me what we were doing in the Department of Mysteries. I believe he was afraid of disappointing me.  
When I first recognized you I thought he had brought you back because he had seen me staring at your picture a few hours earlier, but I realized the truth quite quickly. I think only Severus had an inclination as to why Harry wanted to resurrect you, as Harry had talked to him about it beforehand."  
At the mentioning of his godfather's name Draco remembered the position he had found his mate in two nights ago and frowned.  
"What is the relationship between Harry and Severus? Why are you so unconcerned about it?"  
His father actually smirked at his question, but only said, "You will have to ask Harry himself, it is not my story to tell, but I can promise you it is nothing like you are imagining right now."  
Draco scowled, not particularly satisfied with his father's cryptic answer, but he was pulled from his thoughts when the man rose up and asked:  
"Do you know what you will do when we get back?"  
"Not exactly, but I know what I will not do it again," he replied, standing up as well. His father gave him a nod, apparently satisfied with the answer, and he followed him out of the small bedroom. As they walked back into the living room, Lucius cast the spell to return the house to its renovated state again, before tossing some floo powder into the hearth and disappearing. Draco followed him quickly and a second later, found himself back in his father's office at Hogwarts.  
"I will go to my rooms for now and think about a proper way to apologize to him," he said, feeling more awkward than he had ever been before in his life.  
"You do that, Draco. I will be in Harry's quarters," his father replied, and together they left the office, his father turning into the direction of Gryffindor Tower, while he turned to the dungeons.  
His legs felt heavy as he slowly made his way down, as did his heart, he wasn't sure if he could believe that Harry would forgive him; he would never be able to forgive himself for what he had so stupidly already done to his mate, and that was without considering what he had nearly done as well.  
Rapist, he had nearly become a rapist. True, as the dominant he had the right to take Harry whenever and wherever he wished to do so, but as a soulmate, he believed he should be more considerate, and that was what he would be from now on.  
He was glad that his house mates were still in their classes as he walked down the gloomy corridor to his private quarters without being disturbed, and once inside his rooms he walked over to his bed and slumped down on it heavily. He had no idea how he could explain himself to Harry, there was so much the boy did not know, could not know, but which still needed to be told if he even wanted to have a chance at forgiveness. He would never have the courage to tell his mate about all those little secrets he had locked away in his heart a long time ago, so what could he do? How could he make his mate understand and earn his forgiveness?  
As if on their own accord, his eyes wandered over to his nightstand where his diary lay hidden. He had gotten it on his birthday before he had gone to Hogwarts; all his secrets were written down in there and most of them were connected to his submissive.  
He would be laying his heart open and making himself vulnerable, but Harry deserved to know the truth. Without hesitating another second, he pulled the drawer open, pulled his diary out and turned it back to its original size before wrapping it magically. He would give his diary away as a symbol for his heart.

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 **HP**

"Harry?"  
Harry's eyes snapped open; he must have fallen asleep in his father's comforting embrace, exhausted from the near rape experience.  
"Harry?" Draco's voice repeated softly, but in his panic he didn't hear the apologetic sound in his second mate's voice, instead he stiffened and tried to lay as still as possible in the hopes that Draco would just disappear again.  
"Harry, I believe Draco has come to apologize to you," his father's deep voice whispered softly in his ear and a warm hand prompted him to sit up.  
Hesitatingly and suddenly shaking, he followed the unspoken command and sat up, with eyes downcast, too afraid of seeing more of the crazed lust in Draco's eyes that had made the blonde nearly rape him. As if feeling his fear, two hands came up and lifted him into his father's lap, where he instantly snuggled deeper into the folds of the man's robes as if they would be able to protect him.  
"Harry, I am here as well, nothing will happen," Lucius' deep voice suddenly said to his right and his eyes widened. He had not noticed his first mate returning, not as exhausted as he had been, but as he looked around, he saw the older aristocrat sitting on the armchair opposite of him, with a book lying open in his lap. The presence of both his first mate and his father reassured him immensely, and as Draco called out silently for him again, this time with a clear, pleading undertone in his voice, he finally found the strength to look up.  
The first thing he noticed was that Draco looked miserable. The blonde had only taken a few steps inside the living room, as if afraid to come near Harry himself. He stood stiffly, but his shoulders were slumped and his head hung down. But as if he had felt Harry's gaze turning to him, the young aristocrat straightened his shoulders and looked up.  
Harry did not know how he was supposed to react to the pained, desperate expression on his younger mate's face. Regret had dulled his beautiful, blue orbs and he looked so defeated that it made Harry's heart clench. But he still was hurt and frightened as well, and could not simply forgive his mate anymore, too much had happened today. He flinched as Draco took a hesitant step in his direction, but to his relief his mate stopped immediately.  
"I... have a gift for you," Draco started and lifted up a wrapped package that he had held in his right hand, and which Harry had not noticed before.  
"I am truly sorry, I should have listened to you and father from the beginning... but... but..."  
Harry watched as Draco closed his eyes for a moment and drew in a shaky breath. He wished that he could somehow help his younger mate, but he couldn't, and maybe wouldn't be able for a long time.  
"I do not expect you to forgive me now or any time soon Harry, but I hope this will help you understand me, and maybe you will grant me a second chance after you have read it," Draco continued, holding the book out for him, but not coming closer this time.  
Harry's eyes quickly flickered over to Lucius, but his first mate's blank face told him nothing; the man probably didn't know himself what Draco wanted to give him.  
He lowered his eyes to the blanket that was covering his legs, unable to make a decision; he felt so overwhelmed by everything, furthermore, taking the present would mean that Draco would come closer, something he wasn't sure he could handle quite yet.  
"Harry, Draco is only asking that you accept his present, he is not expecting your forgiveness right away," his father said softly when he had been staring at the crazy quilt for too long.  
"I know," he mumbled, still not able to stretch his arm out and let Draco come closer, but as if Lucius had once more read his mind, his older mate said:  
"He will not touch you. Am I right, Draco?"  
"No, I... will even stay away from you until you are ready to see me again, but please, accept my gift."  
When he still hesitated, his father started to comb reassuringly through his hair and spoke up again. "Is this not what you always wanted? That Draco make an effort?"  
Nodding his head, he finally stretched a hand out; his father was right. Had he not said that he would always accept Draco if the blonde would only make an effort? True, the boy had lost most of his trust today, but he had also known that their bond would not easily be established. Draco and he had a complicated past and many cruel words had been spoken over the years, he himself had not been any better than the blonde in that aspect, and going from enemies to soulmates was quite a step; instincts could not help with everything, he had realized that a long time ago, furthermore, what Draco was asking for was not too much or too brazen, his mate only wanted to give him a gift, and hadn't he apologized?  
Draco's eyes quickly flickered up to meet his, before they settled on the floor again and the blonde started to slowly walk in his direction. Harry tried his best to not flinch again, but it was difficult. His hand shook as he took the gift; it was wrapped in plain, brown wrapping paper and looked nothing like a present from a Malfoy typically looked.  
"Thank you," he whispered and placed the present onto his lap. He had no idea what could possibly be inside and was right now not capable of thinking about it, therefore he threw a questioning glance at his father, who gave him a curt nod, before he started carefully unwrapping it. As the brown paper fell to the side, his eyes fell onto a worn and old looking book. It was bound in green leather and the name _**Draco**_ was imprinted on the front with silver letters. As he stared at the book, not immediately realizing what it was, it slowly grew to the size of an atlas. Only when he opened the cover and his eyes fell on the words " _ **Dear Diary**_ ," written in an elegant, but still fairly large and in fluid script, did he realize what Draco had given him. His eyes widened in surprise and his head snapped around to Lucius, who for once looked as surprised as he himself.  
Draco had given him his diary, the book where the blonde had most likely written down his deepest secrets and his most personal thoughts. A lump had suddenly formed in his throat and he gulped audibly as he realized how truly sorry his second mate was currently feeling. A Malfoy never made themselves vulnerable, a Malfoy would not even let emotions show on their face, but here he was, with Draco's diary in his hands.  
Could he really read the diary of another person, wouldn't it be an intrusion?  
He shook his head in a silent answer to himself. Draco had intruded into his privacy as well today and the boy had given him his diary freely; it would be an intrusion, but of permission.  
But where would he start? Their main problem had begun about six weeks ago. He flipped the pages to the very back, but Draco's voice interrupted him:  
"You should start at the very beginning," his mate said quietly and Harry's eyes widened again. What had he missed about his second soulmate that could possibly reach so far into their past?  
Looking up, he saw that Draco had turned around and was already halfway through the door. It was a lonely and sad picture his mate made as he was leaving all by himself and it stirred something inside of him. No one who felt sad and miserable should be left alone; he had always thought that. Loneliness was the worst of all feelings; he knew that from his many hours locked away in his cupboard. He might not be able to forgive Draco right now, or comfort him, but he at least could offer his mate company.  
"You... can stay here... if you want."  
Draco spun around, his eyes as big as Harry's had been a moment earlier.  
"I... can stay here?" His mate questioned carefully, as if not quite sure if he could believe his ears.  
Harry gave a very small and very weak smile and nodded. "Yes." He glanced over at Lucius, hoping that Draco would get the hint, which the intelligent blonde luckily did. He watched his mate going over to the armchair next to his father, before sitting down slowly.  
"If you need anything, just tell Lucius that he could call for Oscar," Harry mumbled, trying to at least lift a bit of the awkwardness that was surrounding them all, before turning back to the diary and finally starting reading:

 _ **31 July, 1988  
"Dear diary,  
I am so excited! Father and mother are taking me to Diagon Alley and I can finally go to Hogwarts! I am a bit worried that anybody will find out about my age and me being sick, I don't want them to think that I am weak, I am a Malfoy after all, and father says Malfoy's are never weak.  
Mother is still worried, but the doctor says that she doesn't need to be and I refuse to stay at home for another year!  
They are calling for me now, but I promise I will write later and tell you about all my new things."**_

Draco's child like scribble skipped a few lines, before starting again. Harry still wasn't quite sure what he would learn from the first diary entry; it had been so long ago, and even though they had met for the first time that day, nothing had happened besides an awkward conversation that had build the foundation for his dislike for the blonde.  
Deciding that he would just continue reading, Harry concentrated back on the text:

 _ **"I am back home and Diagon Alley was so great. I got a wand; it is 10 inches long, made from Hawthorn Wood and has a Unicorn Hair inside. I think it fits me perfectly, seeing as I have hair nearly as light as a unicorn and am certainly as handsome, but I am getting ahead of myself.  
When I arrived with mother and father in Diagon Alley, Father first took me to Gringotts. I have been there before of course, but it is always amazing to see our riches. Father made me go to Madame Malkins first to buy my school uniform, even though I didn't want to, but looking back on it now it was the best decision my father has ever made."**_

Stopping for a moment, Harry frowned down at the book, he truly couldn't follow the train of thoughts of his 13 years old mate; the visit to the tailor had always been a rather bad and embarrassing memory for him. He had known nothing about the wizarding world back then and had felt embarrassed as he had been confronted by a child who clearly knew so much more about everything.

 _ **"My parents didn't accompany me to the tailor; instead mother went to look for wands that might suit me, while father went to buy my books.  
It was as boring at Madame Malkins as I had expected until this boy came in. I'm not sure why, but he was the most beautiful and nicest person I have ever seen in my life; he looked like a little angel!"**_

Harry nearly dropped the book as he read the last sentence. An angel? How could Draco's and his perspective of a situation have been so different? Had he really left such a great impression on his young mate? And why had he behaved like a prat then? Knowing that he most likely would find the answer somewhere in the diary, he read on.

 _ **"I knew that the person that was entering would be special even before I had seen him, because his strong, pure magic had floated into the shop like the warm rise of the sun, and my magic instantly started to hum and reach out for the other's power. All of my skin started tingling and I nearly wasn't able to suppress the gasp that wanted to escape my mouth as my eyes fell on him, he was just so beautiful. I know I said it before, but he truly was! He had huge green eyes that looked like the finest emeralds, I am sure that not even my family own two jewels that could rival those beautiful eyes. His skin was sun-kissed from the summer, like all those filthy muggles like to look like, but with his slim figure, his small chin, long neck, slender hands and perfectly slim lips I could see that he had to be a Pureblood like myself. Of course, his magic had told me as much as well, but it is still rare to see the purity of our blood so perfectly reflected in someone's appearance."**_

Harry's hand shook as he realized that his mate had literally fallen for him at first sight. And not only that, Draco had already felt their soulbond back then, there was no other way to interpret the feeling he had described with childish honesty. How could their meeting have gone so wrong?  
That Draco had mixed his revelations with his father's strong beliefs about Purebloods and Muggleborns didn't surprise him. Lucius still didn't like Muggleborn witches and wizards much, but at least he had learned to respect them when they were as strong and loyal as his friend Hermione.

 _ **"I want to get to know the boy better. I hope I can impress him! Father always says that it is the best way to get closer to other people by impressing them.  
'Hogwarts, too?' I asked to begin the conversation and to find out if I would soon see the boy again, in case our parents would not show up to exchange floo addresses.  
To my relief the boy answered in the positive, in a shy manner but with a voice as clear and innocent as an angel's choir.  
'My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands,' I told the raven to show him what a caring family I had, unfortunately it didn't impress him, just the contrary, he even seemed to close up even further. I truly was irritated, but a Malfoy never gives up easily and I quickly changed the topic to one every boy loves: brooms and Quidditch.  
My friends and I all love Quidditch and I have never met one who wasn't interested in the sport. I told him that I was planning on getting my father to buy me my own racing broom and smuggling it into school, with hope that the boy would ask if he could borrow it sometimes, but for some reason he didn't reacted at all. I finally grew suspicious and thought that the boy maybe wasn't a sports fan after all, and as I asked him if he had his own broom, he indeed said no.  
Some people might have been discouraged at that point, but I only grew more excited with every passing minute. Finally a challenge; finally someone who was not like anybody else. And besides, there are more topics than just Quidditch, so I chose a topic he just had to be interested in and asked him if he already knew into which house he would be sorted. I am not sure, but I think I saw irritation in his eyes for a moment; maybe he was afraid that he would not be able to fulfil his parents' expectations and get sorted into the house his ancestors had gone to? Many children fear something like that; I of course did not, there wasn't a single Malfoy who had not gone into Slytherin since the school had been founded.  
I was about to coax the information out of him about which house his ancestors had been sorted in, but at that moment a huge, bear-like figure appeared in front of the window of the shop. Luckily the boy didn't notice my moment of anxiety and I quickly overplayed my lapse by saying:  
'Look at that man!'  
The boy quickly looked over his shoulder and as he turned back around, I could only stare at the small, but excited smile that was tugging on his full lips and the happy shine in his emerald eyes that made them reflect a thousand shades of green.  
'That is Hagrid, he works at Hogwarts' the boy said.  
I truly had no idea what to respond, I had heard about that man from father, he is a filthy half-creature who was too stupid to even graduate and only had work because of Dumbledore; but it was clear that the boy liked the man, still, as a good friend it was my duty to warn him about the giant.  
'I heard he's a sort of savage - lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed;" I told him and from that point onwards, everything went wrong.  
The face of the beautiful boy hardened and his eyes grew as cold as father's sometimes got when he was especially disappointed or angry about something and he said:  
'I think he is brilliant.'  
I desperately tried to find a way redeem my myself and asked him why he was even going shopping with that man and not with his parents, but I only dug my own grave deeper.  
"My parents are dead," he answered and I froze in shock. I wanted to say something comforting, but I didn't know what one was supposed to say in such an situation, and all I could think about was that this explained so much: It explained why the boy had no idea about which House he would be sorted in (at least if he had been raised in an orphanage or had been adopted) and suddenly another, frightening thought entered my mind:  
What if he had been raised by muggles? His magic seemed powerful and pure, but maybe he was only a powerful Halfblood. That thought frightened me, I know what father and mother think about Halfbloods, but the thought of maybe being forbidden of befriend this boy because of his blood frightened me even more.  
Before I had any chance of stopping myself, I had already asked:  
'But they were our kind, weren't they?'  
You can't believe how I relieved I was as he told me that his parents had both been magical, it was as if a huge burden had fallen from my heart and I sighed in relief, before continuing the conversation in a manner I was much more familiar with, relieved that I finally had found a topic I could talk with him about. 'I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same; they've never been brought up to know about our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get their letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname anyway?'  
If I had already owned my wand, I would have hexed Madame Malkins then as she chose that moment to tell the boy that he was finished. I could only watch in disappointment as he hopped from his footstool, a cold feeling of loss rising in my chest. I quickly called after him, telling him that we would see each other at Hogwarts, but I think he didn't hear me.  
I left the store ten minutes later and met my parents outside, and I even succeeded in persuading my father into buying me a broom, I am sure that the boy would start to love Quidditch as soon as he had watched his first match at Hogwarts and then he would surely want to fly with me. Of course, I didn't tell father that I wanted to use it to impress a boy and he didn't ask.  
I also got a new supply of chocolate frogs, but I still feel disappointed right now, I don't even know the boy's name and will only see him again in four weeks. Maybe I will try to talk mother into going shopping with me again, she goes to Diagon Alley often enough after all, and hopefully I will meet him there again."**_

Harry stared at the end of the diary entry; he couldn't believe what he had just read. Had it all been a misunderstanding or had he misinterpreted Draco so badly back then? He couldn't say and he didn't dare to look up, instead he quickly turned the page and started with the second entry:

 _ **1 August, 1988  
"Dear diary,  
You won't believe it! I found out who the boy is and it is Harry Potter! Father will be so proud if I tell him that I have befriended the Boy-Who-Lived; I can't wait to write him a letter with the news, but first I have to meet him again and become better friends .  
I never would have thought that I would see him so soon again, well it was only in the Prophet, but still, I finally know who he is. My Housemates will envy me so much when they see me being friends with Harry Potter. I am a bit surprised that he is so shy, I mean, he is famous, but I will help him when we are at Hogwarts and tell him everything I know about the school. Well... I guess he will know at least as much as I do, he sure has the best private tutors. Hopefully that means that he also knows how to fly already, maybe he even has his own broom as well and we could fly some races or play a game of 'Catch the Snitch'. Oh I can't wait to see him again, we will become the best of friends, I just know it. I think it would be odd if we did not end up friends, after all, who could be more worthy of becoming Harry Potter's friend than me, a Malfoy?  
But I will go now and polish my broom, I want that it to look good when I meet Harry again, he will not think that I am a messy person who does not take care of his things."**_

 _ **10 August, 1988  
"Dear diary,  
I know it still is a while, but I am getting more and more excited with every day, I want Hogwarts to start already! But at least Harry is now in the paper almost every day since he had gone to Diagon Alley and I am collecting every photo and every article about him. Maybe I will give them to him one day; I could bind them into a book."**_

 _ **25 August, 1988  
"Dear diary,  
I was so embarrassed! I must have slept really deeply because of that wonderful dream I had, because when I woke up I noticed that I had wet my pants. But the dream just was too good to wake up from. I had lent my broom to Harry because he had forgotten his own back at home. Harry was really impressed with my flying skills, I was even quicker than him on one of the old school brooms. We had been flying the whole day and when we landed again, he gave me a kiss on the cheek as thanks that I had given him my broom. My whole body started to tingle, it felt so nice and his magic had danced over my skin like the warmth of a sunrise. I felt all warm and dizzy.  
Waking up wasn't that nice afterwards, but father calmed me down and explained to me that I had not wet my pants, but that something normal had happened to me. He told me that it was a sign that I was becoming a man and that I have no reason to feel ashamed. I still think that it was embarrassing though.  
My school uniforms arrived today as well and I have to say that I look striking in them. I am glad that I look as handsome and pretty as my parents, because I am sure that Harry would not like to have an ugly best friend. But I have to go downstairs now, the Parkinson's are visiting and mother insists that I play with Pansy, even though I don't like her. She is stupid and ugly and loud and nothing like Harry, who is quiet and graceful. I will just play hide and seek with her and hide in one of my many playrooms that she doesn't know."**_

Harry felt his cheeks heat up as he ended the last entry; Draco had dreamed about him and it had not been some random dream, but a wet dream. He was sure that his embarrassment could be smelled throughout the entire room and sure enough, as he glanced to his left he saw that a rosy tint was dusting over his second mate's cheeks as well. Oscar must have collected his school bag, because the boy had been reading their Transfigurations book. He quickly looked away again before his mate would actually feel his stare and the situation could grow even more awkward.  
"Is something wrong?" his father asked suddenly from behind him and he quickly shook his head in denial; he wasn't planning on sharing Draco's secrets anyway, not even with Lucius.  
Turning to the next page, he winced inwardly as he saw the date of their first school day, the day he had fought with Draco on the train.

 _ **1 September, 1988  
"Dear diary,  
You will not believe what happened! Harry refused my friendship! I am so disappointed right now. I don't know what I did wrong, but I will find a way to correct my mistake, I want to become his friend. I know that we are meant to be friends, I could feel it in our magic again; this tingling, this reaching-out of our powers. It has to mean something, doesn't it? But first things first:  
I purposefully made sure that I was early at King's Cross. Mother and father thought that I was just so excited about my train ride, but in truth I did not want to miss Harry when he arrived. Father of course helped me to find a good compartment in the front of the train and when my trunk had been safely stowed away, I went out again to wait for Harry.  
Mother and father asked a few times whom I was waiting for, but I didn't answer and I think they believed that I was looking for some of my friends who had not yet arrived either.  
I grew so nervous when I could not find Harry, but then I finally spotted him. However, to my great disappointment he was accompanied by a whole mob of what could only be Weasley's. Father always said that Weasley's all had red hair, freckles and more children than they should have, and with those rags the mob was wearing, it certainly was the case. My beautiful Harry really stuck out. He looked nervous, just like most First Years, but also happy, that soft smile was back on his face. He was pushing his cart all by himself and I could not see any relative or guardian, I think I had been right after all to assume that he was raised by muggles; there was after all no reason why a magical guardian would not accompany him to the train station.  
I decided to go back to my compartment for now and wait for my opportunity to speak to my Harry again, and then I would warn him about the stupid people that surrounded him. Harry Potter after all is a celebrity and even though he is not completely Pureblooded, he still is powerful enough that no one would ever dare mention it, he has defeated You-Know-Who after all, and should not be seen in that type of company.  
I bid my goodbyes to my parents before going back to my compartment. Blaise and Theo were waiting there, but unfortunately Pansy and her stupid friend Daphne were as well. Crabbe and Goyle joined us just before the train departed and I tried to fake interest in their boring conversations, but my mind always wandered back to Harry. I was truly worried about him, the Weasley's could easily become a social danger for him and the innocent boy would probably not even notice it until it was too late. Finally, when even my friends noticed my restlessness, I stood up and excused myself. Crabbe and Goyle tried to follow me as they always do, but I told them that I would only go to the loo, before finally leaving to search for my little friend.  
I found him in the very last compartment at the other end of the train. He was sitting there with one of the redheads, the youngest I guessed from his looks, and they were quietly talking and laughing with each other. I got angry when I heard that Harry was having fun with him, somebody who was so unworthy of becoming his friend, but for the moment I decided to listen in on their conversation.  
I had been right, Harry was indeed raised by muggles, but he didn't tell Weasley much more, which made me smirk as I thought that they were such good friends after all.  
Thinking about it, it is truly a shame that Harry Potter, the hero of our world, was raised by muggles. He probably still had lived a life of luxury, at least, as much luxury as muggles know, they are on the level of cavemen after all, but someone as important as Harry should not be forced to come to Hogwarts with any lack of knowledge about our world. But he fortunately has me and I will be able to teach him everything he needs, so as not to stick out amongst the Purebloods.  
Anyway, some girl passed me and stormed in, she had messy brown hair and everything about her screamed muggle born: the way she moved and the way she talked as she had entered the compartment as well.  
Harry and the Weasley instantly started arguing with her and she left again quickly. I decided that I would speak to Harry then, before any more unworthy people could demand his attention.  
I stepped in and ignored the ugly redhead to my right, concentrating entirely on my soon-to-be friend. Harry from up close looks even more beautiful than from afar. I still feel like blushing. Something strange started tingling in my lower abdomen.  
I tried to appear aloof and hoped that Harry might remember me from our first meeting, but he already dismissed my introduction.  
Back in the train I thought that he was probably still shy, but right now I think that the Weasel must have told him ugly lies about me; Malfoy's and Weasley's never got along after all.  
'By the way, my name is Malfoy, Draco Malfoy,' I introduced myself, waiting for the recognition that would pass through his beautiful eyes, after all we Malfoy's are famous and I just can't believe that Harry Potter would not even get the Prophet, even if he had to live with muggles, but nothing. Instead, the annoying Weasel snorted. I saw my chance to finally tell Harry what an unworthy and disgustingly poor bunch the Weasley's were. I offered my help and a warning to stay cautious of people like those redheads.  
All Harry answered was:  
'I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks.'  
His voice sounded so cool in that moment, it pierced my heart and I had to grit my teeth to not make any sound.  
Shame and anger filled me and I think I might have overdone my second warning a bit by mentioning the fate of his parents, I shouldn't have done that, but I just hadn't been able to stop myself; shame is such a disgusting and uncomfortable feeling!  
The Weasel was instantly on his feet and I retreated for the moment, it wouldn't do for me to arrive at my sorting with a bloody nose, mother and father would be so disappointed.  
The rest of the train ride was horrible. I wanted to apologize to Harry for my last words and I wanted to speak to him again, explain to him what a good friend I could be. When the train finally arrived, we First Years had to follow that oaf Hagrid, and we crossed the last distance to the castle by little boats.  
I tried not to stare at Harry as we were finally led into the Great Hall and was glad that he stood somewhere behind me.  
I of course was sorted into Slytherin, but watching Harry's sorting was way more important.  
Everyone became really silent when Harry went to sit down on the chair and for extra luck I crossed my fingers beneath the table. Harry belongs in Slytherin, because in Gryffindor the Weasel will only bother him, therefore he needed all help he could get. And I will always help Harry!  
It took so long for the Sorting Hat to decide! I don't even know why! My heart was beating really fast and I got so very nervous. Even more than at my own sorting.  
And then the bloody Hat sent him to Gryffindor! Gryffindor! My Harry in the same house as those stupid redheads. And Harry didn't even seem bothered by it! He sat down next to that Weasel, when he could have chosen less stupid Gryffindors! It's so horrible!  
I know right now that it will be harder than I thought, but I will not yet give up on Harry. I am sure that I can impress him somehow and show him that the Weasels are not good friends to have, and I will even ignore the fact that he is a Gryffindor."**_

Harry only scanned the next few entries quickly. Draco continued to have dreams about him and they had grown from hugging and kissing on the cheek to kissing on the mouth, still fairly innocent, but a progression none the less. His mate also described how beautiful he had found him in a school uniform  
"...looking like a true wizard," and his reaction to that, it had apparently been the first time that Draco had grown hard outside of sleeping and the boy had been fairly overtaxed by it and had not known what to do. Another thing he described was how torn he felt between wanting to be nice and impress him and fulfil the expectations of his Housemates. Draco had clearly not wanted to bully him in the beginning, but the fear of being called weak by his own piers had pressured him to act against that wish.  
The next diary entry that he read more thoroughly again, was the one from the 5th of September, the day of their first flying lesson. He had his own vivid memories about that particular day, but by now he was curious about what had made Draco act like a complete prat that day:

 _ **"Dear diary,  
When I walked into the common room this morning, there was an announcement hanging on our blackboard. You can't believe my joy as I read that we would have our first flying lesson this afternoon with the Gryffindors! And more importantly Harry!  
For days I have been searching for the perfect opportunity to finally impress Harry and this was my chance. Father had taught me how to fly when I was six and since then I have been training and everyone is saying that I am really talented on a broom. I am surely much more graceful in the air than the Weasel or any other Gryffindor who tries to steal my place as Harry's friend.  
The lesson was scheduled at three-thirty, but I was so excited that I already went down at two. My year mates followed me; I think they already see me as their leader. Even some older students already listen to me. I am truly glad that my family is so powerful and influential; I couldn't even imagine what it would be like as a second-class Pureblood like the Weasley's or even worse, a Halfblood!  
To my disappointment Harry was not yet on the Quidditch Pitch where the lesson would take place and I was forced to once again chat with Pansy and Daphne. The two girls were annoying before, but since we have come to Hogwarts, they never leave my side. Sometimes I just want to hex them, but then Father would get angry, the Parkinson's and Greengrass' are powerful families and business partners of my family after all.  
When he arrived, Harry did not even glance at me.  
Madame Hooch arrived early and the lesson started. As I already knew how to get a broom to fly, I quickly gave the command to have time to watch Harry. Harry's broom was flying as well already and he was grinning proudly at that ugly redhead, but at that moment I was only happy that Harry seemed to already enjoy flying. In a way, it will be the first of many things we have in common,  
Loud shouts pulled me from my musing and as I looked around I saw that stupid excuse of a wizard, Neville Longbottom, fall to the ground with a loud thud.  
The fat crybaby instantly started sniffling and Madame Hooch announced that she needed to escort him to the Hospital Wing. Why she had to do that I don't know, I didn't really listen, because my eyes were transfixed on the stupid boy's Remembrall. That was my chance to finally show Harry what a talented person I am.  
Without thinking twice, I snatched the glass ball up, my heart clenched as it always does when I have to be mean to Harry, but it finally got me his attention. Harry stood in front of me in the blink of an eye and it took all of my strength to not only stare at him; it is amazing how much more beautiful he grows the closer he is, especially his eyes, I could stare into them for a whole day and not get bored.  
Harry was so angry and his eyes flashed like those of an angry dragon... or an angry lion, I guess.  
But I foolishly continued to taunt him, because it gave me reason to show him my flying skills. I mounted my broom and pushed up from the ground, gasps following me. But as I looked back to see the surprised and awestruck expression on my cute, little raven's face, I nearly fell off my broom in surprise as he pushed off the ground as well and came after me.  
Within seconds Harry had caught up to me and cut my path off with an elegant turn of his broom.  
I don't know what made me throw the Remembrall. Maybe my anger over not being able to impress my little raven again, maybe my wish to see how good Harry truly was on a broom.  
I watched in awe as Harry's eyes sharpened like those of a hawk who had caught sight of a rabbit. They flashed with determination and the tingle returned into my stomach, only much stronger than ever before. My penis hardened in my trousers and I did my best to not flush, but it was hard as Harry elegantly fell into a swoop, raced after the little ball and for a frightening second I thought he would collide with the ground, but he caught the ball and pulled up in time.  
Professor McGonagall showed up then and I quickly hid behind a nearby tree. As she dragged Harry away, my housemates laughed in glee, saying that he would be kicked out of school, I felt so panicked!  
I landed, intend on running after them when I remembered my problem. I had no choice but to excuse myself from my friends again and hide away in the Slytherin locker room. My problem always went away on its own until then, but not today. My penis throbbed painfully in my trousers and I felt hot all over. I had to relieve myself. Whenever I closed my eyes I saw Harry's green orbs flashing in front of me and the throbbing grew even harder. I opened my pants to relieve the pressure and as I accidentally brushed against my length, I gasped in surprise and pleasure. I wasn't sure what that feeling meant, but I guessed it was the reason why I sometimes wake up with wet pants in the morning. I hesitantly touched myself again, this time grabbing my penis carefully, and suddenly the urge to rub and stroke overcame me. I massaged myself through the silk fabric of my boxers, not even aware enough to notice how I slumped against the locker behind me anymore. The tingling feeling shifted from my lower stomach to my groin and grew, until I felt like I would explode and then I did. I exploded with Harry's name on my tongue and everything went white for a moment.  
When my heart had calmed down again, I noticed with embarrassment a thick, sticky substance coating my fingers and quickly ran over to one of the sinks to clean myself. I felt totally mortified and confused as I tried to clean the sticky substance from my penis and when I was finished, instead of joining my friends in the common room, I went to the library to find out what was happening with me.  
Later, on my way to dinner I met Harry again. Once again I had to decide on which side I stood. But now I have to duel with him! I hope he backs out of it till tomorrow night for I do not want to hurt him! As Crabbe and Goyle had joined me at the marble staircase, I was forced to act as if I don't like Harry, once again. Unfortunately what should only have been an exchange of a few foul words, ended in a rendezvous for a duel. I really don't feel good about the idea of fighting against Harry. He always seems so small and fragile and he does not deserved to be hexed, but I guess there is no backing out of it now, the duel is scheduled for tomorrow night.  
I also have not found the answer yet, but I believe that father has forgotten to explain something very important to me about that whole becoming a man issue.  
I will return to the library tomorrow, but for today I will go to bed."**_

 _ **6 September, 1988  
"Dear diary,  
I found out what is happening to me! Father was right, it has to do with me becoming a man, but it is only a very small part of it.  
The books I have read today said that I am attracted to Harry, or maybe even in love with him. I don't know how to find out if I am only attracted or if I have fallen in love, I never knew that boys can feel those things for other boys, but when I think of father giving mother a kiss on her cheek sometimes and imagine that it would be me instead with Harry, it does not feel wrong. I wonder how father will react if I tell him about Harry, but I think I will keep it to myself for now.  
But now I have to go to the duel, even though I don't want to."**_

Harry was about to turn to the next day, wondering if he would find out why Draco had not showed up in the end, when he saw the small, scribbled note at the very bottom of the page, apparently added on the same evening.

 _ **"Diary, I couldn't do it! I was already there and Harry was there as well, but when I saw him standing there so small and just so beautiful looking between all the trophies, I just couldn't duel him. I want to protect Harry and not injure him. Luckily I already had the feeling earlier that something might happen and had told Crabbe that I wouldn't need him as my second.  
If he asks me tomorrow, I will just tell him that Harry did not show up. I really am starting to hate all that lying, why can't I just become Harry's friend?"**_

The next few entries Harry again scanned quickly. It was shocking to read how Draco's obsession with him grew and how much his mate had suffered. The blonde's dreams grew more and more regular and Draco even went so far as to follow him nearly everywhere whenever he had the time. That was also what had led to Draco following him, Ron and Hermione to Hagrid and later to watch them as they had sneaked up to the Astronomy Tower with Norbert. He had been caught by Filch that night and, cowardly as his mate had been at that age, had told McGonagall everything, but their Head of House had not believed him, as Harry had already known.  
Draco also had been right out panicked, as he had heard about his fight with the troll and it had given the young blonde nightmares for a whole week. His run-in with Voldemort had an equal effect and as Draco had returned home after his first school year, he was confused and worn out.  
Harry wasn't sure if he should feel guilty for his past ignorance, but then again, they both had been young and raised fairly differently. Draco had behaved the best way he had known, like he had been taught by his parents, and the blonde had not understood what he had done wrong the whole year. There had even been tear stains on some pages, but still, Draco did not give up until the holidays, at which time everything had turned for the worse for the blonde once more:

 _ **29 July, 1989  
"Dear diary,  
I talked with father about my wish to become Harry Potter's friend and I can't believe what he said! He said it would have been good if I had succeeded, as our master would have been very proud upon his return, but that I should not forget that Harry Potter was now my enemy as he clearly did not wish to associate with the right kind of people. He said I should forget about him and that Harry would soon be dead anyway. Then he told me to follow him into his office, where he opened his safe and handed me a book. He ordered me to always carry it on my body and that I should slip it to Harry when I got the chance. The book is supposed to bring Potter down, but I know what father meant by that, he wants me to kill him.  
The book is really scary and I have no doubt that it will be able to kill my raven if it gets to him. Dark and evil magic leaks from it and I always get frightened when I touch it. Sometimes I believe it whispers to me and if I forget to place it into my desk drawer during the night, I get the most horrible nightmares.  
I will not give it to Harry, I could never do that, but I need to find a way to get rid of it so that father doesn't grow suspicious. Since I am carrying the book father is always keeping an eye on me. It makes me nervous and I fear that my only chance to protect Harry will be keeping my distance. My heart hurts at the thought, but I would do anything for him, I think I truly love him."**_

Harry's eyes had widened at that entry, he had always believed that it had been Lucius who had given Voldemort's diary to Ginny, but apparently the man had only taken the blame to protect his son. It was cruel that his older mate had even thought of using his fourteen year old son, but he had done it in his madness to impress his old Master. A silent tear slid down his cheek as he realized what Draco had already done for him while trying to protect him.  
"Harry? What is the matter?" His father suddenly asked very softly, so that not even Draco and Lucius would be able to hear them speak from where they sat.  
"I..." Harry whispered back, trying his best not to break into tears. This was all so sad; he couldn't believe what hardship Draco had already lived through. "I..." he said again "...will never again call Draco cowardly."  
He felt his father's eyes trail upwards to the section he had been reading and only a moment later the man stiffened behind him.  
Hastily, Harry turned the page and continued reading:

 _ **20 August, 1998  
"Dear diary,  
I finally got rid of the scary book. I threw it into the Weaselette's cauldron and as poor as she is I don't think that she will give it to Harry.  
Father is very proud of me and I am proud as well, because I could save my little raven. But I am also sad. Father is talking more and more about the return of his old master and by now I have no doubt that I will have to keep away from Harry if I want to protect him. Hopefully father's master will never return."**_

The next entries could only be described as a study in sadness. Draco first started by stopping to follow him, but as a sort of compensation, he also started collecting all kinds of things from him. Harry found thrown away notes he must have made at one time or another, old quills which Draco said had been his, and the blonde had even managed to steal his Gryffindor scarf from his locker in the Gryffindor changing room; at least that explained where his scarf had suddenly disappeared to, he had always wondered about that.  
Draco had quickly realized that his behaviour only caused him more and more pain and after about three months, he finally started to convince himself that all the nasty rumours he heard about him in the Slytherin common room were actually true. Draco succeeded shockingly fast with his attempt, and that was where the real animosity had started, even though Harry had not known it back then.  
Despite everything, Draco's dreams never stopped and even grew more detailed throughout their Second Year. His mate started to feel ashamed about them and later even angry. He described how he wanked in the shower every morning and sometimes had to even stand up during the night, because his 'problem' would just not go away. That in return had made Draco even angrier with him, and Harry could even understand that Draco blamed him for his dreams; after all, it was his magic that apparently teased the blonde whenever he did as much as pass him, his mate truly was sensitive in that aspect.  
When he had then also turned out to be a Parselmouth, Draco had nearly gone insane. Arousal and anger about the fact that a Gryffindor was blessed with such a noble gift fought against each other inside of him and that was why his mate had grown even more vicious during their Second Year.  
The entries continued in the same pattern for over a year until he slipped in his tight control over his emotions. Harry had always believed that it had been the attack of the Dementors at his one Quidditch match and his violent reaction to them that had made Draco think about that tasteless joke in Hogsmeade, but he had been completely wrong once more:

 _ **12 November 1989:  
"Dear diary,  
I shouldn't have done it! I shouldn't have followed scarhead to the Quidditch Pitch. Why am I always so weak when he is involved? Why do I still follow him? I hate him; I don't want to be with him anymore! I am a proud Pureblood and want to marry an intelligent and beautiful witch one day to continue my family line, but oh, when I saw him under that shower, all smooth pale, soft looking skin and teasing, pink nipples.  
And I gave into my body's urges right there, hidden in a filthy storing room, while my eyes never left those dainty hands that caressed the perfect body.  
Only when I was back in my dorm room did my senses return and I punched the wall in anger. How dare Potter to do this to me? I swear he will pay for it!**_

Harry winced at the end of the lines, but the next entry was even worse, it had been written only a single day later:

 _ **13 November 1989  
"Dear diary,  
I have to find a way to deal with my Problems, I cannot afford to react to Potter in the way I do! But how? Everything I do myself is clearly not enough, the dreams won't stop and neither does my body stay calm when I am near him.  
Would it help if someone else relieves me of the pressure? I know that Pansy and Daphne would be ready to do anything for me; they want to become the next Lady Malfoy after all. (Not that either of them has a chance, but I don't have to tell them that.)**_

It soon became a daily routine for Draco to work his stress and sexual frustrations off that way; still his dreams continued and his hate for him grew. When Draco returned home after his fourth year, he was delighted about the news that Voldemort was finally back and would soon get rid of Harry for him. It was already deep in the night when Harry finally closed the diary after that last entry. By now it did not surprise him anymore why Draco had fought so much against their bond and why he had been so angry. His mate had tried for over a year to get his attention and then had reluctantly pulled away in order to protect him from his family. By doing so he had hurt his own feelings so much that he had desperately tried to find a way to rid himself of that love that was only paining him, which had finally ended in that hate that had dominated for the last two months.  
Harry didn't dare to imagine how it must feel to fall in love, find his soulmate and have the love rejected or not even noticed by the other person. His hands shook and for a long time he could only stare down at the old, worn diary that now lay innocently and closed in his lap.  
He knew he needed to come to a decision, and he truly wanted to forgive and trust Draco, especially after what he had read, but he also knew that he still was afraid after what had happened, and would not be able to let the blonde very close so soon.  
They needed to talk, a lot, and he needed to show Draco that he and his feelings were finally noticed, without giving more than he was able to at the moment.  
His eyes unobtrusively wandered over to Lucius. His mate was reading some kind of letter, probably from the Ministry, which was after all his employer. Lucius surely would step in if Draco went too far again and he would surely not leave him alone with his son any time soon. He would not be alone with Draco and the wish to settle their bond was too strong to simply send Draco away. In the end they were soulmates and he had no doubt that he would one day be able to trust Draco like he trusted Lucius, he only needed time.  
Coming to a decision, he spoke up, his eyes still fixed on the diary.  
"It... is getting late... I think, we should... continue this tomorrow," he said, his voice growing weaker with every word he spoke.  
"I think that is a good idea," said Lucius, and Harry could hear the sound of his mates moving. He still didn't dare to look up, not knowing what he could already give Draco and too tired to think about it right now, but when he heard silent, almost dragging footsteps get further and further away from him, his head suddenly snapped up as if commanded by an inaudible voice.

Draco looked worse than he did a few hours earlier when he had arrived. The blonde tried to walk straight and proud as always, and as if his dismissal had not hurt him once more, but Harry could see the truth clearly in the tension of his second mate's back muscles that was outlined against his white button down.  
Before he could even realize what he was doing, he was speaking again: "Draco, if you want... you can stay here, with Lucius and me... that is..."  
Draco spun around and Harry could see the disbelief written all over his face.  
"... but only if you can live with your father being there as well," he added, wanting to make sure that Draco understood his conditions correctly. Behind him, his father squeezed his shoulder reassuringly as he waited for his second mate's answer. Draco stared at him for a few seconds, as if he did not dare to believe his eyes, but then he finally nodded once and said:  
"Of course, father is your mate as well... we are all mates, are we not?"  
A small smile tugged on Harry's lips at the first words of acceptance from his second mate; even though he knew that it still would be a long way until they would be one family. Draco and Lucius would have to talk as well; he knew that, he couldn't imagine what it must feel like to have the same mate, when you had always lived as father and son.  
He stood up and turned around to wish his father a good night. He hadn't been sure if Severus would agree to his decision to let Draco sleep in his quarters, it had only been a few hours since the boy had attacked him after all, but he was relieved when he saw pride shining out of those stern, black orbs.  
"I wish you a good night, my brat," his father said and bent down to give him a soft kiss on his forehead.  
"I will see you tomorrow," Severus said and turned to Lucius to give his friend a pointed look, who in reply only glared back.  
Harry watched the short exchange, and then how his father left with long strides. A huge weight seemed to have fallen from the man and he could feel it as well. Their bond was not healed, but today they were taking the first step in the right direction.  
When he turned back around he saw his two mates were standing awkwardly next to each other, both wearing the same expectant look on their faces. With a flush he realized that it up to him right now to give the commands, regardless of how much he hated the feeling, but he was also glad that the two proud aristocrats showed that much respect for him.  
"Um... where do you want to sleep, Draco? Lucius and I always used Gryffindor's room..." he said, not knowing exactly how he should proceed, and Draco looked equally uncomfortable, as if he did not dare to voice his opinion. Luckily Lucius came to their rescue, it probably was a good thing that at least one of them was already an adult and more practiced in dealing with awkward situations.  
"I would suggest that we search for a new room, a room for all three of us, as a sign of a new beginning."  
Harry knew what his older mate meant; The Gryffindor room had been theirs, they had spent beautiful hours in there, but today was the beginning of a new phase in their life.  
Nodding again, he turned to Draco and said: "Would you like to chose one?"  
"If you want me to," Draco replied and waited for another nod before he hesitantly walked back into the Hallway.  
"You shared Gryffindor's room and I slept in Slytherin's one. So, maybe Ravenclaw's or Hufflepuff's?" Draco proposed and looked back and forth between the two doors.  
"Then I suggest Hufflepuff's," Lucius said with an unhappy sneer. "I am no fan of her students, but we will not fit in Rovena's room; she has a whole library in there."  
They entered said room and Harry had to admit that Lucius probably was right, this room had the most space and he knew how much space a single Malfoy needed, or rather, how much space a single Malfoy's wardrobe needed. His eyes wandered over to the huge double bed and the walls that were coloured in a light cream colour. A desk stood in one corner and a single cupboard in another, but that would surely soon change.  
"Could one of you call that House Elf, I need my pyjamas," Draco's voice pulled him from his musing. Flushing, because he had not thought about that himself, he called "Oscar," and watched as the little elf appeared instantly.  
"Draco needs some things from his room. He will be moving in with us now," he told his servant who turned huge eyes at the younger blonde.  
"Does that mean Oscar is to answer to young Master as well?" Oscar asked him, despite still staring at his mate.  
"Yes," he said and left to quickly retrieve his own pyjamas, he couldn't sleep naked or only in a shirt next to Draco yet.  
Once in Gryffindor's bedroom he opened his closet and pulled a pair of blue pyjamas out before deciding to quickly change as well. He walked into the adjoining bathroom and quickly changed, but just when he wanted to return to his mates his eyes landed on his reflection. The thin silk fabric clung to his slim frame, outlining every single one of his bones, at least, that was how he thought he looked like in that moment. All the foul comments Draco had made about his height, his figure, his childish or even almost feminine appearance came back to his mind and suddenly he felt immensely shy and vulnerable. A feeling of regret rose inside of him for his second mate; he really didn't look like the dream guy for a gay man. With Lucius he had been lucky, but it wasn't really surprising that Draco didn't share the same rare taste for his scrawny figure.  
"Well," he thought as he looked at himself, "I can't change my appearance but I can at least hide my scrawny body."  
He called for Oscar again and ordered him to bring one of his Weasley jumpers and a thick bathrobe. Oscar returned quickly with the two items and bowed deeply after he had placed them on a small foot stool.  
"Can Oscar do anything else for Master Harry?" The little elf asked, and after a moment of pondering the question Harry nodded. Draco did not only not like his general appearance, but his attire as well, therefore he asked Oscar: "Would you go to Madame Malkins for me tomorrow? I want you to bring me a set of every traditional wizarding robe she has."  
Oscar nodded with huge eyes before leaving him again. Once alone again, Harry quickly pulled the thick jumper over and then the bathrobe, before turning once more to his reflection. With relief he noticed that his scrawniness did not show anymore, and with a reassuring smile at himself he left the bathroom and returned to his mates.  
Draco sat awkwardly on their bed, careful to not look at his father or anything else. Lucius meanwhile sat in the office chair in front of the desk, equally looking at nothing in particular; those two certainly had a lot to work through as well.  
One of them must also have enlarged the bed, because it was now wide enough to easily hold four people instead of only two.  
When neither of his mates noticed him in their effort to act as if the other wasn't there right now, Harry cleared his throat and both heads finally turned around. He saw Lucius' eyebrow twitch at his outfit, but the man didn't comment, neither did Draco.  
The awkward moment came back with full force and for a long minute they all just stared at each other, until Draco cleared his throat and said: "I will just... go to bed then."  
As if that was the sign Lucius had been waiting for, he stood up as well and motioned for Harry to climb in after their mate. Nervous, Harry followed Draco and did as told, but once on top of the bed, he did not know what to do next. Should he just lay down? Would it be okay to not cuddle up to Draco? Because he was sure he couldn't do that already.  
Lucius' hand appeared next to him and pushed the blanket to the side (they had three pillows and three blankets right now) and he quickly laid down, his eyes downcast and his cheeks heating up with a flush. Lucius scooted in behind him and for a moment he wanted to cuddle closer to his older mate, like he had always done, but then he quickly stopped himself, but Draco had of course noticed already.  
"It is fine, Harry, you can... lay next to father if you want. I know I have to earn that right back first, but that doesn't mean that I wish to pull you apart any longer."  
Harry blinked at Draco, torn between snorting about the phrase lay next to (because no Malfoy cuddled and that would never change) and surprised at the complete turn his second mate's behaviour had taken since that afternoon. Maybe Draco's attack hadn't been a bad thing; maybe it had been what the blonde had needed to finally see reason. Smiling thankfully at the younger blonde, he scooted backwards, but he did not turn around, he didn't want Draco feeling ignored or left out, his mate had felt so for enough years already.  
Lucius extinguished the candles on their nightstands and darkness descended on them. Harry relaxed into the embrace of his older mate; he had missed this for so long now. He loved to cuddle with his dad and he had not felt cold for a single night, Severus had made sure of that, but his father was his father and his mate was his mate, and no one could replace the other, he needed both of them; or rather, all three of them. He felt Lucius relax as well, and in the darkness he could see that Draco still lay stiff, wrapped all alone in his own blanket, while trying to not look as if he envied them.  
Without his permission one of Harry's hands crawled out from under the blanket and grabbed Draco's. His second mate was ice cold, no wonder after so many weeks without Lucius or him or even a drop of blood. Draco stiffened for a split second and Harry was sure that his mate's eyes had widened in surprise again, but then he finally relaxed as well and Harry could close his eyes peacefully, a soft smile on his lips.


	33. Chapter 33: Talking, Talking, Talking

**Chapter 33: Talking, Talking, Talking...**

 **DM**

Draco sighed and his eyes slowly fluttered open. He felt warm for the first time in months, he had not felt like this since he had been brought back to life and it was all because of Harry, because of the small hand that was still holding his.  
The Slytherin couldn't believe how stupid he had been. He had loved the boy for so long, ever since he had first laid eyes on him, and when he finally had a chance at a relationship with the small raven he had behaved like a stupid Hufflepuff. Sure, Draco could never have imagined that his father would be a part of that relationship, but since he had finally given up on his stupidity, his instincts had started helping him more and more. If he had only listened to them from the start, then he would not have done and said all those hurtful things.  
How exactly a relationship between himself, Harry and his father could work out in the end, wasn't clear to him yet. There were too many possible outcomes. As father and son they could both decide to separately spend time with Harry or make their relationship work as a threesome. He wasn't sure if he would feel more comfortable with the first or the second option, but he guessed that Harry would be the one to decide in the end, he was after all the most precious thing he and his father possessed now.  
Humans were so stupid that they would believe that submissives were not as valuable as a dominant only because they were physically weaker, while in truth it was the other way around; he had started to realize that by now.  
Draco truly hoped that their conversation would progress well later that afternoon, or whenever they would find time to sit down and discuss their bond. Truth to be told, he felt nervous and unsure, he was afraid to say or demand something that could push Harry away from him again; he could see after all how afraid his little mate still was of him, even though the little raven had tried to hide it. The time spent alone with Harry and his father was not even what frightened him the most, but the time in between, when he was surrounded by his fellow Slytherins and had to act a certain way. But Harry was the leader of Dumbledore's Order now and he would surely realize that Draco will only say those hurtful things to protect their secrets, right?  
Draco let his eyes wander downwards to watch Harry, who was still sleeping, and allowed his lips to stretch into a soft smile. Harry was amazing. How the Gryffindor had found it in his heart to invite Draco into his bed, and that only a few hours after he had nearly raped him, he couldn't fathom. He also couldn't understand how he had never noticed his submissive's true age, it was so obvious now since he knew about it, but Dumbledore was a powerful wizard, so it was only logical that his spells would be equally powerful.  
"So beautiful," he whispered, and to his silent shock, a voice answered him.  
"He is," his father said, equally softly, and as Draco looked up he saw the same tenderness he felt mirrored in Lucius' eyes.  
"I cannot believe that he is still so young, father. How can we mate with him and take him to our bed?" he voiced one of the many questions that were swirling inside his head.  
"With patience and consideration," his father's reply came, and a moment later he added, "But we will speak about those things together later."  
"You are right," he replied and looked down to their mate once more, saying, "We truly are lucky."  
His father nodded. "We are luckier than either of us deserves."  
They fell into a rather comfortable silence that felt only slightly awkward. Finally, Draco said without looking up, "There is still another thing I have to apologize for."  
"You better do that then," his father told him, surprisingly without any harshness in his voice.  
Their conversation came to an end then, as Harry started to stir in his father's arms. Green eyes opened sleepily and as they focused on Draco, Harry smiled softly and squeezed his hand.  
"Morning Draco," his submissive yawned cutely, before turning onto his back and smiling up at Lucius. Draco didn't know if he should watch or look away politely, as his father bent down and gave their mate a short, but tender kiss. Harry clearly enjoyed the contact and he sighed contently as their lips parted. A quick pang of jealousy shot through Draco's heart, but he quickly squashed it. One day Harry would sigh at his kisses as well, he only needed to be patient and remind himself that Harry had already given him more than he deserved.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Half an hour later Harry found himself sitting next to his father in the living room, while his mates once more, sat in the armchairs. Oscar had served each of them a goblet with fresh blood and he knew that it would only be a matter of seconds before his father would start asking questions; that was after all the reason why he had come up so much earlier, Harry just knew it.  
"So, tell me brat, how was your first night with your mates?"  
Flushing at the sound of his father's words, Harry gulped his mouthful of blood down, before shyly answering, "Good. I slept well."  
"And?" His father prodded, but he had no idea what else he could tell him.  
"We did not talk about anything more after yesterday and we also did nothing more than going to bed and falling asleep," Lucius rescued him, sometimes it was noticeable that the man knew his father that much longer than he himself.  
"Good," his father drawled and Harry could finally feel the Potions Master relax next to him.  
"I have to say, I was slightly worried," his father added and pinched the bridge of his nose. Harry, suddenly feeling concerned about his father, who already had so many worries on his mind and shoulders, turned around and gave him a peck on his cheek.  
"I am fine, Lucius had an eye on Draco and me," he reassured him and added a hug just to be sure.  
"Harry," Draco's voice suddenly sounded and Harry turned back around, thinking that his mate would finally ask him about his relationship with their Professor, but instead of well-hidden curiosity he only found guilt on his mate's face.  
"What is it, Draco?" He asked when the older boy was still eyeing him silently after a few seconds.  
"I... still have to confess something to you. I didn't write it down in my diary," his mate finally said, and Harry could see how he was bracing himself.  
Draco's discomfort quickly infected him as well and he subconsciously started fidgeting in his father's lap, but in contrast to Lucius, the man didn't seem to mind.  
"I..." Draco began, but broke off to take a huge lungful of air, despite the fact that it did nothing for them anymore. It only made Harry more nervous right now. What could his second mate possibly have done that made him behave so anxiously?  
"I... on Halloween at the Ball, I met a girl..."  
Harry flushed crimson as he realized what his mate wanted to apologize for, and guilt rose inside of his chest.  
"It's okay, Draco... I already know..." he said ashamedly, wanting to take the guilt from his younger mate's conscience, while he could practically feel the amusement radiating from Lucius and his father.  
"You saw us?" Draco gasped, and Harry realized that his words had the opposite effect.  
"Harry, why did you not say anything? I betrayed you; you don't deserve that!" Draco exclaimed and rose to his feet, before starting to walk agitatedly up and down in front of the coffee table with balled-up fists.  
Wincing, Harry braced himself to clear the misunderstanding and said,  
"I haven't said anything because it was me."  
Draco whirled back around with a confused expression on his face and he quickly elaborated:  
"After how our weekend had ended I wanted an evening all to myself, and Hermione had the idea to dress me up as a girl. I hadn't anticipated that you would be so interested in me, but when you reacted like that, I couldn't resist," he mumbled with his eyes downcast, not able to look his mate in the eyes during his confession. He braced himself for the angry outburst, but instead Draco only started chuckling softly. Harry looked up with huge eyes as his mate's chuckles grew into full-blown laughter.  
"And I was already afraid of what it could mean that I had reacted so strongly to a second person," Draco gasped, his eyes shining with relief, "but it only was you. By Merlin, I am so relieved! At least one mistake I did not make after all!"  
Harry smiled at the relieved expression on his mate's face, but he still felt guilty for tricking his mate so meanly.  
"I am truly sorry, Draco," he mumbled, but his second mate only waved him off.  
"Just forget about it, it only is a drop in the bucket in comparison to my behaviour these last few weeks. Forgiven and forgotten."  
"Well, if that matter is taken care of as well, I suggest you all start moving, because all three of you have to be in DADA in about ten minutes," his father interrupted them, and Harry jumped from the sofa.  
"I will go ahead," Draco announced and left the room with a last glance at him.  
"And I will return to my office," Lucius mused, standing up as well, but he first gave Harry a quick kiss before leaving.  
When both his mates were gone, Harry took his school bag and waved to his father. "I guess I will go and meet with Ron and Hermione then," he said.  
His father nodded and gave him a quick hug and Harry left with a happy grin as well; this day would be great, he could just feel it. Draco had finally accepted him as his submissive and his two dominants seemed to be comfortable enough in their new relationship; it couldn't get any better, at least for today.  
To his surprise, he ran into Ron and Hermione outside of his rooms.  
"What are you two doing here, haven't you been to breakfast yet?" He asked, looking from Hermione to Ron and back again. Hermione threw their friend an annoyed look, but explained: "Someone overslept."  
"Oh," Harry simply replied, but couldn't really sympathize with the witch right now, he simply felt too good this morning. Hermione, always attentive, noticed his good mood and instantly asked:  
"Did something good happen today? Ron and I were already afraid that you would be in a bad mood after the accident you had yesterday."  
Harry blinked at her, but then realized that his father and first mate must have told the class an excuse for the sudden end to their Potions lesson.  
"Yeah," he merely grinned and gave Hermione a long look that told her they would speak about it later when Ron wasn't there. Her eyes widened for the barest of moments, but then she started walking and continued as if nothing had transpired between them: "Let's go, or we will be late."  
"Keep calm Mione, it isn't far to the classroom and we still have seven minutes," Ron grumbled but fell into step with them.  
They arrived at their classroom only a few minutes later, just in time for Harry to see Draco approach from the opposite direction. His mate wore his usual smirk, but Harry was somehow sure that he seemed more at ease than in the last few weeks, even though no one besides himself, Lucius, and his father would probably notice it.  
"Hey Dracy, you are late," cooed Parkinson as soon as she had spotted his mate. Harry felt the jealousy rise inside of him again; he knew that his mate needed to keep up certain appearances, but that didn't mean that he had to like it.  
His eyes were practically glued to his mate as Parkinson grabbed Draco's left arm and pushed herself flush against his body, while simultaneously fluttering her eyelashes at him. In his opinion, however, it made her look as seductive as Ginny when she had tried out the same tactic on him.  
"How disgusting," sneered Ron next to him and Harry just wanted to agree, when Draco pulled his arm out from Pansy's grasp and pushed her softly but determinedly away from him.  
"I fear I cannot do that kind of things anymore, Pansy," Draco said rather loudly, loud enough that even Lucius would be able to hear it inside his office, and Harry was sure that their oldest mate was listening.  
"Why not?" Pansy pouted and tried to get closer again. "You are so distant nowadays, Dracy-poo, what is the matter? I thought after you had left with that girl on Halloween you would be more relaxed again," the girl whined in a sickly sweet tone of voice.  
"The girl was a relative of my godfather's, I showed her around because it was my duty, nothing more. But my father has agreed on a marriage contract for me and I am engaged," Draco huffed, quickly losing his calm.  
Harry ignored the snorts from Ron next to him and instead continued to listen. His heart had started fluttering in joy from the moment Draco had pushed Pansy away, and to hear him so openly acknowledge that he was already spoken for sent Harry into a whirlwind of warm, fluffy and fluttery feelings.  
"But we are Purebloods; an engagement doesn't have to bother us, Draco. We still can have our fun, or is she that beautiful?"  
Harry nearly fainted in joy as Draco opened his mouth with a haughty smirk and said: "My fiancé is the most beautiful, kind hearted and loveable person I have ever met."  
A simultaneous gasp came from the Slytherins, and Pansy recoiled with shock written all over her face.  
"You can't mean it, Dracy?" She asked weakly, but Harry could hear in her voice that she already knew the answer.  
"I do," Draco simply said, and turned to his friend Blaise.  
"Ferret-face in love? Can you believe that?" Ron snorted, and Harry had to quickly squash the defensive growl that was already forming in his chest.  
"I actually can. Why shouldn't he be able to fall in love? And don't you think it is always nice when someone has found their special someone?" Hermione asked, causing a disgusted face to appear on Ron's face.  
"No, I don't think that the prat is able to love anybody, I bet he only says those things because his daddy has found a really good match for him and now he has to be careful that the parents of the pure girl don't notice what an arsehole he is and break the engagement again."  
Hermione sighed desperately, before turning questioning eyes on Harry, who still was smiling stupidly at nothing in particular and didn't notice her. Sure, Draco had only said the part about him being beautiful to make his point clear, but that didn't change the fact that Draco had openly declared his faithfulness to him.  
"Harry?" Hermione suddenly said loudly and her waving hand appeared in front of Harry's eyes. He jumped in surprise and finally noticed the odd looks his friends were giving him.  
"Really, you are totally out of it today," Ron said with a shake of his head, while Hermione repeated her question:  
"So, what do you think about Draco being in love?"  
Harry shrugged, before answering honestly: "I am in too good of a mood to not wish him his own happiness today."  
Ron gave him an odd look, but Hermione only smiled happily at him. "That is a good mindset to have," she agreed with him, just when their classroom door finally opened and Lucius let them in.  
Harry watched Draco striding into the room with a relaxed, or maybe even relieved, swagger to his hips past his father who also looked much more at ease this morning. His two friends were already on their way to their usual seats and he quickly followed them. Truth to be told, he was still a bit confused about everything. He was really happy about the turn his relationship with his mates had taken and the urge to make up for the lost time with Draco was strong, on the other side he still felt shy around the younger mate, especially when they couldn't be in the safety of his quarters where Lucius could stop Draco at any time in case he once again freaked out.  
Right now his body wanted to follow the younger blonde and sit down next to him, whilst his mind feared that he would have to go up to Lucius' office all alone with his younger mate, as they had done in the last few lessons.  
Resigning himself to emotional chaos for at least the next couple of days, Harry bent down and pulled his DADA-journal out, before turning his gaze to the front of the room. Lucius was just taking a pile of scrolls from his expensive leather bag and placing them on his desk. The blonde man tapped them with his wand, and suddenly his essay appeared in front of Harry. He unrolled the scroll and grinned at the red O that was written at the very bottom and the small note telling him "Well done, my little submissive."  
"Some of you need to spend more time with you assignments," Lucius started his lesson then, and Harry quickly put his homework away. His older mate walked over to stand in front of the blackboard, one hand leisurely shoved into the pocket of his trousers while the other held his famous snake-cane.  
Harry hummed silently; he loved his DADA lessons, here was the only place outside of his quarters where he could stare at his first mate without looking suspicious.  
"Today we will split the lesson up; in the first hour you will practice your transformation one last time and in the second half of this class each of you will come to the front and show us your end result," Lucius announced, and Harry felt his heartbeat quicken; he would have to go up into Lucius' office with Draco again, but he had forgotten his older mate's knowledge for his fears:  
"You, Mr. Potter will practice to take on different kind of forms, but you will have to stay down here today. My son will help you again."  
Harry sighed in relief, and as Lucius gave the class the sign to start, he stood with his classmates and quickly helped them float the tables over to the wall before going over to Draco, who greeted him with a sneer. He hadn't expected anything else; they were in class after all.  
"Potter, let's go over there," his younger mate told him and gestured with his head over to a corner that would be far away from all their classmates.  
"Um... sure," Harry replied and took his bag before following Draco over to the secluded area. The blonde Slytherin summoned a pair of pillows and they sat down opposite each other. For a short moment silence stretched between them and Harry had to fight the urge to start fidgeting nervously or stare at the blonde intensely, therefore he settled on eying his fingers intently.  
"To transform in other animals is not that different from transforming into your core creatures, it actually is slightly easier as you don't have to find out what they are. You merely need to picture them accurately in front of your inner eye," Draco finally started explaining.  
"Are your other animals also all... kids?" His mate questioned and Harry nodded in affirmation, not knowing what else to say.  
"You know, I wondered about it, but father told me from the ritual yesterday and it makes sense," Draco mused silently, his blue eyes darting over to their classmates to check that no one was listening in on them.  
Harry couldn't suppress the urge to fidget anymore; his age was a sensitive topic for him, he knew how much it had shocked Lucius and it was one of the reasons why he sometimes doubted that his mates could find him attractive. In his eyes strong, muscled and well-built men had always been attractive, while children were cute, but not in a sexual manner.  
"And?" He asked silently when Draco didn't say anything else on the topic.  
"And what?" Draco replied, his voice sounding slightly confused.  
"Does it bother you? That I am so young, I mean?"  
Draco watched him for a moment, his ice-blue orbs boring into his soul.  
"It does concern me a little, but you are my mate Harry," was the ambivalent answer he finally got after a long moment.  
Feeling as if Draco had purposefully avoided a clear answer, Harry hastily asked: "Into what kind of animal do you want me to transform first?"  
His mate shrugged but said: "Just try a cat or any other pet, but we had better leave the dangerous animals for a time when not as many skittish students are nearby."  
Nodding, Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on relaxing. It didn't take him long anymore to reach his core, and the symbolic image of all the animals he could turn into. Looking around, he searched for an animal he wanted to try out and his eyes landed on a little, black puppy. He grinned inwardly as he concentrated on the image; it almost looked like Padfoot, only much smaller and younger, Sirius surely would be excited to see him in this form.  
He felt his body shrink and shift and fur starting to cover every inch of his skin. When he finally opened his eyes again, Draco was sneering down at him.  
"A dirty mutt. You can turn into any animal there is, and your first choice is a dirty mutt?" His mate asked and leaned slightly backwards. What was it with Purebloods and their aversion to dogs?  
"But good otherwise," Draco added, still staring down at him.  
Harry waggled his tail and barked once, his voice even higher than normal, but Draco didn't even make a move to pet him and instead instructed him:  
"And now try to shift into another animal, without turning back into your human form; it is a bit harder but very useful in a duel."  
Harry concentrated again, this time on the image of a small version of McGonagall in her cat-form and his body instantly started changing again. The feeling was still slightly odd, but he could feel how the process grew more and more fluid with every transformation; maybe he would even soon be able to transform as easily as his godfather.  
His pointy cat ears caught a silent chirping sound and as he looked up, he saw Justitius flutter in through one of the open windows. Without hesitation, Harry concentrated on his little familiar and in the next moment, he fluttered over to his bat who chirped excitedly at him. They danced around each other for a moment, until Draco called him back:  
"Potter, come back down here, the chirping is giving me a headache!"  
Turning his small head, Harry saw Draco pinching the bridge of his nose and quickly fluttered over before transforming back into a human.  
"I am sorry, I didn't mean to..." he started to apologize but his second mate waved him off.  
"It's fine, it will be gone in a few minutes again," the blonde said, before bringing the conversation back to their practice:  
"I think you already have a good grasp of the transformation process. It will become easier with time."  
"I have noticed that," Harry confirmed, just when the sound of Lucius knocking with his cane on the floor a few times could be heard and the man ordered the class to return to their seats.  
Harry and Draco stood up and separated again, before helping the others to return the tables and chairs to their original positions.  
"I feel so sorry for you that you always have to help Potter," Harry heard Pansy coo as he sat down again next to his friends; but he wasn't worried anymore, not after Draco's declaration and he turned back to his friends.  
"Your transformations were impressive," Hermione said, sounding a bit envious. "We watched you a little, it looks so easy when you are transforming."  
Shrugging, Harry replied: "Maybe Draco is a good teacher?"  
Ron merely snorted: "Yeah sure. I think you are just naturally talented, I mean your mother was an animagus and so is your father. By the way, do you know what he is?"  
Harry shook his head; his father had never wanted to tell him, but he still wanted to find out what animal he could turn into.  
"I bet he turns into a bat," Ron snickered and Hermione gave him a scandalized look.  
"What?" The redhead questioned. "It would fit, you have to admit that."  
"It would," Harry snickered, thinking about the legend that vampires could turn into bats. "So, what are your animals?"  
"I am a barn owl," Hermione told him with an excited smile. "But I still have to practice the flying," she added sheepishly, making Harry chuckle; the girl had never liked flying very much, so it didn't surprise him that she was still struggling with it. But owls represented intelligence and wisdom, so he guessed that the animal still fit Hermione.  
"I am a dog a... what was its name again?" Ron asked with a questioning look at their female friend.  
"A Great Dane, Ron. Really, you should start remembering your form," Hermione answered with an exasperated roll of her eyes.  
"Silence please," Lucius called and he quickly shut his mouth again. "We will start with Miss Patil, please stand up and tell us what your animal is."  
Harry watched as his housemate stood up, clearly regretting that she had chosen a seat in the very front, and went to stand next to Lucius.  
"My animal is a peacock," she told the class loudly, but then flushed. "But I haven't managed a full transformation yet."  
"Then you may show us how far you have progressed in your practice," Lucius said and after a nervous nod, Parvati closed her eyes and concentrated.  
Harry watched in fascination as the Indian's black hair turned into the long, green feathers of the peacock's tail and her skin was covered by smaller, blue floccus. Even her clothes had vanished until it looked as if she was wearing a dress made of beautiful, dark blue feathers.  
"That is already quite good, Miss Patil. You should, however, concentrate more on the body structure of a bird, try to imagine your arms transforming into wings next time," Lucius advised her and motioned for her to return to her seat. Parvati quickly changed back, before hastily rejoining her friends.  
Next was Lavender's turn. Her animal was a white Persian cat and she successfully transformed her entire body with the exception of her face, which still remained human.  
Dean Thomas turned into a chimpanzee and he was the first one to manage a full transformation, only his clothes didn't vanish for some reason like it was meant to.  
Pansy was (to Harry's annoyance) the first one who made no mistake at all with her transformation. She as well turned into a Persian, but a rather ugly one with a flat nose, as if she had run into a wall, and a shaggy, dark brown fur in the colour of her curls.  
"Miss Granger," Lucius called, and Harry gave his friend a thumbs up as she stood up and walked to the front. The clever witch transformed after only a moment of closing her eyes and hastily flapped her wings to get herself onto the teacher's desk, who in turn gave her a slightly annoyed look, but merely said:  
"Very well done Miss Granger. I would advise you to ask one of your classmates who also turns into a bird, for some flying lessons, maybe even Mr. Potter, I saw him turn into a bat quite successfully earlier."  
Hermione the barn owl nodded before transforming back, which ended with her sitting on their Professor's desk. She flushed crimson, apologized and quickly ran back to her seat, whispering: "How embarrassing!"  
"Mr. Weasley," Harry's mate called next, and added a sneer as was expected of him. Ron glared but said nothing as he stood up as well.  
Ron needed the longest to transform, he almost stood in front of the class for three minutes, but when he finally did transform it was without any mistakes in the form of leftover human body parts. His best friend truly was an impressive sight and the Great Dane really matched him perfectly, with the long, lanky legs and the slightly befuddled look, he could clearly see the redhead in the animal.  
When Ron had returned to his seat as well, Harry rose before his name was called, knowing that it was his turn next. As he passed his older mate he saw a mischievous gleam carefully hidden in those cool, silver eyes and knew that Lucius had a special plan for him.  
"As Mr. Potter is a multimagus, I suggest that you think about an animal you wish to see him turn into and he will try to do so," his mate announced with a sadistic smirk tugging on his lips.  
Draco's hand shot up immediately and Lucius gave him a sign to speak up. The sadistic grin was openly mirrored on his second mate's face and Draco drawled: "A white peacock."  
Harry inwardly rolled his eyes at the suggestion, it was clearly meant as a harmless way of humiliation for his mate's piers.  
He closed his eyes and tried to imagine the majestic, white birds he had seen outside of his mate's impressive manor and in the next moment, he felt the well-known feeling of his bones shifting until a small version of the peacock stood on the floor.  
"Very well," Lucius said when he had eyed him intensely. "Another suggestion?"  
Ron's hand was the next that shot up.  
"A lion," his friend exclaimed and Lucius threw him a glare.  
"Five points from Gryffindor for not being patient," his mate drawled but motioned for Harry to transform nonetheless.  
He closed his eyes quickly, searched in his mind for the lion's cub, and transformed again.  
The next suggestion came from Theodore Nott and he had to turn into a toad, or rather a tadpole as he could not manage anything else. His classmates looked around in confusion as he lay on the floor feeling small, utterly helpless and annoyed.  
"Where is he?" Asked one of his classmates, it was Seamus he believed, but the ears of a tadpole were not very well developed.  
Suddenly a pale hand with long, elegant fingers picked him up and showed him to the class.  
"Mr. Potter is here," Lucius announced for all of them, and the Slytherins snickered loudly, obviously delighted at his predicament.  
The snickering, however, was drowned out by another question: "Why can he only transform into baby animals?"  
"That is Mr. Potter's personal information to entrust to you if he wishes to do so," his older mate said neutrally, and then addressed him directly:  
"Mr. Potter, maybe you could grace us with the Slytherin's house mascot before returning to your seat?"  
Harry thought for a moment, grinned inwardly and swiftly turned into a green mamba; the snake on the house emblem of Slytherin was green after all. A few screams could be heard from those who recognized the poisonous serpent he had chosen.  
Lucius said nothing and instead placed him on the floor, from where he slithered into the direction of a group of Slytherins, who all jumped on top of their chairs, while Dean and Seamus next to them only snickered.  
"That's enough, Mr. Potter," his older mate reprimanded him, and with a disappointed hiss, Harry turned back and removed the dirt from his school uniform.  
The bell announced the end of the lesson even before he had reached his table, and Lucius said loudly:  
"We will continue this in our next class, no homework today."  
Ron and Hermione had already packed their things and were waiting for him next to the door; he caught up with them, and with a last glance at his older mate, followed them to their Transfiguration classroom.  
"Today we will start with our Magical Artefacts; Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick will both be there for Transfigurations," Hermione told him excitedly as they walked down the corridors.  
Harry perked up at her words; Magical Artefacts were one of the few really interesting topics he had since his participation in the Knowledge Ritual and the Inherent Knowledge of Malfoy Manor.  
"Awesome," he grinned. "Do you already have an idea of what you would like to invent?"  
Hermione nodded excitedly. "It's nothing really new, but they are rare and really expensive, so I would like to try and create my own."  
"Mione, do you realize that we still don't know what you are talking about?" Ron huffed.  
They entered the corridor where the Transfiguration classroom was located and Hermione answered: "A two-way mirror."  
"A what?" Harry asked; he had never heard of anything like it.  
"It's a set of mirrors, you give one of them to a friend and you can speak and even see them whenever you like; I want to give one to my parents for Christmas, they always miss me," Hermione explained.  
"That sounds really useful," Harry mused, his mind wandering to what he could try and create, maybe something his mates could use? The problem with that idea was that his mates already possessed everything their hearts desired.  
They arrived at the classroom door, which was already opened, so they went inside and took their usual seats.  
McGonagall and Flitwick were indeed both already waiting for them and preparing some boxes with contents Harry could not see from where he sat.  
The class filled quickly and only five minutes later Professor McGonagall closed the door with a flick of her wand and began the lesson.  
"As I had announced in our class yesterday, you will now start working on your own artefacts. True artefacts are very hard to construct, so you should not try and invent something that is out of your league; that will only bring you to get a bad mark for an unfinished assignment. Who can once again tell me what makes a Magical Artefact special and so hard to construct?"  
Hermione's hand of course shot up immediately, but apparently Harry's second mate had raised his hand as well, because McGonagall said, "Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"  
"A Magical Artefact works without the injection of magic and therefore it has to be filled with a very high amount of power during its construction. Of course, the needed amount of magic grows with the difficulty of the task it is supposed to fulfil," Draco answered in his clear voice.  
"Correct, ten points to Slytherin," McGonagall said and continued with her explanation:  
"First you all need to consider the fact that you can theoretically use any object for your purpose, you simply have to transform it into what you need. It is of course, easier to use an already existing pair of boots if you want to charm them to always tie by themselves, but a Magical Artefact grows stronger if you use some part of yourself, like a hair, or maybe even a part of a magical creature."  
"When this first step of transfiguring is finished," Professor Flitwick piped in, taking over the explanation, "the charming of the object will begin, that is why I am here as well."  
"We have brought you a couple of possible objects as basics, but you should still consider adding something personal as well," McGonagall continued once more.  
Harry leaned over to Ron, his eyes still fixed on the two Professors and whispered: "Is it only me or do they remind you strongly of your twin brothers as well?"  
His friend snorted but nodded. "Yeah, I thought that too," he whispered back.  
Harry jolted when suddenly a cardboard box appeared in front of him and he quickly concentrated back on the lecture.  
"You will keep your objects in this box till the project is complete. Those boxes have your names written on them, so that no confusion can occur," McGonagall said. "For those of you who still don't know what artefact you wish to create, it might be a good idea to think of a problem you are confronted with regularly. Or maybe you have a family member who always struggles with one task or another; now begin," Harry's Head of House ordered them, and shuffling sounds started to fill the room as the students around him rose to their feet and walked to the front. He as well stood up, hoping that some of the items would give him an idea of what he could do. The boxes contained everything from stones and twigs to old buttons and butterbeer caps; nothing gave him any inspiration.  
With a sigh, he decided to return to his seat and think about a problem he or maybe his mates regularly had. As he turned around, he saw Draco pull a silver coin from his trouser pocket and placing it into his box; apparently his mate already had an idea.  
Ron was working as well; it seemed as if Harry was the only one without an idea.  
Sitting back down, he closed his eyes and tried to relax. Relaxing helped him think, he had found that out since his animagus training. The sounds of his friends and classmates faded into nothingness and he finally could start thinking about the task at hand.  
He decided that he wanted to create something his mates and maybe even his father could use; he had found Hermione's idea of giving an artefact as a present to someone you loved a good one, and wanted to do the same thing. It only left him with the problem of what to actually construct.  
Did his mates or his father have any problems? All three men were filthy rich, even though no one would ever guess that Severus Snape could actually bathe in gold as well. While his father was fairly immaterial, his mates truly had more clothes, jewellery, and books than a person could ever need. He was fairly sure that they even owned their own collection of Magical Artefacts.  
Of course, there was the obvious problem of their body temperature, which only...  
Harry's eyes flew wide open; he finally knew what his artefact should be able to do. But what about HIM was warming his mates and father? Was it his blood or his magic?  
In the end, it probably wouldn't matter as his magic ran through his blood.  
But which form should it take? Maybe a charm for a necklace, or would that be too girlish? It truly didn't matter right now, because first he needed to convince McGonagall to let him work on his project somewhere else, because he could not work with his blood near Draco or it would most likely end in a disaster.  
Glancing over to the blonde, he saw Draco scowling down at his wand. He knew that it wasn't Draco's true wand. It was only a borrowed one from one of his ancestors because his old wand had most likely been destroyed by Voldemort, but the piece of wood clearly gave him some trouble. He wished he could help his mate with that as well, or to be more precise, both his mates and father. Since their transformation into vampires, they all seemed to have trouble with their wands, even though Lucius and Severus could hide it much better than Draco. Harry himself only had no problems because he was using the Elder Wand, which could match any wizard and had been created by one of his ancestors.  
Standing up, he took his box and went over to Professor McGonagall. Sitting in his seat and doing nothing would not help him create anything. His friends threw him a questioning look, but he only mouthed "Later," and came to a halt in front of the two Professors.  
"How can I help you, Mr. Potter. I see you have not yet started," his Head of House asked him with a questioning expression.  
"I... wanted to ask you if I could go somewhere else to work on my project. I do not yet have complete control of my new wand yet while working with it," he explained quickly.  
McGonagall gave him a second long look, before turning to Flitwick.  
"One of us could check up on Mr. Potter periodically?" She asked the little wizard who thankfully nodded and squeaked:  
"Of course, Minerva."  
"Very well, Mr. Potter, you may go into my office, but please refrain from touching any documents," his Head of the House told him and nodded into the direction of her office door.  
Harry thanked her quickly and left the classroom.  
The office looked just as he remembered it, with the stone floor and the Gryffindor tapestry on one wall while a Pipe Bag hung behind the huge desk.  
He put his box down on the table and sat behind it, before returning his thoughts to his assignment; the thought of the wands wouldn't leave his mind.  
Why shouldn't he be able to create wands? His Elder Wand had been created as well and if Dumbledore was right, then he should even be powerful enough. Maybe he could even kill two birds with one stone and use his blood for the wands?  
Coming to a decision, he pulled his wand out, transfigured the paper box into one made from plastic and conjured a knife; he would try it, but for a wand he still needed a core. Best would be some different body part of his, something powerful, like Ollivander used.  
What did the old wizard use for the core of his wands again? Feathers, tail hairs, and heart strings.  
The words of a spell suddenly echoed through his head, like the knowledge he had gained so quickly since the summer often tended to do when it was needed. It was a dark spell, meant to pull the most useful part of a creature from its body, it would be painful, but he would be able to survive it.  
Glancing over at the office door, he quickly warded the room against the detection of Dark Magic before one of his Professors could come and check on him.  
Gritting his teeth together, he concentrated on the number of pieces he would need, and what the purpose he intended to use them for was, before muttering the Latin incantation.  
He felt his own magic rush to him like a detection spell, but only a moment later he nearly blacked out as pain ripped his chest open. With all his willpower Harry forced himself to stay conscious and pulled his wand from where he had tipped it against his sternum. Three muscle like strings clung to the end of his wand, like flashy memories. He quickly put them into the box and closed his eyes, breathing deeply until his body had healed itself and the pain had ebbed away. When he felt ready to continue, he opened his eyes again and looked down at the three pieces in the box. He couldn't know for sure, but he had the feeling that they were heartstrings.  
Taking the dagger he had conjured earlier, he cut his left wrist and held the open wound above the box and grabbed his wand again as he watched his blood trickle into the container. He started with the incantation for the artefact transfiguration and concentrated on what he wanted to achieve. His magic started to build up inside of him until it had risen so far that it left his body to crackle like lightning in the air. The blood inside the box started to bubble as if it was boiling and he repeated the incantation a second time. Even more magic left his body and he watched as his blood separated into three equal portions. The heart strings separated as well and each one of them shifted to one of the pools of blood. As he started repeating the incantation for the third time, the blood moved closer to the pieces of heartstring and enclosed them completely, and then the blood seemed to dry and to harden.  
Harry changed to the second incantation for the charm that would let his magic flow into the forming wands and enclosed it there. His magic spiked a third time, now forming a whirlwind of raw power around him, but he barely realized it as he concentrated on what he wanted to achieve.  
The office door behind him opened and he heard McGonagall gasp, but he ignored her and as his magic spiked one last time and the straight sticks of blood inside the box transformed into true wands with an elegant handle, his Head of House had to close the door again and ward it from the outside.  
The wands started to glow and Harry could practically feel how they absorbed his magic like dry sponges, but he kept pushing himself, he wanted the wands to become perfect.  
Finally, the artefacts couldn't absorb any more of his energy and he pulled his own wand away, ending the spell. Around him, his magic was still swirling and he finally noticed the state that his Professor's office was in:  
Papers, quills and even small objects had flown through the air, picked up by the powerful maelstrom of his magic.  
Wincing, he stood up and started to mutter a spell to take care of the mess, but McGonagall and Flitwick came bursting inside. His Head of House was by his side with two long steps and took his wand from his weak grasp; he was so tired, he clearly had exhausted himself.  
"Mr. Potter, what in Merlin's name have you done?" She snapped and glared down at him.  
"They are finished," Harry merely replied with a weak, but very happy smile; the wands would do a good job, he could just feel it.  
"What is finished? You can't possibly mean your project?" McGonagall asked, now sounding more baffled than angry.  
Nodding, Harry gestured over to the box where the three wands lay.  
Flitwick went over and picked one of the wands up, but immediately let go of it with a soft squeak.  
"Mr. Potter, what did you do? Are those wands?" McGonagall asked and went over to the box as well, before pulling her own out and muttering a spell, making two words appear in golden letters above the box:  
 **Vampire Blood.**  
 **Vampire Heart String.**  
His Head of House gasped, but Harry's mind felt too sluggish to realize that the witch was close to discovering his secrets.  
"What is the meaning of this? Where did you get the blood and the Heart Strings? They are prescribed ingredients. I hope you do not intend on giving them to someone."  
Harry finally stiffened, but he had to give her an answer now, and with Professor McGonagall a lie wouldn't do the trick. Closing his eyes and hoping that Dumbledore would speak with her and Flitwick again later, he said:  
"They are for my mates and my father, and the ingredients all came from my own body."  
"Your mates?" Professor Flitwick piped up, while McGonagall only stared at him as if he was telling a bad joke.  
"Mr. Potter, are you trying to tell me, that vampires live amongst the student body right now? And that you are... one of them?"  
"Yes, but we are not dangerous because we are soulmates and can only drink from each other and Albus already knows. I can't tell you more, it would be too dangerous," he told his Professors who nodded in understanding.  
"You are right, Mr. Potter," Flitwick agreed, "the Dark Lord can never find out that you have soulmates."  
"And Severus?" Asked McGonagall.  
"He is a vampire as well, but because he is my dad I am able to feed him," he explained.  
"Very well, I will trust you and not ask any more questions Mr. Potter, although I have to say I am quite shocked," his Head of House said and walked over to the box again, examining the three wands from afar.  
"I think this is nothing less than an O, or what do you think, Filius?" she asked and Harry could see that a small, but very proud smile had sneaked onto her lips.  
"Certainly, I have no doubt that they will work. When do you intend on giving them to your father and mates?" the small Professor questioned.  
"This Christmas," Harry grinned and suddenly all his tiredness and exhaustion was forgotten; he had done it, he had created three powerful wands for the most important people in his life besides Ron and Hermione, and the wands would be able to keep the cold away from Lucius, Draco, and his dad.  
"I would suggest that you use the next few lessons to also transfigure three gift boxes for those wands," McGonagall said with a smirk that Harry had never seen on her face before.  
He watched the two Professors return to the classroom, before going over to the wands and picking one up. For some reason he could feel which wand was meant for which person; they seemed to echo with the wish to connect with the magic of the person they were meant to serve. The one he was holding right now was the one for his father. All three wands looked identical. The material was of a very dark red, nearly black like dried blood logically, and they were slim, long and ended in an elegant handle. Turning the wand in his fingers, he noticed that a word was engraved in the dark surface and he squinted his eyes. There, just above the handle was the word **'Always'** , written in his own scratchy handwriting. He grimaced; couldn't his magic have used a more elegant handwriting? Like one of his mates', or even Dumbledore's?  
Sighing, he pocketed the three wands, making sure to secure them in his inner waistcoat pocket before leaving the office again.  
In the classroom, the other students were already clearing their tables. He saw Draco putting two more silver coins into his box before closing it with the lid and sending it to a cupboard where they would be stored until the next lesson.  
He joined his friends; both had already packed their things as well.  
"Hey Harry, what did you do in there?" Ron asked him as soon as he had sat down next to him.  
"I... was just working on my project," he told his friend with a sheepish shrug, knowing that neither Ron nor Hermione would be satisfied with that answer.  
"And, what have you chosen?" Hermione asked, just like he had known she would.  
Glancing quickly over to his mate, he grabbed Hermione's quill, ripped a piece of parchment from an empty scroll of hers, and wrote down:  
New wands for my dad and my mate.  
His friends bent over the message and Hermione drew in a surprised breath.  
"But Harry, that... that will be too difficult, even for you!"  
"Yeah, man, that's bonkers!" Ron agreed with a shake of his head.  
Smirking, Harry only patted his breast pocket. "I already did it and McGonagall and Flitwick are sure that they will work; they gave me an O."  
"You are already finished?" Hermione shrieked, making some students look up.  
"Yep, but keep it down, I told you Malfoy knows my mate and I don't want anything to spread, I want it to be a Christmas present," he hushed her.  
Hermione blushed and quickly nodded.  
They were interrupted by the sound of chairs scratching over the floor and realized that they had been dismissed.  
"So Harry, what do you think about relaxing in your whirlpool while Ron suffers in Divination?" Hermione suggested as they left the classroom; it was clear that she finally wanted to speak to him without their redheaded friend and find out what good things had happened between yesterday around lunchtime and this morning.  
"Sure," he smiled back, linking his arm with hers.  
From behind him rose a low, threatening growl and he quickly separated from Hermione again; he would have to explain his close relationship with his friends as soon as possible. He knew that Draco would probably have tried to stop him from his date with his friend, but the blonde boy had classes now.  
It somehow made him feel slightly guilty, but when he had first been mated to Lucius he had already promised himself that his new relationships would not influence his friendships and he stood by that decision. Ron and Hermione were like siblings to him, they had been his family even before he had gotten to know the rest of the Weasley-clan and Severus.  
They left Ron, who went into the Great Hall to eat first, and went directly back to his tower.  
They found Nagini once again in the hot water, but she curled her huge body together as soon as she saw them and then closed her eyes again.  
"I would never have thought that I would one day get used to bathing with a snake," Hermione snickered and transformed her school robes into a bikini.  
"Me neither," Harry agreed and quickly transfigured his clothes as well, before following Hermione, who had already lowered herself into the water.  
It truly was annoying sometimes that he could no longer discern between the sensations of warmth and cold anymore, but he still closed his eyes and relaxed for a few minutes while he waited for his friend to start the conversation. He didn't have to wait long:  
"So Harry, something good has happened? With your mates?"  
"Yes," he confessed and felt a flush rise to his cheeks.  
"I knew it!" Hermione exclaimed. "You are so happy today; it could only have been caused by your mates. Did you come to an understanding with your second mate?"  
Harry sighed, this was all so complicated, especially as long as he couldn't tell the whole truth, but he nodded and tried his best to explain:  
"I told you last time that he would come to his senses because he... would need me, right?"  
"You did," Hermione affirmed and he continued.  
"Well, he snapped yesterday and... kind of attacked me, but my other mate showed up and pulled him away, and when he came to his senses, he was so shocked that he apologized and we started to talk..." he told her, hoping that his explanation didn't sound too confusing or too lame.  
"Both of your mates were at Hogwarts yesterday?" Hermione asked with huge eyes and Harry cursed himself silently at his slip up, but quickly came up with an excuse:  
"Yeah, I had a date with my first mate, so I knew that he would show up, but that my other mate showed up as well was pure coincidence, but I think it was good. I was really shocked afterwards; they are both so much taller and stronger, even my second mate, despite the fact that he is younger than the first."  
Hermione was silent for a moment and Harry could see that she was thinking about what he had told her just now, but when she spoke up again, she had a small, happy smile on her face.  
"I think it had to end like that, ignoring one's instincts can't end well, but in the end everything turned out well and now you three can finally work together on your relationship. I am so happy for you!" She smiled brightly and gave him a quick hug, before asking:  
"Do you still want to wait about telling Ron until you have turned seventeen?"  
Harry sighed again; Hermione had a gift for always asking the most complicated questions. Truth to be told, he knew that Ron was getting suspicious and annoyed with his and Hermione's secretiveness, but he first had to straighten some things out with his mates and then initiate Draco into the Order, so that at least no one could accidentally blurt out something about the blonde.  
"No, but I need a bit more time. My mates and I have only started to discuss our relationship, it is not easy to set boundaries for a relationship with three people and a lot has happened in the last two month between me and my second mate, we need to clear that all up first, but maybe I could use the Christmas holidays to introduce them; Padfoot will want to meet them as well," he said with a wince, the meeting between the two Malfoy's and Sirius would not end well, Sirius would probably try to castrate them for having dared to touch him; the man just couldn't trust a Malfoy, not even as a mere Order Member.  
"I will help you when you tell them," Hermione promised and then asked: "So, how is it having a relationship in a threesome?"  
Harry flushed, but he truly couldn't say a lot about it yet.  
"I don't know, really. We only started talking yesterday and before that, we practically never met as a threesome," he told her, thinking that the few times when Lucius had scolded them or had signed their mating contract did not really count. Not even the one time they had gone to Malfoy Manor last week could honestly be counted; Draco had not talked with him much and always stayed behind a bit.  
"Last night we shared a bed for the first time, but nothing happened and I wouldn't have wanted it to. My older mate took me in his arms and I held the hands of my other mate the whole night," he told her musingly, evoking a soft smile on his friends face.  
"Well, when you know how a threesome works, you have to tell me," she snickered.  
Harry faked horror and said with huge innocent eyes: "Never let Ron find out that you know the word threesome."  
"I honestly don't understand how Ron could turn out to be so prudish with his five brothers. I mean, the wizarding world can be a bit old fashioned, at least I think they like to pretend to be old fashioned in public, but Ron should have heard enough from his brothers."  
"He should, and you are right. My mates are both Purebloods and they are anything but innocent," Harry told her, his eyes fixed on Nagini who was still sleeping across from them.  
"Does your father know your mates?"  
He looked up again and blinked at his friend. "Yeah, he knows them."  
"And, does he like them?" Hermione prodded with a serious expression.  
"Well, he normally likes both of them, but with the chaos we experienced in the last eight weeks, I think he wasn't that thrilled about them," he said musingly, before deciding that they needed a slight change of topic. Stretching his right hand out, he summoned the three wands he had created. They flew over from where he had placed them on one of the benches and landed in his hands. Hermione gasped as she saw the three items and stretched out her hand automatically, but stopped.  
"Can I take a look at one?" She asked, biting excitedly on her bottom lip like she tended to do when she was especially interested in something.  
"You can, but neither Flitwick nor McGonagall wanted to touch them," he warned her, but of course it didn't stop the witch. She picked up the one for Draco and gasped again, but she didn't let go of the wand even though her hand was shaking.  
"I... can feel your magic... It's... so powerful!" She whispered in awe and turned the wand around.  
"Can you differentiate between them?"  
Nodding, Harry pointed at the wand she was holding and said: "That is the one for my second mate," he shifted his finger to point at the wand that lay closer to Hermione on his hand and added: "And this is the wand for dad."  
"That's amazing, how do you do that?" Hermione asked with wide eyes.  
"I can feel to which signature they want to connect. They are different, even though I used the same materials for all three of them," he explained and took Draco's wand, which Hermione was handing back to him, before sending them all back to the bench.  
Soft footsteps came from the hallway and Harry turned his head, he recognized them of course, even though they were not yet as familiar as Lucius'.  
"I am afraid we have to end our bathing session now," he sighed, but silently he couldn't wait to spend time with his mates, even though they would only continue their conversation from yesterday, and it would probably not stay especially pleasant.  
Hermione gave him a questioning look, but in that moment Draco already called out:  
"Potter, are you here? Dumbledore wants to see us!"  
The part about Dumbledore was definitively an excuse, but Harry answered nonetheless.  
"I am here, Malfoy!" he shouted back and heard the footsteps turning. Draco appeared in the door only a second later, his arms crossed and sneering.  
"Lazing about again, Potter? Move your bony arse, I still have better things to do today than wait for you and go on errands for the crazy old fool that calls himself a Headmaster." Harry threw his mate a fake glare, not able to voice any insults and lifted himself out of the pool.  
"I guess I will take my leave then," Hermione said, dried herself with a drying spell and returned her school uniform back to normal. Harry quickly did the same, but he also conjured a towel which he 'accidentally' placed over the three wands that still laid in plain sight. Draco meanwhile stood still in the doorframe and eyed their every movement, the first thing he would do when Hermione was gone would be to explain things to the boy.  
"Well, we will see you tomorrow, Harry," Hermione said with a weak smile and waved at him, before pushing her way past Draco and disappearing. Draco followed her departure with narrowed eyes but said nothing.  
"Is Lucius already here as well?" Harry asked when he was back in his normal clothes to distract his mate from his anger towards his friends.  
"He is waiting in your living room," Draco replied and finally turned his head back to him.  
"Then let's join him," Harry said and took the towel with the wands. "I just have to throw that into the hamper," he told his mate and left the bathroom to make his way quickly into Gryffindor's room where he intended to hide the wands.  
The room was dark when he entered, as no fire was lit in the hearth, but he didn't mind. Making his way over to the cupboard, he opened the lower drawer and took the wands from the towel before hiding them in the very back. He then stood up, opened the cupboard doors, took a few pairs of his school uniforms and placed them on top of the wands. Content with the makeshift hiding place he closed the drawer and the door again and turned around, only to see a pile of different clothes laying on the bed across from him. Remembering the order to buy traditional robes he had given Oscar, he went over and scanned the outfits. It wasn't that many, but at least five or so. Thinking that he could start with his mission to find out which clothes Draco would like on him today, he picked the top robe up and went into the bathroom.  
The robe was of the same cut Dumbledore favoured, but luckily not as colourful. He stripped out of his waistcoat, his button-down, his tights, short and boots, and pulled the rather thick, dark blue and gray robe over his head.  
Turning to the mirror, he decided that the robe made him somehow look even smaller, but it at least hid his skinny frame, now he only needed fitting boots, because the ones he had been wearing would certainly not match.  
Sighing, he transfigured his high-heel boots into a plain pair of flat, gray ankle boots and slipped inside. The ankle boots felt very odd after having gotten used to the other pair and it made him lose some inches as well, but if Draco would like him in this outfit it would be worth it, then he would only need to change between one style and the other every other day to satisfy both his mates.  
"Harry?" Lucius called and he quickly left the bathroom.  
"I'm coming!" He shouted and entered the living room a moment later. Lucius had sat down on the sofa this time, maybe because his father was still in class and couldn't be by his side during the conversation, while Draco sat once again in his usual armchair. They both looked up when he entered and gave him an odd look; apparently neither of them liked this particular robe. Ignoring his disappointment, he walked over to the sofa and sat down next to Lucius, but with a polite space between them. Draco sat stiffly and he knew enough about Malfoy's by now to realize that he was nervous. He gave him a small smile, intending to start the conversation, but Draco spoke up first.  
"Harry, could you explain your relationship with your friends, especially Hermione Granger, a bit to me? You seem very close and although I know I should not make demands in my current position, I still think that we all should consider our other mate's feelings and keep a polite distance to the other sex."  
Harry flushed, but was glad that they would finally talk about it.  
"Ron and Hermione are like family to me, they are my siblings..." he started hesitatingly. His eyes lowered automatically to watch his hands which were clasping each other in an attempt to channel his nervousness.  
"My home life has been... bad," he continued and Draco gave him a curt nod.  
"Father mentioned it yesterday," the blonde teen said but didn't elaborate.  
"My uncle and my aunt, they hated me for having magic, for being abnormal... a freak. My cousin made sure that no potential friends ever dared to stay friends with me, they were all too afraid of him, and most of the time I was locked away regardless, so Ron and Hermione were my first friends. They were the first people after Hagrid who gave me presents and they were the first people who listened to me. In the holidays before our second year, Ron and his twin brothers even rescued me from Privet Drive when I didn't answer their letters. Well, that had actually been your family's House Elf who had stolen my post, but even if the letters had arrived, I wouldn't have been able to answer because uncle Vernon always locked my things away and Hedwig wasn't allowed to fly either."  
Looking up he saw that a slight pink dusting had crept up Draco's neck, probably because of his mentioning of Dobby.  
"Our friendship grew stronger from our first train ride and they have been by my side through everything, at least nearly. They didn't even judge me when I announced that I planned on taking over the Order," he ended silently and waited for Draco to say something, but the blonde was only frowning and looking deeply in thought right now. Lucius took his right hand and squeezed it lightly and gave him a small smile; the man always knew when he needed reassurance.  
"And why are you so cozy with Granger? I could understand your explanation if Weasel had been there as well, but you often meet alone with Granger as well," Draco finally said, his face a hard mask.  
Shrugging, Harry said: "I needed to talk to somebody about what was going on in my life, even if I could not tell them much, but Ron isn't the type for those conversations, he says its girls stuff."  
Draco wrinkled his nose, if it was in agreement or just because they were talking about Ron, Harry couldn't say.  
"Draco," Lucius spoke up for the first time. "Your instincts have yet to develop and they will do so as soon as you start drinking blood from Harry, but I can assure you that the relationship between the three is purely platonic. Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger might have an interest in each other, but not in Harry."  
"How can you be so sure, father?" Draco asked and turned his ice blue eyes on him.  
"I can smell it, and you will be able to as well. Until then, I would suggest that Harry not invite his friends to a pool party and you try to be understanding," Lucius answered and gave Harry and Draco a pointed look.  
Harry nodded, he could understand where Draco came from; he had felt the same as he had seen his younger mate with Pansy and Daphne.  
"Very well," Draco agreed and then asked: "And what is it with Severus? You spent the last couple of nights with him and even took his blood. I can be understanding about your friends, but Severus is a strong man, a dominant so to speak, and he is neither married nor mated or interested in anybody. What you did could be viewed as unfaithfulness. Drinking blood is an intimate act; you should not do that with anyone besides father and myself."  
Harry recoiled at the angry tone in Draco's voice and his furious expression. He scooted closer to Lucius who instantly took him onto his lap and started to rub his back soothingly.  
"Hush Harry, just tell him," Lucius said and took one of his hands again, while the other continued with the soothing rubbing.  
Harry needed a moment to find the courage to meet Draco's eyes again and he couldn't banish the tremor from his voice as he mumbled:  
"Severus... he... he is my father."  
Draco's face fell and for a few seconds, his mate only blinked stupidly at him. "My godfather is your...?... but James Potter...?"  
Shaking his head hastily, Harry quickly explained: "My mom and Severus were friends even before they went to Hogwarts and they later even started going out, but one day my parents had a huge argument and Severus was so angry that he joined Lord Voldemort. My mom noticed that she was pregnant a couple of weeks later and went for help to her cousin, James."  
"You mean your mom was one of those rare squib descendants?" Draco asked; his eyes had gone wide.  
"Yes, in terms of magic she was the daughter of Charles Antonius Potter and Natalia Maria Hufflepuff."  
"Is that the reason why Dumbledore allows you to stay in these rooms? Because you are related to two of the Founders?" Draco asked and the frown returned to his angelic face.  
"No... not really," Harry blushed and fought the urge to hide in Lucius' robes; he always felt so embarrassed when the conversation turned to his bloodline, his wealth or his fame.  
"Dumbledore, with as much power as he has over this castle cannot allow someone to stay in these rooms, Draco," Lucius continued for him when the man noticed that he would not get anything out right now. "These quarters can only be inherited by the rightful Heir to Hogwarts."  
"But Hogwarts can only be inherited by a person who is related to all four of..." Draco started to argue, but then realization dawned on him and his eyes widened.  
"Harry?" he asked, wanting to hear an affirmation or some kind of explanation.  
Looking up from where he had pressed his face in the folds of Lucius' robes again, Harry gave Draco a weak smile. "Dad is related to Slytherin and Ravenclaw," he explained weakly.  
"So you told the truth when you said that Parseltongue was your own ability?" Draco questioned.  
"Yes," Harry merely answered, not knowing what else there was to say about it and he wanted the conversation to return to his father. Biting on his lower lip, he fidgeted once before asking: "Can I... Can I still sleep over at daddy's place sometimes?" His heart missed a beat when he saw Draco's eyes soften for the first time since they had all sat down together.  
"Of course you can still visit him," Draco said and Lucius let out a huge sigh behind him.  
"Now, that this is taken care of, I wish to give you this Draco," Lucius said and pulled a small box from one of his pockets. He pushed Harry carefully from his lap and leaned over to place the box on the coffee table in front of his son.  
Harry leaned forwards as well to get a better view. The box looked like an elegant jewellery box, crafted from silver and decorated with emeralds, the Malfoy crest was engraved on its lid and it looked immensely old. His second mate was staring at the box as if he could not believe what he was seeing, and Harry had the feeling that the box contained an important family heirloom.  
"Draco," continued Lucius and his voice resonated with the importance of the moment.  
"I think you know the story about the two twin brothers who both inherited the position of the Head of our family."  
Draco nodded but said nothing and Harry simply continued to watch father and son, knowing that this was something just between the two of them.  
"A second family ring had been manufactured back then and I want to give it to you," Lucius explained, but when Draco only gave him a questioning look, he continued: "We are father and son and thus I am right now the only Head of the family, but we also are equal mates now and I want you to wear this ring as sign of our equality. Today at midnight you will become an official Head to the Malfoy line as well, I filled out all the necessary documents at Gringotts and when we continue to discuss the terms of our relationship with Harry, I want you to remember that we are now equal and that you have the same rights as I have." Lucius paused, but neither Harry nor Draco dared to speak as it was clear that their mate was not yet finished.  
"Draco, you are an adult, you do not need a father anymore, but we all need our mates. I will always be there for you, but our relationship has to change."  
Draco took the jewellery box carefully, opened it, and Harry could see that it indeed contained a ring that looked exactly like the one his older mate was wearing. He, of course, did not know much about family honour, or what it meant for Draco to be given this ring, but his second mate's hands were slightly shaking as he took the signet ring from the box and put it on his right middle finger.  
"Thank you, father," Draco said looked Lucius in the eyes, who gave a curt nod, before gesturing at Harry. "I think you two should clear out some more things as well before we begin to discuss the shape of our relationship."  
Harry picked the diary up which he had placed on the coffee table last night and laid it down in his lap. He had no idea what he should say. Draco had gone through a lot because of him and he was glad that he finally understood his mate better and that the blonde had entrusted him with his secrets. Finally, he said the only thing he could think off:  
"I am so sorry, Draco, I never knew..."  
"Would you tell me, what I did wrong during our first meeting?" Draco asked and put his elbows on his knees to support himself.  
Thinking about it now, his reasons for rejecting Draco sounded so ridiculous and insignificant, but he still nodded. "You just reminded me of my cousin; he also always thought that he was better than me..."  
"But I did not think that I was better than you," Draco interjected, but Harry only said:  
"But you thought you were the best."  
He saw that his mate had no response to that and quickly added: "I think we were both young back then and made many mistakes. We came from opposite worlds and were not ready to listen to the other. But I am still very thankful for what you had done for me, especially in our Second Year."  
"What did you do for Harry in your Second Year Draco?" Lucius asked and Draco paled a little.  
"I gave the diary I was supposed to smuggle into his things to the Weaslette instead," Draco said and despite his paleness, his voice was strong and unwavering.  
Lucius sighed. "I guess it was good that you did not follow my orders," he said while Harry frowned. Apparently, Lucius did not know about Draco's infatuation with him, but they were mates and should not have any secrets from each other, or one would start to feel left out.  
"Um... Draco? How much does your father know about this?" He asked his younger mate and gestured down to the book.  
"Not much, maybe even nothing at all," Draco answered. "Why?"  
"Because I think he should know as well. I mean, we are mates and we will spend our whole lives together, which hopefully will be a very long time; it shouldn't start with secrets."  
Draco didn't look particularly happy with his suggestion, but nodded and turned once more to his father:  
"You remember when I was thirteen and started to have dreams?"  
"Yes, you were quite panicked," Lucius drawled and lifted his trademark eyebrow.  
"It was because of Harry. I met him at Madame Malkins a few days earlier and I instantly fell in love with him. I think I even noticed our soulbond back then."  
Lucius sighed again. "I can imagine that Harry was not impressed with you. I needed a while to understand his point of view as well... it will come with time," the older Malfoy said.  
Thinking that they could finally put the past behind them, Harry said:  
"Maybe you two could talk about this better after Lucius had read the book?"  
Lucius nodded in agreement. "You are right, Harry, we have more important things to discuss right now than the past."  
"So... um..." he said, looking from Lucius to Draco and back again "What do you have in mind?"  
"Father and I could divide our time with you," Draco suggested and Harry felt his heart sink. He didn't want two relationships; that would only feel like he was having a secret affair, he wanted one with both his mates.  
"I do not think that our bond is meant to be lived separately," Lucius luckily interjected. "We all are soulmates, not only you and Harry and I and Harry, we are mates as well; the only difference is that it is not as noticeable and I don't think that Harry would ever be happy with that solution."  
"So, a threesome?" Draco asked, lifting both of his eyebrows and Harry quickly nodded in agreement. He glanced over to Draco, who said "very well," before noting:  
"But the three of us are still at very different levels, so what do you suggest?"  
To Harry's amazement, Lucius turned his silver eyes back to him and lifted an eyebrow questioningly.  
It wasn't that he didn't know what he wanted, but his wish sounded too cruel to his own ears to be spoken out loud. He didn't want to hurt Draco or give him the feeling that he wanted to exclude him, but he also missed the closeness with Lucius. However, in the end he could only consider one of his mates in their current situation.  
"Harry, just say what you want and Draco and I will then tell you if it will be possible or not," Lucius said softly, but Harry shook his head, he had the feeling he was already demanding too much from his dominants.  
"You are the dominants, it's your right to decide about our future," he mumbled weakly, looking once again down at his nervously intertwined hands.  
"Do you think father and I would force you into something you would not want?" Draco sneered, a glimpse of their old animosity coming through.  
He quickly shook his head, not wanting to upset his mate any further. "No, of course not. It's just… I…" He bit his bottom lip; he did not yet feel comfortable enough around Draco to explain to him how weak his submissive instincts made him sometimes, how much he hated to make large decisions and how much he just wished that his mates would take all the burdens from him.  
Suddenly a strong hand grasped his chin and forced his face to look up into hard, silver eyes.  
"Harry, you will tell us how you want to proceed with our bond now!" Lucius ordered, giving him a way out without having to explain, he closed his eyes and nodded in relief. "I... want to date Draco and get to know him better, but I also want our closeness back. I want to sleep in your arms and kiss you goodnight and touch you, but I don't want to do that with Draco yet."  
"Good," said Lucius and let go of his chin again. He was relieved when the expectant, silver gaze turned to Draco and requested a statement about the situation from him.  
"I have to admit that it is hard to watch you and father, but I also can understand that you wish to be near him again. Maybe we could meet each other halfway?"  
"Halfway?" Harry asked with a frown, not really understanding what his second mate wanted from him.  
"I believe Draco means that you can sleep in my arms and we can kiss, but refrain from engaging in any more intimate actions."  
That actually sounded like a fair solution. This way he could be near Lucius again and he would not hurt Draco's feelings too much.  
"Okay," he agreed and scooted a bit closer to his first mate, who automatically laid an arm around his shoulders.  
"It is rather late now and I suggest that we all head to bed," Lucius said and stood up.  
When Harry rose as well he noticed how tired he already was. The day had been long and eventful and it had worn him out. The prospect of yet another night in his first mate's arms did the rest for his tired body. He stretched tiredly and watched Draco getting up as well.  
"Do you want to go and get changed first Harry?"  
Relieved by the offer Harry nodded and left the living room for their new bedroom. He sighed as his eyes landed on the door to his and Lucius' old bedroom; he had wanted to try another one of the outfits Oscar had bought for him, but he hadn't had the chance to change when Draco had appeared so suddenly. Making a mental note that he would at least try out one of the new robes tomorrow, he entered Ravenclaw's room, summoned his pyjamas, Weasley-jumper and his bathrobe and entered the bathroom to change. Having worn his school robes for two days by now, he put them into the hamper, even though they didn't really get dirty anymore; but he felt better changing regularly, even if he did not sweat anymore.  
When he stepped out of the small room again, he saw that his two mates had changed as well already and were waiting for him, sitting on the edge of the bed. Like last night, they both wore silk pyjamas; Lucius in black and Draco in dusty grey, clearly they were not used to so much clothing during the night and looked slightly uncomfortable, at least he thought so, it was always hard to tell with Malfoy's.  
He gave them a small smile before climbing into bed beside them. As if given a nonverbal order, both Draco and Lucius moved as well, taking their places left and right of him. Harry scooted closer to Lucius and lay down.  
"Sleep well, Lucius, Draco," he said with a content smile and once more took Draco's hand.  
Lucius laid an arm around his waist and said, "Good night," and relaxed behind him.  
"Sleep well, Harry, father," Draco sighed and squeezed his hand softly.  
Harry closed his eyes and relaxed as well. His instincts hummed silently as he felt his first dominants strong body behind him and his second dominants firm hold on his hand. It took him hardly a minute to drift off and fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.


	34. Chapter 34: Occlumency

**Chapter 34: Occlumency**

 **HP**

Harry felt malicious joy course through his system. Finally a success! Mad laughter rose inside his chest and bubbled out of him, like the ringing sound of doom. Nothing would stop him now; the fear the result of this night would spread in the wizarding society, making them easy victims, like sitting ducks, and he would finally win.  
His laughter became maniacal, until he was swept away like a mad hurricane.  
He opened his eyes, still laughing. A pale, worried face appeared in his line of sight, followed by a second face, which looked at him with equal concern. He arched his eyebrows as his laughter continued, and slowly started to wonder why his mates looked so concerned. Only then did he realize that he was still laughing and shut his mouth, suddenly feeling confused.  
"Harry, was it the Dark Lord again?" Lucius asked, his tone as worried as his expression, while Draco squeezed his hand tightly as if his second mate was afraid that he would be whisked away by Voldemort at any moment.  
It took him a moment until Lucius' question had finally reached his brain, and it took him an enormous amount of effort to remember what exactly he had been feeling. He remembered the feeling of victory; of accomplishment and an evil, malicious sense of joy.  
"Yes," he finally whispered, looking up into the pale faces of his soulmates. Their expressions changed from concern to a scared determination, even though Draco still looked slightly confused and Lucius asked: "Was it a vision again or only feelings?"  
"You see visions of the Dark Lord?" Draco asked, his expression hardening.  
"Not anymore," he told his mate truthfully. "I only get feelings now, since...since…" He bit his bottom lip, feeling awful but knowing that he could not explain it in more detail to Draco as long as the blonde had not joined the Order and was protected by the bonding spell.  
"You don't have to explain now," Draco soothed him, and his hand twitched as if the boy wanted to lift them up and comb through his messy locks, but held himself back at the last second. "But why has Dumbledore not taught you Occlumency yet?"  
Harry only shrugged. His dad and Lucius had asked the same question after his horrible vision during the summer holidays, but he still had no answer.  
"Draco is right; you need to learn how to protect your mind. Your connection is already a danger for you, but once the Dark Lord notices the link it will become a danger for all. I will speak to your father later, and after class we all will go to the Headmaster and speak with him; something has to be done about this."  
Nodding Harry snuggled back into Lucius' embraced, he must have moved away during his vision, or whatever the strange feelings he got from the Dark Lord could be called.  
"Could you sense what has made the Dark Lord so… happy?" Draco asked into the silence that had arisen.  
Harry concentrated again, but Voldemort's joy could have been caused by many things, so he merely shook his head again.  
"We will most likely find out in the morning. Something that had caused such a reaction within the Dark Lord is bound to be significant enough to appear in the Prophet" Lucius mused and lay down again.  
"We should probably try to get some more rest," Draco said and pulled his blanket higher, but Harry could see that neither of his mates truly believed that they would be able to sleep anymore. Still, he snuggled deeper under the comforter he shared with Lucius, closed his eyes and tried to relax. After about ten minutes he gave up on his futile attempted and conjured a tempus to check what the time was. It was 7 by now, which meant that they still had an hour left until they needed to get up. Next to him, Draco huffed in annoyance and actually sat up.  
"It's of no use," his second mate said and flicked his wand, and a second later, a book came speeding through the air and landed in the blonde's lap.  
Thinking that reading might be a better idea than worrying about what Voldemort could have done this time, Harry flicked his own wand and summoned the copy of Quidditch, a History from the living room.  
"If neither of you plan on sleeping anymore, I can use the time as well and correct some essays." Lucius announced and sat up, before calling out "Oscar," and waiting for the elf to appear.  
The next hour Harry spent with his head propped up on Lucius' thighs and reading, while his mates were reading and working. It took him a while, but slowly his tense muscles relaxed and he could enjoy the book. His mates relaxed as well because they all knew that they couldn't do anything right now anyway, not until they had found out what had happened in the first place.  
At five past eight, the silence of their bedroom was disturbed by silent footsteps and a knock a moment later. Harry, who had recognized the steps, sat up and called "Come in dad," and waited for his father to step into the room.  
His father entered like a shadow in the darkness of the room, a folded newspaper in his hands.  
"I see you already know," the man said and Harry stretched his arms out, wanting a hug and a kiss from his father. Severus obliged, but the hug ended up being too quick for his liking.  
"What happened, I only got some feelings again," he asked and took the paper from his father.  
"Nothing good," the Potions Master scowled as Lucius and Draco leaned over his shoulder to get a good view as well.

 _ **MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN  
MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT"  
FOR OLD DEATH EATERS**_

Harry gasped as his eyes landed on the headline and he then quickly started reading the article below:

 _ **The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban. Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirmed that ten high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of last night and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.**_

 _ **"We most unfortunately find ourselves in the same position we were in two and a half years ago when the murderer, Sirius Black, escaped," said Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated.**_

 _ **An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally suited to help others follow in his footsteps. We think it likely that these individuals, who include Black's cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, have rallied around Black as their leader. We are however, doing all we can to round up the criminals and beg the Magical Community to remain alert and cautious. We recommend that the public not approach any of these dangerous individuals."**_

 _ **However after the incident at King's Cross at the end of Hogwarts' last school year, protests are getting louder that these attacks are not only being done by a group of former Death Eaters. This, together with the rumour that the famous Headmaster and figurehead of the Light side Albus Dumbledore has called together his secret organization, which has already fought You-Know-Who' Dark Army during the last war, is making this reporter wonder if the Ministry is not just trying to hide the fact that they would be helpless against a new rise of the feared Dark Lord.**_

 _ **Another rumour also says that our famous hero, Harry Potter, has also joined Headmaster Dumbledore's forces. While Sirius Black's involvement in this attack cannot be argued, the question whether he is the true ringleader behind the scenes remains, but this reporter promises you to continue to hunt for news concerning this terrifying situation.**_

 _ **Rita Skeeter**_

He had grown angrier and angrier as the article had progressed until he started growling by the end of it.  
"Sirius would never help Death EATERS escape!"  
"Hush, Harry," his father said and kneeled down in front of him. "I know that and your mates and friends and every other important person knows it as well."  
"I know," he huffed, still feeling insulted in lieu of his godfather.  
"And they are starting to question the credibility of the Ministry," Draco added with a hard face.  
"Indeed," his other mate mused. "Fudge is losing footing and the more his reputation suffers, the more people will turn to you for advice, and did you not wish to change some things in our society?"  
"Yes, you three are right, it's just so unfair what they are saying about Sirius," he sighed and cuddled into his father's side.  
"It is, and one day he will be redeemed; you will make sure of that my little brat," his father said and kissed his head affectionately. "But right now we have more pressing matters to concern ourselves with."  
"Indeed," Lucius agreed."You need to start teaching Harry Occlumency today, this link is too dangerous to leave open."  
"And why is Severus teaching Harry Occlumency?" Draco suddenly sneered, causing Harry to flinch.  
"Because," his father sneered, sounding as if he had just started going into protective mode "I am his father and certainly much better at Occlumency than you or Lucius, who think that a mind is a forest you can go through with an axe!"  
"What is an axe?" His mates drawled simultaneously, making Harry and his father sigh in exasperation.  
"A tool Muggles use to cut wood," Severus explained quickly, before bringing the conversation back to their main topic: "We cannot do much about the breakout. They will hide well and the Dark Lord will protect his most loyal followers who have suffered for him in Azkaban for the last twelve years. But I think you two are right about the Occlumency. Do I guess correctly that you plan on speaking with Albus after classes have ended for the day?"  
"Correct," Lucius affirmed and Draco added: "We should get ready for class now; it is already half past eight."  
Harry watched his mate end the tempus he had conjured before getting to his feet and leaving the room to get a fresh school robe. He dressed in Gryffindor's bathroom, still feeling more comfortable to not change near Draco; he didn't want to send the blonde the wrong signals.  
When he had laced his waistcoat and pulled one of the coats over, he returned to the living room, where by now both Lucius and Draco sat. He came to a halt in the doorway, for a moment wondering what was confusing him about the picture in front of him, until he noticed that Draco was not wearing a school robes, but an ensemble that looked exactly like the robes Lucius was always wearing, with the only difference being that Draco's pair was made from a dusty blue material and not black. The Malfoy signet ring sat on his right ring finger and he looked more smug and arrogant than Harry had ever seen him since the toilet- incident. Blushing, he quickly looked down. Draco looked good in his new outfit and the self- confidence fit him much better than the careful boy he had been the last two days. Truth to be told, he was quite excited that he was getting to know his ex-nemesis better know, he wanted to find out what better sides of the blonde he had missed in his irrational hate.  
"I will return to my room now," Draco said, pulling him out of his musings. Harry had not expected that his second mate would say his goodbyes when they would only see each other again in about 15 minutes in Potions, but the blonde came over to him and looked down at him for a long moment, making him nervous, before bending slightly at his waist and taking his hand to press a soft kiss to its back.  
"I will see you in Potions," Draco whispered, his eyes fixed intently on him. Harry could only flush and nod at the polite gentleness.  
"See you soon," he whispered when he had gathered himself again, but his younger mate was already gone. Lucius and his father gave him amused looks from where they sat on the sofa, but luckily his dad changed the topic by saying:  
"I have marked your punishment essay about soulmates; you did very well, but you should try to write with your left hand, your penmanship is nearly illegible."  
Frowning, Harry asked "And why should I write with my left hand then? Won't it get only worse?"  
"Harry, Lily was left-handed, as am I and I know for a fact that my writing always looks as messy as yours does when I try and write with my right hand. Could it be that your aunt and uncle re-educated you when you were little?"  
Suddenly an image of his aunt pouring boiling water over his left hand flashed through his mind and he gave a pitiful mewl.  
"I think that answers your question," Lucius said and was by his side with two long strides and picking him up. He instantly buried his face into his first mate's shoulder and tried to keep the tears at bay; he wouldn't cry about something that had happened such a long time ago and which he had not even remembered until now. But his nerves seemed to remember the pain and a single tear ran down his cheeks.  
"Shh Harry, it is over and they are dead, they cannot hurt you anymore," Lucius said while his father joined them and started to rub his back soothingly.  
"You are right," he sniffed, wiping the tear away. "It's pathetic what a cry-baby I have become."  
His father gave him an angry glare, but as the man spoke his voice was as smooth and warm as ever: "You are not pathetic; I do not want to hear you say that ever again. You are still very young, you are a submissive and a lot has happened in the last few days."  
Lucius sat him down again and he gave the two older vampires a thankful smile. "You are right. I will just go to Potions now. See you in a few," he grinned, suddenly feeling better again. He gave his mate and his father each a quick peck before grabbing his bag and leaving his quarters.  
Ron and Hermione were not waiting in front of his door this morning, thus he simply made his way down to the dungeons where he found his friends already waiting for him, both looking pale.  
"Have you read the Daily Prophet article already?" Ron asked in a hushed voice as soon as he had joined them. He opened his mouth to answer, but before he had a chance to say anything Dean, Seamus, Parvati and Lavender came over.  
"I have, but there isn't much we can do right now, especially as long as the Ministry is still playing stupid," he sight, easily slipping into the role of the Order Leader.  
"But we have to do something, those people are dangerous. They are the real thing, nothing like your… er… you know," Seamus said, hinting at Sirius.  
"They are actually right, Harry," Hermione agreed "You are getting taught by Dumbledore and you partook in the Knowledge Ritual, but the rest of us..."  
Harry sight, he had known that this topic had been bound to come up one day and his friends were right, they were really utterly unprepared. But what could he do? He was still in training himself.  
"And what do you expect from me?" He asked, looking from one person to the other. Lavender and Parvati both shrugged helplessly, but Hermione was chewing on her bottom lip, a sign that she had an idea that he would not like.  
"Just spit it," he prompted her and she sighed as well.  
"I know you have a lot to do already, but maybe you could train us? I mean, you always have been good at defence and now after three months of private tutelage…"  
Harry made a face, he could not imagine tutoring anybody, especially not his friends; it was enough that he had to give them orders during their Order Meeting, he didn't need to work them like a general on top of that.  
"Mione, I don't think that I would be a good..."  
"Mate, she is right..." Ron interrupted him, but at his angry growl, he quickly added a sorry. "You have the best marks in defence, even better than Mione and you can explain it well. I never understand Hermione's explanations in DADA but yours are great!"  
Hermione threw their friend an insulted look, but quickly focused on him again, saying "Just think about it, okay?"  
"Okay," he promised, just when a flash of light blond hair caught his eyes. Draco was standing not far from him, clearly listening in, but his guarded expression didn't tell him what his mate was thinking.  
The door to their classroom swung open and his father appeared with his usual sneer on his face. He ignored the glare the man was sending him and walked into the room and over to his usual desk, where he sat down and pulled the old textbook from his father out. His friends sat down next to him, taking out their Fifth Year Potions books and opened it on a page somewhere in the middle. When everybody was finally seated, his father swept to the front and started without missing and beat:  
"I hope you all have read the chapter about Nerve Numbing Potions, because I will not give you further explanations, begin," he snapped, but before anybody could get up, he added in a loud drawl "Malfoy, as you are able to brew this Potion already, you will assist Potter, who will be brewing the Bone Mending Potion today."  
Harry grinned inwardly at the prospect of working with one of his mates and searched for the recipe for the Bone Mending Potion in his textbook. Since he had started brewing the right Potions for his age and was actually doing quite well in the subject, Potions had become his favourite class after DADA. With his keen vampire nose, he could even sometimes smell which ingredients would not work well together. It always made him happy when he handed a good Potion in and saw the proud gleam in his father's eyes.  
A bag was dumped next to his desk and as he looked up; Draco was sneering down at him. It took all of his willpower to not smile brightly back and instead scowl, but he succeeded.  
"Well Potter, go and fetch the ingredients," his mate ordered and unnoticed by the blonde a delighted shudder went down Harry's spine; this was the first order from his second dominant and his instincts were singing in joy.  
He stood up, forgetting to scowl again and walked to the storage room, not noticing the confused looks his friends were giving him.  
He had to go twice to collect all the ingredients he would need.  
"So, shall we just start with the cutting?" He asked when he had sat down again and was organizing all the small vials and boxes.  
"Yes, a good preparation is the start of a good Potion, " his mate answered, lifting his wand and unobtrusively casting a sound muffling spell to hinder the other students from listening in on them. "I am sorry about all the things I have said about your Potions skills," Draco said, making him sigh. He truly was glad that Draco was now considering his feelings more, but he wanted his younger mate to be as proud as he always had been and not an overly careful fake. Besides, a proud, self-confident dominant was so much sexier.  
"It's okay, you couldn't have known. In fact, I didn't know either until this summer," he said, but in contrast to what he had wanted to achieve with his words, Draco only shook his head and said:  
"But you have talent, not only in Potions and DADA; you are exceptional in all of our classes."  
Sighing slightly exasperated, he grabbed a dragon's scale and started grinding them. "I am only doing this well this term because of your Manor Magic and the Knowledge Ritual; and you and your father still know much more," he replied.  
His mate frowned, before saying: "But you have always been good in the practical sections which many students struggle with, and if I have understood it correctly, you never had any pre-Hogwarts education. On top of that, you shouldn't even be in the fifth year yet."  
Stopping his work for a moment, Harry closed his eyes; he hated when everybody always mentioned his true age. True he was young, but he had also gotten along well enough so far, he was not as fragile as they thought… most of the time at least, and he was sure that he would become even more stable once more, now that his soulbond was finally growing slowly.  
Shaking his head, he filled the cauldron with the prescribed amount of water and added the powder of the dragon scale and mumbled: "Please, can we change the topic?"  
Draco frowned down at him for a second, but then nodded and instead brought a topic up he liked even less than his age:  
"These visions, do you know why do you get them?"  
For a moment, Harry thought about just not answering, but that would not be fair; Draco had a right to know those things as well and he didn't want his second mate to always feel a step behind Lucius. "Yes," he finally sighed, letting his head hang. "I would like to tell you about all of these things, but as long as you are not in the Order, I can't," he admitted and bent his head slightly under his mate's frown, waiting for an answer. He really would like to initiate Draco, but they had yet to talk about the blonde's beliefs. The silence between them started to stretch on and Harry fought the urge to bite down on his bottom lip as his nervousness rose. Hopefully Voldemort would not be the reason why their soulbond could not be fulfilled in the end; after all, they had accomplished so much in the last two days.  
"What does the Order have to do with everything? Isn't it just a bunch of people who try fighting against the Dark Lord?" Draco finally asked after a moment of silence.  
"Yes and no," Harry said and sighed in relief about having gotten an answer after all, but now he had to think about a good way of explaining the whole matter. "We are fighting him, that is correct, but when someone is initiated I cast a binding spell on him or her so that the person cannot give our secrets away and endanger us. My mother was killed because back then they had nothing in place like this, and I don't want anyone to share my fate."  
Draco gave him a long look, his face once again unreadable and cold. "And what are you fighting for? The victory of the Light?" His mate inquired and Harry could see that Draco wanted to sneer.  
"No," he said silently, looking right and left just in case someone was trying to listen in after all. "I don't believe that one side is better than the other. I want equality. As long as one side wins, the other will want revenge, and war will continue."  
Draco looked at him with surprise for a split second, but then his mask was back in place. "And do you know how you will make sure that this peace will happen in the end?"  
Shaking his head again, Harry said: "I know how I can get You-Know-Who to agree to a peace contract, but after that… I guess we would need a good Minister. Someone who will enforce law changes and make sure that the people follow them."  
Draco then gave him a look he could not quite decipher, before changing the topic again: "You know, I think your friends are right, you should train them."  
"Why me?" Harry asked, trying to not sigh once again. "Because you are powerful and more importantly; they trust you."  
Frowning himself now, Harry looked down at the flubberworm he was cutting into slices. Draco was right, he knew that, but he already had so much to do, how could he find the time to train about 20 students on top of it all? He had training with Dumbledore about three times a week, even though last week they had not met with everything that had been going on.  
"Would you and Lucius help me?" He finally asked, realizing that he could not leave his friends so unprepared.  
"Of course, and I am sure Severus would help as well," Draco said smoothly, but their conversation came to an abrupt halt when Pansy suddenly appeared next to their table.  
The girl ignored him as she placed her hands on her hips and pouted down at his mate.  
"I can't accept this!" She declared with a pout on her lips that still was unflattering.  
"What can you not accept, Pansy?" Draco drawled, while leaning back in his seat and crossing his long legs, while Harry tried to fight the urge of growling at the girl; he had a feeling that he knew what would be coming next.  
"Your engagement of course! We were always meant to be the next Lord and Lady Malfoy! You can break the contract, you are a Malfoy after all, no one would doubt your decision; it would not damage your reputation!"  
Harry could feel Draco's magic rise and gather protectively around him as his mate grew angrier by the second. Glancing over at the blonde, he suppressed the appreciative purr that wanted to leave his mouth at the show of raw strength. How could he ever have believed that Draco wasn't sexy?  
"Pansy," his mate finally spoke up, and he quickly concentrated back on the argument in front of him. "I don't know what your parents have told you, but neither I nor my father ever considered you as a candidate. Besides, you could never compare to my fiancé, even father is proud of me because of this union."  
Harry tried not to glance over too blatantly when Draco lifted his right hand where the family signet sat proudly, and instead concentrated on the stirring of his potion and adding the next ingredients; but it was so difficult. Someone was trying to take his mate away, his instincts were screaming at him to protect what was his and he could do nothing; it was so unfair.  
Pansy gasped, but Draco gave her no time to speak: "You see; father is in fact so proud that he already named me Lord Malfoy, I am ruling the family now along with him."  
"Who is the girl?" Pansy asked in a demanding voice, but his mate only shook his head in an elegant fashion. "I am afraid my fiancé's identity will remain a secret for a while longer, I would not want other people trying to bother her."  
"But that can't be… there is no one in our school who would be such a great catch!" Pansy pouted.  
"Are you sure?" His mate only queried back, but by now Harry was only listening with one ear while starting to look for his father; he was getting so annoyed with the stupid Slytherin-girl. Normally his father would never allow his students to leave their workplaces during a lesson, but the man was nowhere in sight, which explained Pansy's appearance. Huffing in annoyance, he turned back to the argument, just in time to hear Pansy threaten:  
"I will write father about this!"  
His second dominant only lifted one of his eyebrows mockingly, before responding: "And what do you think he can or will do? There was never any form of promise between our families, neither in writing nor in magic. It has always been wishful thinking on you and your parents' part, nothing more."  
The girl finally gave his mate one last, angry glare before turning on her heels and stomping back to her own seat.  
"What a hassle," Draco sneered, before turning back to him. "Let's finish this Potion, we don't have much time left," his mate ordered and Harry started to stir again, while Draco quickly cut the last few ingredients.  
When the lesson was over half an hour later, Draco left him with a disgusted sneer for show and rejoined his friends outside the classroom. Hermione gave him a quizzical look but said nothing. Hoping that the girl was not onto Draco and him, he followed his friends up to the Great Hall for lunch where he sat down between them.  
"I have thought about the training again," he said as Ron was piling potatoes onto his plate. "I think I will call a meeting. I can't promised to always be the one who trains them, and even if I am there I will need help, but when they agree to the people who would be willing to help, I will think about something."  
Hermione's face instantly brightened. "That would be really great; I bet they will not have anything against your conditions."  
"Yeah," Ron agreed through a mouth full of potatoes and meat "... as long as you do not ask Malfoy to help."  
Sighing exasperatedly, Harry turned to his friend, but before he could defend his mate, Hermione had already opened her mouth: "Ron, really, you should stop with your prejudices. Professor Malfoy is an Order Member and he is here at Hogwarts; of course Harry will ask him, he would be stupid to not do so. Besides, he is rumoured to be a really good dueller."  
"But he is Malfoy!" Ron protested "I still don't trust him."  
"Lucius was the one who, along with my father, informed us about the planned attack on the students' families," Harry tried to remind his friend, but he knew that it would take a miracle for Ron to see past the old family feud between the Weasley's and the Malfoy's. "I will ask the others and then we will see," he quickly ended the discussion as Ron opened his mouth again. His friend frowned but remained silent.  
"So, when do you want to meet with the others?" Hermione asked, pulling out her enchanted galleon.  
Shrugging, Harry mentally went over the list of things he had to do today and finally answered: tomorrow after classes, I don't have any time left today."  
"Why so busy?" Ron asked, refilling his plate.  
"After classes, I have to go to Dumbledore, dad and Lucius think I need to learn how to protect my mind, and if I know them well enough, they will start training me immediately."  
"You will let Malfoy into your head?" Ron exclaimed, almost letting his fork fall.  
"Ron!" Hermione shouted back, clearly getting annoyed with their friend herself.  
"Its okay, Mione, I believe Lucius will only be there to help; regardless, dad will do the actual training," he soothed his two friends, before looking at his wristwatch and standing up. "We should hurry," he added, not wanting to be too late for Lucius' class.  
His friends rose as well, Ron with an annoyed huff as they made their way up to the DADA-classroom.  
Pansy was sulking in a corner together with Daphne as he arrived, while his second mate stood surrounded by a group of Slytherins boys, letting himself be congratulated on his good catch.  
"I bet that the girl isn't as great as he says, if she even exists," Ron muttered and threw his mate a glare.  
"Jealous, Ron? Do you want a good catch as well?" Hermione glared at the redhead, who like usual, did not get the hint.  
Looking from one friend to the other, Harry decided that he would help Hermione somehow if Ron was still none the wiser by the time Christmas holidays had started.  
"I am not jealous and I don't need a good catch; only a person who can't imagine what love is searches for a good match!" Ron protested, and Harry once more felt his anger rise. Ron had said so many mean things about his mates today that he wasn't sure how long he would be able to keep his act together, but in the next moment he had to fight a blush when Hermione looked over to his mate and noted:  
"I think he looks as if he is in love with his fiancé, and why shouldn't he be?"  
"Because he is a Malfoy and Malfoy's are unable to love anybody besides themselves."  
Suddenly Harry's vision went red and all he could do was ball his fists and not attack his friend immediately.  
"Shut it, Ron. They are not so bad," he hissed out between clenched teeth. "You don't even know them, so cut the crap!"  
"Hey mate, cool…" Ron started, but he only snapped "And don't call me mate," before storming past them and into the room Lucius was just opening.  
He flopped down in his usual seat, still angry, but at least his vision was returning to normal. He was so annoyed and angry right now. True, Ron didn't know that the Malfoy's were his mates, but he at least should have noticed that he was trying to get along with them for the sake of the war (and peace later on). Sometimes the redhead was just so stupid.  
Feeling as if someone was watching him, he looked around, only to see both of his mates still standing in the doorway, watching him. Great, now he would have to calm down two worried dominants as well, just because Ron didn't know when to shut his trap for once. Lucius and Draco seemed to discuss something, before separating and going to their respective places; Draco a few seats behind him and Lucius in front of the class.  
"Today we will begin with a new topic, please open your books," Lucius started the lecture, and Harry quickly opened his journal to where a couple of new pages had been added.  
"You will notice that some of you have a list of Defensive Spells, while others will find Offensive Spells. Today you will start by practicing those spells on your own, and in our next lesson you will duel against each other to improve your battling skills. You may begin now," his first mate said, before walking over to his desk and sitting down to correct some essays that were piling on top of the table.  
Harry skipped to the list, only to notice that he already knew the spells written down there. They were fairly easy but effective spells; Lucius had made a good choice. Leaning back in his chair, he decided that he would get a head start on his homework and pulled the essay he had to write for Herbology out, and continued where he had stopped. Lucius didn't call attention to him, even though he knew that the man must have seen what he was doing, but when he glanced back at Draco once, he saw that the boy was doing his assignments as well.  
Next to him his friends were struggling with their individual sets of spells, Ron more than Hermione, but he did not offer to help; if he were to offer help to Hermione, he would have to offer the same to Ron and he wasn't in the mood to talk to the redhead right now.  
From time to time he watched from the corner of his eyes as Lucius patrolled through the class and helped students with the new spells, but mainly he concentrated on his homework. As long as no one was making advances on his mates he did not feel the need to watch them constantly, although he noticed that the two Malfoy's were looking over at him fairly often; maybe that was an instinct of theirs, he himself wasn't a dominant after all.  
The essay he had to write was not difficult and he progressed quickly, even without using his vampire speed, and when Lucius ended the class he was just writing the last word down. Rolling the scroll up, he placed it back into his school bag and waited for his friends who were doing the same.  
When they left the room and started their way up to Gryffindor tower, Draco and Lucius had already disappeared, but he knew that they would probably already be waiting in his quarters.  
"I have to go and meet with dad and Lucius now," he told them as Hermione swung her bag again over her shoulder, which had slid down.  
"Do you want to meet later and do homework together? We could come down after dinner," Hermione suggested with a hopeful look, making Harry suspect that she was curious about the Occlumency lesson he might have received by then.  
"Yeah, sure," he agreed, even though he was still angry with Ron, but he didn't want to blow their disagreement up to a full-blown argument.  
They had reached the Portrait of the Fat Lady and the door to his rooms, and Harry waved a quick 'see you later' before leaving his friends for now and entering his quarters. As he had suspected the muffled voices of his two mates could already be heard, and remembering his private mission to find out what kind of outfit Draco would like on him, he sneaked past the living room and quickly changed into yet another robe. The one he had chosen looked like those Arthur Weasley and many other Ministry workers wore. It consisted of a white button down shirt, gray pants and a dark green cloak and matching tie, nothing special, but nothing that would hurt someone's eyes either.  
Content with his change he finally made his way into the living room and greeted his mates with a happy smile. Lucius and Draco sat on his sofa, one leaning against the right armrest, the other against the left, and the space in between clearly meant for him. Lucius frowned as he saw his robe, making him wince inwardly; hopefully his first mate would not interpret his new clothes as sign that he did not like the robes he had given him anymore. Draco only looked him up and down as well, his face expressionless. Sighing inwardly, Harry mentally noted this robe down as a failure as well, but let nothing of his disappointment show on his face as he sat down between them.  
"Will dad be coming soon?" he asked, looking at Lucius, who gave him a curt nod.  
"He will come as soon as possible, but some dimwit blew up a cauldron and he has to oversee the cleaning," the man answered and pressed a quick kiss to his unruly mop of hair.  
"Harry?" Draco said, taking his hand and pulling his attention away from Lucius.  
"Yes?" he asked, wondering about the serious look in his mate's ice-blue orbs.  
"I have decided that I want to join your Order. It will not do that I can never be there when you might need help, and if your goals are truly what you have told me, I will gladly fight for you."  
Harry's heart started to race and a flush rose in his cheek. This was the first words of commitment Draco was giving him and it made him unimaginably happy.  
"Thank you Draco," he smiled, feeling as if nothing could ruin this day anymore.  
"Naturally, I am your dominant as well," said Draco, and Harry thought he saw a slight pinkness on those pale cheeks as well.  
"Tomorrow I will call together everyone who is here at school; you can come then and I will initiate you," he told his mate.  
"Speaking of the meeting," Lucius said and grabbed his other hand "I assume it is about the matter of training. Severus and I would be willing to help you and I think it would be safe to assume that your godfather and his Wolf would come as well."  
Harry glared at the title Wolf, but didn't comment on it as his ears had picked up on his father's approaching footsteps. The man appeared in the doorway only a second later, a soft, barely noticeable smile creeping up his lips as he saw him sitting between his two dominants.  
"Shall we go then?" His father asked and stretched his arms out. Harry instantly jumped up, his mates forgotten for the moment and ran over to Severus, flinging himself into the billowing, black robes and hugging his waist tightly. When he turned back around he saw that Draco was watching them with an odd expression, but Lucius broke the moment by saying:  
"We should go now, or it will be too late to begin the training today."  
Harry nodded, so did everybody else, and they took the hidden staircase that led directly into the Headmaster's office. Soft voices could be heard from inside; Albus, and McGonagall if Harry wasn't mistaken, and Lucius knocked politely.  
"Come in, my boy," Dumbledore called, sounding surprised for the first time since Harry had known the man; apparently the spells that were telling the man when visitors were approaching did not work on his special door.  
Lucius pushed the door open and Harry followed him inside, followed by Draco and his father.  
"Ah, what a surprise, so many guests at once," the old man smiled joyfully and conjured four chairs next to the one McGonagall was sitting in.  
Harry walked over to one of the plush seats, but before he could sit down his father was already grabbing him under his arms and lifting him up into his lap. Feeling like a small child, Harry huffed indignantly but leaned comfortably back against the man's strong chest. Draco and Lucius took the seats next to them, whilst his Head of House gave him and his father an amused look, but kept silent.  
"How can I help you, my boys?" Dumbledore inquired with twinkling eyes, looking from him to his father and Lucius before letting his twinkling blue eyes rest longer on Draco.  
"Lucius and I think that Harry should be taught Occlumency. His connection to the Dark Lord still has not closed completely and it can easily become a danger to us all," his father said, and Harry could imagine the look on the Potions Master's face. Dumbledore's expression darkened and he nodded slowly.  
"That is a wise idea Severus, but I fear I am not the right one to teach young Harry this skill. I have become fairly adept at the skill through time, but it never came as easy to me as people probably think."  
"That will not be a problem," Lucius interjected. "Severus can teach his son, and Draco and I will assist."  
"I can understand why you would help with the tutelage," McGonagall spoke up, her thin eyebrows drawn together into a straight line, "but your son is not even an Order Member."  
Feeling the need to defend his second mate who was trying his best to redeem himself ever since their agreement, Harry quickly spoke up for the first time since the conversation had started: "Draco will be joining tomorrow."  
"He will?" Asked the witch, sounding surprised.  
"Yes," Draco said, perfect Malfoy sneer in place. "I am a Malfoy; we are loyal to our family and as father has decided that it will be the best for us to follow Potter, I will do the same."  
McGonagall didn't look as if she believed that this could be Draco's only reasons, Harry thought, but as his Head of House only nodded curtly, Dumbledore took control again, this time addressing him directly: "Harry, I can reduce our training from three times a week to two, but nothing more, and Severus," the old wizard added "You will have to officially register your lessons with your son, or he might experience problems with his graduation."  
"Consider it taken care of," his father agreed, pulling him higher onto his lap.  
Remembering his plan to train his friends, Harry cleared his throat and asked: "Albus, I am planning to start some training lessons for the young Order Members, do you know of a place where we could train? You mentioned this one room once..." he pondered, trying to remember its name.  
"Ah yes, the Room of Requirements, it would indeed be a good choice. You can find it on the seventh floor; just walk up and down the passage in front of the Portrait of Barnabas the Barmy three times, and imagine what kind of room you need."  
"The Room of Requirements?" Draco mused, apparently not having heard about the room either.  
"Yes, my boy, it is the most amazing room of Hogwarts, I dare say," Dumbledore smiled, but Lucius was already rising.  
"We will take our leave then," his mate announced, and Harry was softly pushed from his father's lap. Standing up, he waited for one of his mates to go ahead, before waving his goodbyes to his mentor and leaving the office again.  
Back in his living room he once more sat down between his mates, waiting for his father to start his lesson. The man did not look happy as he sat down across from him with a dark expression.  
"Harry, I will not try to sugar-coat this; Occlumency is one of the hardest and most painful skills to learn."  
Harry only blinked at his father, wondering what could still be so painfully, now that they all were vampires.  
"I don't mean physical pain, but mental. I will try to force my way into your head, while you will have to try and push me out. It might help you to imagine a barrier or a force that guards your mind, but I cannot tell you what method will be the best for you."  
Nodding, Harry tried not to let his uneasiness show on his face. This sounded as if his father would be able to see some of his memories if he did not succeed in pushing him out, and he didn't want his father to find out exactly how badly he had been treated as a child; the man would probably never forgive himself for not having been there for him then. Glancing to his sides, he wondered how exactly his mates would help him with his training; they would not all try and enter his mind at once, would they?  
As if his father knew what he was thinking, he explained: "I will cast a spell that will allow Lucius and Draco to see what I see in your mind; that will be the only way that your dominants will allow me to enter your mind at all."  
Harry winced, that was even worse than only his father seeing glimpses of his past, but at least the Dursley's were already dead and could not be tortured anymore.  
"But they won't enter my mind as well, will they?" Harry asked, wanting to be sure that he had understood correctly.  
"No, they will be connected to my mind, but not enter yours," his father confirmed. "If you are ready, close your eyes and try to clear your mind; imagine your protection while I cast the spell on your mates."  
Harry gave a hesitant nod and reached for both his mates' hands, who squeezed his lightly in return, before closing his eyes.  
He was already partially familiar with picturing parts of himself, like his magical core, but his mind was a whole different matter. His father had said to empty his mind and imagine a barrier or something that would protect his most personal secrets, so that was what he tried to do. He entered his meditative state quickly, but realized how much he still had been thinking in this state of mind, so he tried to calm his thoughts like he always did with his breathing.  
His thoughts grew fewer, but the fear of what his father and mates would all be able to see in his mind, pulled those memories he wanted to hide to the forefront.  
Much too quickly he heard the soft voice of his father say: "Brace yourself!" and then the command "Legilimence!" before he was whisked away from the living room, back into the total blackness of his cupboard. He had no idea what time it was, his aunt had closed the shutters on the door and no light was reaching him, but he could feel that he was much younger than now and afraid, so afraid as he sat alone and hungry in the darkness.  
He was maybe six years old and the sun was burning down on him as he planted roses in the flower bed in front of his aunt and uncle's house. Sighing in relief, he wiped his sweaty forehead as he was finally finished, glad that he could return into the coolness of the house. But then his cousin and best friend, Piers Polkiss, suddenly appeared in front of him, laughing gleefully as they pushed him to the side and began to rip the roses out and stomp on them until they were all dead and broken. His aunt appeared in the doorway of the house and started screaming, calling him a freak and useless freeloader while screaming for her husband in between, and he started to run, knowing that it would do him no good, knowing that the beating would come as soon as he returned, and he had to return, because he had nowhere else to go.  
Harry gasped and blinked a few times. His heart was racing. Feeling confused, he looked around, but he was not quite sure where he was. Slowly he grew aware of Draco sitting left of him and he could feel Lucius' presence to his right, but he was too ashamed to look his mates in the eyes, not after what they had just seen; and he didn't have to because he could feel both his mates trembling slightly. Across from him, his father looked paler than he had ever seen him before; even in comparison to the night they had found out that they were father and son. But to his relief, his father merely cleared his throat and said: "You need to concentrate more on your barrier. Try to imagine it made of a strong material, like steel or stone."  
Nodding without replying anything, he closed his eyes again and went back into his mind, he couldn't have spoken anyway. This time he ignored the cleaning of his mind and instead concentrated solely on the protective barrier. He imagined the strong shields Lucius had raised inside his mind that one night, before nodding and waiting for the attack.  
A moment later he heard the spell being cast again and this time his father actually did not break through immediately; for a second he was able to feel a pressure like a headache in his mind, before the silver shields shattered in front of him and he found himself dragged down the hallways of his Muggle primary school and into the Headmaster's office.  
"I promise to have a serious word with the boy, Mr. Thomson," he heard the voice of his uncle and panic rose inside of him. He tried to get his arm free, but the teacher's grasp was too tight, and in the next moment he was shoved into the office and in front of his uncle. He didn't hear his uncle say his goodbyes to his headmaster and the car drive home was a single blur of fear. As soon as he had been pushed into the house, his uncle was already unfastening his belt and in the next second, it came crashing down on him. He screamed out in agony as the first blow hit; and he did not even have time to catch his breath when the second one landed on his back. Within seconds his back was on fire and blood was soaking his t-shirt, but in the next moment, he was hurled out of the memory, back into his cupboard.  
"Three, two, one…" he counted down and then blew an imagined candle out in the total darkness that was once more surrounding him "Happy birthday; it's your fifth birthday!" he chirped in his childish voice and smiled a second before lying back down on his cot.  
Some sound awoke him. Confused he sat up and looked around in his small bedroom. The sound reached his ears again, sounding as if it came from the window. Frowning, he sat up, picked the shirt up he had pulled off because of the heat of the summer, and walked over to the window. His eyes widened in disbelief at what he saw.  
"Harry, we are here to save you!" Ron shouted, while he still stared disbelievingly at the flying car in front of his window. One of the twins poked his head out of the open windows and shouted: "Better take a step back, we will free you now!"  
He watched in fascination as the twin fastened a chain onto the iron bars that were keeping him prisoner. A loud bang echoed through the night as the bars were ripped from the walls and landed below on the street.  
"Finite!" he heard his father say and in the next moment, he was back in his living room. His mates were even stiffer now besides him, and every cell in his body was urging him to hide somewhere where they could not see the shame in his eyes. He had always tried so hard to never even hint at how bad it had truly been at his relatives' home, and even though Lucius and his father might have assumed some things, he had succeeded fairly well, but now they knew how pathetic he had been all those years… how weak. Would they even want him anymore? And even if they did, would they still be able to trust him with the defeat of Voldemort? Why would he be stronger now than back then? Why would he succeed to defeating the strongest Dark Wizard alive, when he did not even have the power to protect himself against his Muggle uncle?  
Hot tears gathered in the corners of his eyes and he angrily wiped them away before jumping up, intent on hiding in one of his many rooms and not coming out for a very long time; he felt so ashamed. But before he could take more than two steps a strong hand had grasped his wrist and he was yanked against a strong chest.  
"Shh, Harry, it's fine," Lucius said in his deep, melodic voice.  
Draco shifted behind him as well and in the next moment, his second mate embraced him as well, caging him in between his two mates' strong bodies. For a split second, he stiffened, a picture of Draco pressing him against tiled walls flashing through his mind, but the fear was quickly squashed by the low, purring sound Draco started making. He automatically relaxed into the touches and finally, the tears fell. Remembering all those times he had been beaten, starved, ignored, verbally abused and locked away, and for the first time he allowed his body to express the pain he had felt in those situations. He cried for minutes, salty tears running down his face and soaking his mates' expensive robes, but he didn't mind, because Lucius and Draco didn't mind. They held him tightly and securely, stroking soothing patterns on his back and combing through his hair. Their chest vibrated with the calming sounds they made, relaxing him slowly.  
"Hush, Harry, you will never be hurt that way again, father and I will not allow it," Draco whispered and put a soft kiss to his neck.  
"But… but… how can you still want someone as weak and pathetic as me? You two are so proud and I… and I… and the war… how could you possibly trust me with it now? I don't want you to return to Voldemort!" he sobbed when he was finally calm enough to speak again, but at his words, his panic grew stronger again. His mates both flinched at their former Master's name, but when Lucius spoke his voice was steady: " None of us will return to the Dark Lord: neither Draco, nor your father, nor I."  
"And you were not weak, only young," Draco added from behind him and laid his head against his shoulder. Harry shuddered at the contact, but the more contact he had with his mates, the calmer was he becoming, even though he would not yet have initiated such familiarity with Draco, but it actually felt good.  
"We both believe in you," Draco continued. "You are our mate and we know that you are strong. You want to protect your friends and family and that is what makes you strong, it always has and it was what...had drawn my attention to you, I could always feel it in your magic."  
"You can?" He asked his voice still hoarse.  
"Yes I can, so don't worry, I know what you can accomplish, and Lucius certainly knows it as well by now, and if not I will tell him."  
A small smile tugged at his lips because of his second mate's words, and warmth spread in his chest. It was baffling; only two days ago Lucius had been up and about to rip his son's head off for his ignorance, and now Draco was threatening to do the same if Lucius would not stay by his side, it was amazing.  
Feeling better again, he gently pushed against Lucius' chest and said: "I...think I am alright again."  
His mates let him go again, but stayed close. As Harry wiped the last evidence of tears from his face his eyes fell on his father, who sat hunched over in one of the armchairs, his face obscured by his long, black hair. The picture was worse than the memories, it hurt his soul on an ever deeper level; a level he had not known existed before he had come to know his father and his mates. Hesitantly, he stepped away from his mates and walked over to his father, not knowing what he could do to make the man understand that his horrible past was not his fault.  
Finally, he simply leaned forwards and stretched to hug as much of his dad as he could reach, which sadly wasn't as much as he would have liked.  
"It wasn't your fault. You didn't know," he whispered, hoping that his words would take some of the pain away, but his father only shook his head desperately and said in a voice that nearly broke his heart: "But I should have… I should never have believed that your mother would just turn to another man, she never had been the type of person who would have done something like that, or at least I should have checked whether you were my son, especially after Lily and James had been killed. By Merlin, I should have just taken you in regardless, James was dead, so was your mother, it shouldn't have mattered to me anymore who your real father was. Albus could have hidden us and you would never have suffered so much. I would never have beaten you!"  
"You had no chance of knowing or finding out, not with all the rituals mom and James had preformed," Harry said, pushing his father back so that he could climb onto his lap.  
"You can still make everything good again and be a good father; we have all eternity," he added and was glad when he saw a small smile appear on his father's lips.  
"You are right, and I can still protect my pure, innocent son from his devious mates," the man chuckled, but it still sounded rather pitiful. He heard Draco huff in the background, but only grinned at the sound; Draco could be such a drama queen, more so even than Lucius.  
"You know, I am glad that your bond is finally progressing again," his father suddenly said in a musing voice after they had simply cuddled for a few minutes. "You have two strong mates, I am sure they will make you happy."  
"I am also sure… and I think that Draco will not attack me again," Harry said looking over at Lucius and Draco who were talking silently.  
"He won't," Severus agreed. "He adores you; just like Lucius, you are lucky to have them.  
Harry hummed in agreement, still eyeing both blondes. A thought suddenly entered his mind and he asked in a whisper so that his mates wouldn't hear: "Do you think they will go on a date with me again? I mean, now that Draco actually talks to me?"  
"I am sure they will, and it will probably be a trip to one of their Holiday Manors; Malfoy's don't like anything more than showing off their wealth," his father snorted.  
"That sounds great, but I would even be content with just a visit to the normal Manor again, I haven't even seen Draco's rooms yet," Harry grinned and leaned back against his father's chest, adding "And on the weekend I want to have a sleepover with you. We could go to Privet Drive and have a DVD night. "  
His father made a face, sneering: "You can come down for a sleepover, but I will think of another activity."  
Harry sighed, but didn't pout; he had known that he would get this outcome.  
Voices suddenly sounded from his hallway and he looked up, as did his mates and his father.  
"I think your friends are coming," Draco sneered, his nose wrinkled in disgust.  
"Yeah, they wanted to come down and do homework together," Harry told his second mate and slid from his father's lap.  
"I still have Headboy duties anyway," the blonde huffed.  
Lucius stood as well, declaring: "And I have to mark the essays of my Third Years. I would suggest that we depart for the moment and meet back here after curfew."  
Draco gave a quick nod, before saying to him: "Maybe you should go and stop your friends before they see us all cozily gathered in your living room."  
Shrugging, Harry gave his father a quick pat, wished him a good night for later, and left the room to meet his friends.  
They were just in line with his library and he quickly stopped them by saying: "Shall we go directly to my library?"  
Ron and Hermione startled a little; they had obviously not heard him approach, but Hermione instantly gave him a bright smile and a nod as she recognized him.  
"Sure, doesn't matter where we drown in our essays anyway," Ron grumbled and pushed the library door open.  
"I am nearly done; maybe you should stop procrastinating so much?" Hermione huffed and Ron threw him a pleading look, but he could only shrug, being finished with nearly all his assignments as well.  
"You are turning into a nerd, Harry!" Ron sighed but went ahead and into the room.  
"I am not turning into a nerd, my inheritance just comes in handy," Harry protested and went over to his usual seat where he flopped down.  
A tray with hot cocoa and a goblet of blood appeared in the middle of the table and he took his drink before summoning his school bag from wherever he had left it.  
"So, what do you still have to do?" Hermione asked while pulling out her Potions textbook.  
"Nothing really, but I thought I could start with the essay about my Magical Artefacts for Transfigurations and Charms," Harry told her and pulled a scroll of parchment from his bag.  
"I still have to do Potions, Divination and finish Herbology," Ron scowled, looking anything but happy, while Harry started on his essay.  
For the next hour, they worked in silence. Harry found that the essay about the wands he had created came to him easily, and in the end he had written much more than was required. Hermione finished her homework almost simultaneously, and after a few minutes of bored silence in which they watched Ron sweating over Potions, the girl took her chair and scooted closer.  
"So, how is it going your mate? Have you met lately?" She asked and Harry knew that she wanted to know what had been going on since he had made peace with his second mate.  
"We will meet this evening after curfew, I am really glad that I have my own fireplace," he said for Ron's benefit.  
"Have you two already spoken about the future? It's still a while, but…" Hermione broke off, apparently not knowing how to end her own sentence.  
"He will want kids," Ron chirped in. "You have always wanted a family, haven't you?"  
A pang went through Harry's heart and he hastily looked down. His friends were right, his biggest dream had always been to have a huge family with at least two children, but this dream would never come true and he shouldn't even feel so sad about it. After all, fate had granted him so much during the last month. He had two wonderful and caring mates, even if it still did not feel as easy with Draco as it did with Lucius, so he had no reason to not be completely happy, but he wasn't; not as soon as this topic came up. And since his inheritance, the dream had grown even stronger, it was probably a basic instinct he possessed as a submissive, only that this instinct had never disappeared like it should have.  
"Yeah," he replied, hoping that he didn't sound too depressed. "Kids would be nice." Maybe, he thought, he would be able to talk his mates into adopting a child one day; there were always orphans, as sad as it was.  
Hermione gave him a sad look, they had talked about the topic during the train ride to Hogwarts and thus his friend already knew that this particular dream would never become true for him, at least, not in the classical way. Ron, fortunately, had already turned back to his textbook and did not notice the change in the atmosphere.  
"I am sure you will find a way," Hermione said silently and he nodded. They changed the topic completely then and talked for another hour until curfew was only ten minutes away.  
"I think we should return to the Tower, Ron," she said, giving him a wink.  
"But I want to get to know Harry's mate, she must be awesome," the redhead protested, but at least started to pack his things away.  
"I am sure Harry will introduce her to us one day when they both are ready, weren't you the one who always told me that mating is a private matter?" Ron muttered something about mean friends, but let himself be dragged off by Hermione.  
"I will see you tomorrow guys," Harry waved and watched as they left his rooms, glad that he could now return to his mates. Regardless of how much time he spent with the two, it never seemed to be enough.  
Yawning, he stretched and decided to get changed, he was always tired early after one of his visions and wanted to lie down while he waited for Lucius and Draco's return.  
He found a fresh bathrobe and Weasley-jumper in his bathroom and quickly changed before crawling under the heavy comforter he shared with Lucius, and fought the urge to just close his eyes and fall asleep. He wanted to wait for his mates and to kiss them goodnight, but he was fighting a losing battle. His eyelids began to droop and his efforts to keep them open grew sporadic, and a moment later sleep claimed him.


	35. Chapter 35: Draco's Initiation

**Chapter 35: Draco's Initiation**

 **LM**

Lucius glanced over at Severus as they apparated into the Entrance Hall of the Dark Lord's Manor.  
He had gotten into bed far later than he had initially planned, due to a stack of the most horrible essays he had ever had the misfortune of having to correct and when he had finally joined his already sleeping mates his Dark Mark had begun burning. But he quickly let his features smooth out until his Lord could see nothing other than the emotionless mask he was so famous for, before giving his friend a curt nod while knocking on the double doors of the former ballroom and entering.  
Voldemort sat on his throne, but he had not expected anything else. His eyes quickly took in the frown on the snake-man's face and the way he swirled his wand in his fingers, ready to strike. He approached the man, Severus next to him, and they simultaneously fell to their knees and bowed their heads.  
"My Lord, you called for us," he greeted the man and waited to be told the reason for the summoning.  
"Indeed Lucius. I must say, I was not very impressed with your son's work," the Dark Lord hissed threateningly, without giving any of them the permission to stand up. "I watched him and Potter, and their conversations and meetings seemed uncomfortable."  
Trying not to show his growing nervousness, Lucius let his gaze fix on the dirty floor, just listening for now; he would have to find an explanation for Draco's horrible meetings with Harry quickly, but first he needed to find out what the Dark Lord knew. Fortunately, he had always been good at thinking on his feet.  
"But then Potter's mood changed, he grew sad and depressed and I decided to give your son a bit more time and not call you yet, but nearly three days ago, the boy returned to his usual happiness." The man sneered and fell silent. Lucius waited a few more seconds until he was sure that his Master wanted him to explain what was happening between Draco and Harry, before speaking up:  
"My Lord, Potter is happy because he asked my son to secretly date him, and Draco agreed. I believe the boy's sadness came from the break up with his girlfriend; apparently the girl had become suspicious of the growing closeness between my son and the young hero," he drawled, relieved that the man had not been able to gather many pieces of information about his mates.  
"How did Potter react to the news of your son's engagement?" The Dark Lord asked and Lucius said the only thing that would be believable in connection with the heroic Gryffindor:  
"As my son knows that it will be difficult to lure the boy out while at Hogwarts, he was of the opinion that he needed a reason to invite Potter over to our Manor the next summer holidays, My Lord."  
Lucius lowered his head again and closed his eyes for a moment; hopefully, their little submissive would be able to collect all the Horcruxes before the school year could be over. He felt the red eyes of his Master on him but did not move. Finally, the man drawled in a voice that was as close to content as it could get: "Your son may continue with his plan. You are dismissed."  
He rose again, Severus doing the same swiftly, and with another bow, they left the ballroom again.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

Harry awoke slowly, but did not feel as comfortable and warm as usual after a night spent with his mates. He slowly grew more aware and noticed that there was no body lying behind him and frowned slightly, before forcing his eyes open.  
He found Draco across from him, still sleeping peacefully, but the blonde had taken his hand like he had done the last two nights and that was why he did not feel completely cold. He sat slowly up, careful to not wake his second mate, but Draco apparently was as light a sleeper as his father and opened his blue orbs.  
"Good morning," the blonde said and Harry gave him a shy smile before asking: "Where is Lucius?"  
Now Draco sat up as well, his eyes wandering to the empty space behind him. "He was summoned around half past six, he should be back soon. The Dark Lord will not risk his spy' cover blown."  
Feeling nervous all of a sudden, Harry bit on his bottom lip and glanced at Draco from under his bangs. This was the first time he was alone with the boy since the incident in the boy's lavatory and a rush of fear fought against the wish to scoot closer and search out comfort from his younger dominant.  
"Come here, Harry," Draco said and before he could react he was pulled into the blonde's lap and two strong arms crossed over his chest. He automatically started to struggle, surprised by the sudden closeness and memories of hands wandering far too low flashed in front of his inner eye; but Draco began to purr softly and he felt his muscles relaxed despite himself. The sound his younger mate made was not quite as deep as Lucius', but equally powerful and soothing, at least to his body, because his mind was still in a frenzy.  
"Hush, Harry, I will not harm you, just hold you a little; you need it don't you?" The words, spoken in that melodic, purring voice calmed him down even further and Harry finally gave up and lay back against Draco, still a little stiff, but it was a start.  
"See, it feels good. Be a good submissive and let me be there for you, I have wanted to hold you for so long," Draco whispered, his warm breath ghosting over his skin. His heart started to flutter suddenly and he realized how much he wanted to leave their horrible past completely behind and to be a good submissive for Draco as well; his heart yearned for it.  
"I… want to be a good submissive for you, too," he said, turning in Draco's lap, wrapping his arms around his mate's torso and pushing his right cheek against the blonde's chest. Draco's chest was not as broad as Lucius', just like his shoulders, but it was equally muscled and warm and he relaxed even more. "I want you to be proud of me."  
The arms tightened around him and Draco pressed a soft kiss to his mop of hair. "I already am proud of you and you are the best submissive I could wish for. Even after what I have done to you, you are still considerate of me."  
Sighing, Harry closed his eyes and simply enjoyed the warmth that was seeping into him from Draco, whilst his mate held him close. For the first time he felt that his dominants truly were equal, and would become of equal importance for him. Draco and Lucius were not nearly as similar as most people believed, but they were equal in their sense of duty and in their caring, gentle nature once they had let someone into their hearts.  
"What a beautiful sight," a voice suddenly spoke softly to his right and his head snapped up. His eyes landed on Lucius, who was standing as proud as ever in the doorway to their bedroom, snake cane in hand and still dressed in the heavy, black cloak of the Death Eaters.  
Harry grinned happily at his mate, glad that Lucius seemed unharmed but did not leave Draco's lap, and it wasn't necessary because his first mate came over and leaned down to give him a soft kiss. He sighed against the firm, warm lips and returned the kiss. A soft, silent purr began to vibrate in his chest and when Lucius finally straightened again, Harry could do nothing more than smile a bit stupidly.  
He looked up, and to his surprise he saw that Lucius had bent down to Draco as well. Draco met his father halfway and they, too, touched their lips in a quick greeting kiss. He blinked in surprise, astonished that his mates were already adapting so well to their new relationship and wondered if it still would be appropriate to call Lucius Draco's father, or if they were just Lucius and Draco now. He would ask them when a good opportunity presented itself, but right now he felt much too comfortable and happy to disturb it with such a complicated question; besides, it was likely that his mates themselves would not yet be able to answer the question. Unfortunately, he at least had to ruin the mood with another question: "What did Voldemort want? Why did he call you?"  
His mates flinched at the name, but Lucius still sat down next to him and Draco and sighed.  
"I am afraid you will have to hurry with your plans concerning the Dark Lord. He is getting impatient and was not pleased with the progress of your mission, Draco." Harry felt Draco stiffen but tried to keep calm and act as he was supposed to as the Head of the Order and the Leader of the Light Side.  
"What do you mean?" he asked looking up at Lucius.  
"He watched you during one of your dates in Hogsmeade I assume, and witnessed your animosity," Lucius gave his son a pointed look, but his face was neutral, staying blank and thus his father continued. "Fortunately he gave you a bit more time as he felt Harry's anguish during the last weeks and I was able to convince him that Harry had been sad because his beloved girlfriend broke it off with him, due to your growing closeness."  
"But I am not sad anymore," Harry interjected, knowing that there was no way that Voldemort would not have picked up on the change when their bond was so open right now.  
"That was the reason for my summons. Now we at least have time until the summer holidays, when Draco will invite you as his fiancé to our Manor."  
Harry drew in a sharp breath and Draco stiffened even further. "You told him?" His second mate asked, and Lucius nodded.  
"I told him that you asked for Harry's hand to have a reason to invite him during the summer, as it will be the most convenient time to lure him out from under Dumbledore's nose."  
"It is not a bad plan and Dumbledore told me that he would be able to help me with my task soon," Harry mumbled awkwardly, and then added frustration: "Let's continue this conversation after Draco's initiation; we can't discuss anything right now anyway."  
"You are right," Draco agreed and lifted him up to place him on the ground. "Classes start soon anyway."  
Nodding, Harry left the bedroom to change into his school uniform, while making a mental note to ask Hermione to reschedule the meeting with the Young Order, he needed to start planning their next steps with his mates and his two best friends, and couldn't afford to lose an entire day because he could not yet tell Draco anything. He went through his mental list of things he had to take care off today and sighed in frustration as he realized that he most likely would not have enough time for everything. First, he needed to go to classes, he had Charms first and then two lessons with Dumbledore where History and Divination originally had been. After that, he would meet with the Order and discuss their training and initiate Draco. When that was done, he needed to convince his friends and mates to work together and discuss their further steps; he probably should ask Dumbledore to come to that meeting as well because the man had said he would have some information for them.  
With a long sigh, he put on one of his coats and grabbed his bag. Lucius and Draco had already left; therefore he just made his way down the hallway. He met Merlin on his way, who was enjoying the sun in one of his main portraits, and quickly asked him to go to Dumbledore, and ask him if he would have time today to meet with him.  
As he stepped out of his quarters he remembered that he had wanted to ask Draco for some of those pieces of silver, but had forgotten and growled silently. As good as the day had started just as annoying it was becoming right now; but at least it was still early and he had enough time to join his two best friends at breakfast and chat a bit before the stressor the day would truly begin.  
Unfortunately, luck was not on his side anymore and as he was just about to reach for the double doors of the Great Hall he heard a voice calling out for him: "Harry, could I have a moment of your time?"  
He grit his teeth as he recognized the high-pitched voice of Rita Skeeter, but before he could even turn around, he felt a tall dark presences slide between him and the reporter and he heard his father drawl: "If I understand our laws correctly, you are not allowed to interview minors without the permission and presence of a guardian." Turning around, he saw Severus glaring down at the smaller woman, who was not the least bit fazed by the dark man.  
"But Harry already knows me," Rita smiled sweetly, her far too white teeth reflecting in the light of the torches.  
"One more reason then," his dad replied sarcastically, but knowing that the annoying reporter would not leave unless he had spoken to her quickly and remembering her last article, Harry stepped in front of the Potions Master, deciding that he would give the woman one last chance:  
"I already told everybody after the end of the Tri-Wizarding Tournament that Voldemort is back and gathering his old followers again," he said loud and clearly. Rita flinched just like everybody else at the name of the Dark Lord, but still pulled her quill out.  
"There have already have been attacks; for example: the families of my friends and classmates recently. But luckily not everybody wants to stay as stupidly blind as the Minister."  
Rita's eyes were gleaming with excitement now and she asked: "And why did no one notice that attack?"  
Glancing up at his father and seeing him nod the tiniest bit, Harry told her: "Dumbledore, myself and other members of the Order of the Phoenix, were fortunately able to interfere very quickly and no one was harmed. But the houses of the victims had been cursed and partly destroyed, thus the Aurors were notified."  
"Was there any evidence that You-Know-Who was behind the attacks?" Skeeter asked, and her quick quotes quill paused for a moment, waiting for a response just like its owner.  
"The Dark Mark had been cast above the houses, but it will not convince those who want to believe that these attacks are only the doing of a group of former Death Eaters," Harry said with a frown.  
"And what are you doing to prepare for the upcoming war, Harry?" the witch asked, but Harry would not give anything away that might help Voldemort in some way, and thus only replied: "Write a good and truthful article for once and maybe I will be willing to talk to you again sometime in the future."  
He had thought that the blonde reporter would protest, but she only widened her smile and packed her quill and parchment away. "Oh, I will and I will hold you to that promise." she winked at him, piped an excited "Ciao!" and left, leaving Harry to blink after her.  
"What was that?" he asked his father, for the moment forgetting that they stood in the Entrance Hall, just in front of the Great Hall where anybody could see him.  
"That was the proof that the public is getting nervous and is losing their trust in the Minister. You did very well, your mates will be proud; they could not have done any better," his father whispered, a content hum in his voice. Harry grinned at him but quickly turned back to the doors behind him.  
"That will hardly be worthwhile, classes start in five minutes," Severus said; just then the doubled doors opened suddenly and Ron and Hermione nearly ran into him.  
"Harry, what are you doing? Why are you standing in the hallway?" Hermione gasped in surprise.  
Scratching the back of his head with a subconscious gesture, he told his friends: "Ah, Rita Skeeter just intercepted me."  
"Skeeter was here?" Ron asked, sounding incredulous, while Hermione was pursing her lips.  
"Yeah, have you read that last article of hers? Where she promises her readers to find out if Voldemort is behind the breakout and the King's Cross attack?" His friends nodded. "Well, she clearly had meant it seriously." He told them as he was turning to the marble staircase. His father had disappeared as soon as the doors of the Great Hall had started opening and thus they were alone again.  
"And what did you tell her?" Ron asked, sounding sceptical.  
"I told her that Voldemort is back and that I told her that before, and I told her that there had been another attack recently and that she might get more information, but only if she writes a good article for once," he smirked and watched as Hermione lifted a surprised eyebrow. They stepped from the second landing and turned into the corridor that led down to their classroom.  
"I think it will be good for us if she writes it as truthful as possible; if she does," Hermione frowned and Ron nodded.  
"You can never be sure with that woman," the redhead said in a tone that left no doubt about what he thought of Skeeter.  
"Somehow I think she will," Harry said, looking up he saw that Draco was standing next to their classroom door alone.  
"Wait a sec," he told his friends and quickly walked over to his second mate, his ears perked just in case some of their other classmates approached. Draco had turned to him, but was regarding him with his flawless mask, giving nothing away about their true relationship.  
"Draco?" He asked, and his mate drawled a "Yes," That sounded far less patronizing than usual.  
"Do you have some more pieces of the silver you used during our last lesson?" Draco eyed him for a second, before giving him a single nod.  
"It is white gold, but I have more of it. Why?" His mate asked, probably for his friend's benefit  
"Would you give me some?" he asked, chewing on his bottom lip; it felt strange to request something so expensive from his mate, even though he knew that everything the Malfoy's owned belonged to him as well now and that it was his right, as his own money had been moved there.  
"How many?" Draco asked, glancing down the corridor.  
"Three pieces if you still have so many."  
Draco didn't answer but fumbled in his trouser pocket before pulling his hand out again and motioning for him to stretch his own out. Harry quickly did as told and Draco let three square pieces of white gold fall into his palm.  
"Thank you," he said, suppressing the urge to smile up at his dominant.  
"Nothing worth mentioning," Draco said, and after one last glance at his mate, Harry reluctantly left to return to his friends, just in time to not be seen standing with Draco by a group of arriving Slytherins.  
"What did you want from Ferret face?" Ron asked as he picked his school bag up from where he had left it on the floor.  
"Nothing," he answered in avoidance, not in the mood for yet another argument, especially not in an open hallway where anybody could walk in on them and witness their argument. He wouldn't warn his friends about Draco's initiation either; he would just have to deal with the fallout later. Hermione wouldn't be a problem regardless; the witch probably already expected Draco to join the Order anyway. But thinking about the meeting, he turned to her and asked: "Can you reschedule the meeting for me?"  
His bushy haired friend nodded "When?" She asked, already pulling out her enchanted Galleon.  
"Directly after our last class at three. Voldemort summoned Lucius this morning and I need time to speak with him and Albus after the meeting," he explained, still leaving Draco out of his explanations.  
"Sure, should we stay after the meeting as well?" Hermione asked and Ron butted in: "Of course we will, we have helped Harry with everything so far!"  
Harry sighed but nodded. Ron was right, they had been good friends and he didn't want to leave them out of the fight, he only hoped that the redhead would be able to get along with his second mate, at least enough to work together.  
"I have rescheduled the meeting, they should notice it," Hermione said, just when the door to their charms classroom was opened by Professor Flitwick.  
McGonagall already stood behind the console and he quickly made his way over to his usual desk. Hermione and Ron sat down to his left and right, but they didn't pull out any quill or parchment.  
"I think you all know what to do," McGonagall ordered them simply, and the sound of shuffling feet arose as the students stood up to retrieve their Projects. Harry went to one of the cupboards as well to get his empty box.  
"Here, Harry," Ron, who simply had leaned forwards and stretched his arms over the shoulders of their pushing classmates, called to him and handed him his box; sometimes it really came in handy to have such a tall friend.  
"Thanks," he grinned and together they returned to their seats.  
"So, what are you doing anyway? You haven't told me yet," he asked the redhead who held something that looked like a huge plate between his torso and left arm.  
"I want to make a plate where food appears on," Ron grinned excitedly. Harry snorted. A plate to summon food; that was so typical of Ron.  
"It might be easier if you work with a pair of items like I am," Hermione mused with a thoughtful expression. "We cannot magically produce food from nothing, but if you had a second plate to give to somebody else and the plates would only transfer it to you, that should be possible."  
"Yeah, you could give one to your mom," Harry added and Ron's grin actually broadened.  
"That's a good idea. What are you doing now? I mean, you are already finished, aren't you?" Ron asked.  
Putting his box onto his desk and pulling the three pieces of white gold from his pocket, he told his friends: "I will make some boxes for my presents."  
Ron frowned and asked: "But don't you only need two? One for your father and one for your mate?"  
Thinking quickly, Harry smoothly replied: "Yeah, but I want one for me as well."  
"Good idea, would be a shame to not have something for yourself," Ron replied and turned to his own box.  
Harry turned to his workplace as well and stared at the silvery cubes. He wanted the boxes to reflect the connection the wands formed between him and his mates and father, but how? Maybe something symbolic? But he wasn't really good with symbols and he wasn't very creative either.  
Deciding that he would start with transforming the white gold into boxes first before adding any personal touches, he swung his wand, concentrated on the image of three square boxes with green velvet cushioning the inside; he then swung his wand and pointed it at the pieces of metal.  
The white gold stretched and grew, an opening appeared around the side and Harry picked one of them up to look inside. The velvet was there as well, but it was a dirty, ugly gray. Scowling, he put the box back down, opened the other two as well and imagined the green velvet again, soft and with an inlet for the wands, before swinging his wand a second time. This time he succeeded, the inlet looked just like he imagined, a bright, vivid emerald green, just like his own eyes.  
But now he was faced with the problem that he still had no idea what he could add to the boxes to make them more personal. Sitting down on his chair again, he carefully glanced over to Draco, who was shaking his borrowed wand with an annoyed scowl on his face; hopefully, the wands he had created would match his mates and father better.  
Concentrating back on the issue at hand, Harry looked back at the boxes. Next, to him Hermione was working on her two-way mirrors, looking rather content with herself, while Ron was just transfiguring the second plate from an old piece of parchment. Maybe his magic would help him out somehow? It had done so before, his magic had always been kind of wild.  
Having no better idea, he placed one box to the side, closed his eyes and concentrated on the feelings to his mates, hoping that his magic would transfer that into the silver boxes. His magic flared as he raised his wand and the feeling of warmth, love, comfort, and security coursed through him. With his eyes still closed, he pointed his wand to the boxes and let his magic flow, until he felt it retreat again, only then did he open his eyes again, and what he saw took his none existent breath away.  
His magic had transformed the simple wand boxes into the most beautiful pieces of art. Two Chinese dragons and a snake were beautifully intertwined with each other, expressing the love he felt for Lucius and was beginning to feel for Draco. The dragons held the smaller snake securely between them, above their heads rose a Merlin and behind it the elegant Malfoy **M** , and beneath it the words: **"Amor Semper Vincet."**  
Thinking that he would like this motive as their family crest (if his mates would agree to abandon their old one), he placed the boxes to the side and took out the third one.  
As he closed his eyes this time he concentrated on the feeling of being cared for, of being protected and of the feeling of being loved by a parent, something he had not known for so long. His magic rose again, but it felt slightly different, but equally strong, and the result was equally beautiful, even though he did not understand the engraved image this time. There was the Merlin and the **M** again, but beneath it were no intertwined dragons, but a tree with a little bat hanging upside down on a branch. One black eye was opened and glancing down at a curled up snake that lay peacefully sleeping at the foot of the tree. A snort pulled him out of his staring.  
"I always knew your father had to be a vampire, or at least an overgrown bat," Ron snickered, pointing at the box.  
"Ha, ha, ha, very funny," Harry scoffed, but quickly let the other two boxes disappear, Hermione was already giving him enough strange looks lately, even without her seeing his and his mates' animagus forms.  
McGonagall called for attention then and told them to start packing their projects away. After they had been dismissed, Harry followed his friends down to Herbology, where he spent two hours planting some slimy mushrooms into new pots. When they entered the Great Hall, Harry still felt slimy and dirty, even after a couple of cleaning spells and was honestly contemplating leaving his friends to take a quick shower, but before he could decide, Fred and George appeared next to him.  
"Hey Harry. Lee, and Angelina would like to join our little club as well, do you think we could bring them along today?" Fred asked in a hushed voice.  
"Sure, I have to initiate someone anyway," he told them, glad that Ron was occupied with filling his plate and not listening right now.  
"Someone, ha?" George asked as both his and his brother's eyes flickered over to the Slytherin table.  
"Exactly," Harry confirmed and after a glance of his own added: "But please keep it silent for now."  
"Sure, sure, our dear little Ronnykins should not explode here," the twins grinned in unison and pat his shoulders roughly, before leaving again with a last wink.  
"So, Angelina, Lee, and Draco?" Hermione asked silently.  
Turning to her, Harry nodded awkwardly. "Yeah, it was what Dumbledore, Lucius, and my dad wanted to accomplish with our dates, wasn't it?"  
Hermione nodded slowly, the frown back on her forehead. "You truly get along now, don't you?"  
Nodding, he confirmed silently: "Yes, we do. Draco is actually okay."  
"Are you two friends? I mean, you seem careful about avoiding him whenever we are with you, but I noticed that his sneer seemed forced whenever you talk to him in public."  
Harry groaned inwardly, his friend was far too clever for her own good; he certainly would have to explain things during the next holidays, he didn't believe that he would be able to fool her longer than that.  
"We are, sometimes he comes over after his Headboy round and we play chess or talk, he is becoming just as good a friend as his father and I really hope that Ron will be able to work with them. They are both very intelligent and will be able to help us a lot."  
"Will he come to the meeting with Dumbledore and as well as your father?" Hermione asked, glancing over at Ron to make sure that their hot-headed friend was still occupied.  
Picking up the goblet with blood that had just appeared in front of him, Harry nodded as he took a sip. "I want to tell HIM about… you know," he said when he had swallowed.  
"I would say be careful, but the binding spell will take care of that," his friend mused and turned back to her own plate, before adding: "I will try to help you with Ron, but you really have to tell him the truth soon."  
"I know, I will do that during the holidays, I told you," he reminded his friend and they changed to a less dangerous topic until the lunch break was over, after which they all three went to Transfigurations, which was once more spent with working on their project, or in his case with doing homework and fantasising about his mates. It would be such a relief if he could behave more openly with Draco around his friends. He had only seen Lucius for a short while the whole day, he was missing him, especially after the man had been away the whole night.  
When the lesson was finally over he had to fight the urge to run back to his private quarters to check if his first mate might be there already. But he held himself back and instead watched Draco slipping out of the classroom while he patiently waited for his friends to finish packing their things.  
As they left the room a moment later, fellow Order members were winking at him, some even waving or saying: "See you soon!"  
He wanted to bang his head against the nearest wall; hopefully, a tough training session with his mates and dad would help them realize that this was not fun but war.  
"You should tell them to be less obvious," Hermione sighed as they came to a halt in front of his door.  
"Yeah, even Crabbe and Goyle will notice that something is up if they act like that," Ron muttered.  
"I will," Harry promised, pushing his door open and his ears perking up when he heard muffled voices coming from his living room. He quickened his steps, not able to hold himself back and not waiting for his friends, who were following him with puzzled expressions, his mind only set on seeing both of his mates again.  
Lucius and Draco once again sat in the armchairs; one looking more gorgeous than the other. Draco was wearing a black set of council robes as well, just like Lucius, and they both had crossed their long legs, but his first mate was sitting a bit more stiffly, while Draco had an air of leisure about him. His eyes couldn't decide whom to take in first, and as he realized that he was checking out his mates in front of his friends, especially Draco whom he had never checked out before and didn't knew if the boy would even want it, he flushed crimson red. He tried frantically to find something he could say so that his mates wouldn't notice (which they probably would do anyway), but before he could even think about something, Ron roared: "What are you doing here, Ferret face?"  
His second mate turned cold eyes on his friend and sneered. "I am joining your little club, what does it look like, Weasel?"  
"We don't want you here," Ron spat, turning red in anger.  
"Ron, you can't just say something like that, he is..." Hermione started but was cut off by their friend: "Why not? It isn't as if Harry is good friends with him."  
"Ron," Harry decided to interject at this point while trying to push his annoyance down. "Draco and I came to an understanding and he wants to join and help defeat the man who killed his mother."  
"As if he would have such noble reasons, I am telling you that he just wants to take you to You-Know-Who! His mother never mattered to him, just like his father; they are not a family like mine, they are cold, calculating and see their own children as tools. All they think about is helping the Dark Lord!"  
Draco was on his feet in an instant, as was Lucius. Harry had grabbed Hermione's sleeve, desperately trying to hold himself back from attacking his best friend for his insults.  
"I will not stand for these insults, Mr. Weasley, neither do I believe will Harry," Lucius growled, his voice low and threatening.  
Ron turned on his heels, his mouth already open, but stopped when he saw his closed off face.  
"He will join, I have already discussed it with Albus and my father, what do you think all our meetings have been for?"  
"I know that, but I thought you agreed that becoming friends with the Ferret is a stupid idea," Ron argued.  
"Back then I did, but Draco and I have spent a lot of time together, more than you know, and we worked through our differences," he explained.  
"How often did you meet? It can't have been that often," Ron huffed.  
Rolling his eyes, he told him: "Almost every evening."  
"What?" The redhead shouted his face growing even redder.  
"Oh George, I believe we are too late," an amused voice suddenly spoke from the doorway  
Turning his head quickly, Harry saw the twins enter with their friends Angelina and Lee, but he ignored them for the moment and concentrated back on the ongoing argument.  
"I don't know what your problem is, Ron," Hermione said, "We will all be much safer if he joins, he won't be able to tell anything to anyone that he might hear from his father, then."  
"Yes Weasel, you should listen to the Beaver," Draco drawled.  
"Calling them Weasel and Beaver does not help," Harry snapped, getting increasingly annoyed and frustrated with this never ending feud between the Weasley's and the Malfoy's.  
"Indeed," Lucius drawled, sounding patronizing enough that it was understood to be taken as an insult as well.  
Hearing more Order members entering his quarters, Harry balled his fists and shouted: "Oh shut up, all of you! Ron, Draco will join and take the oath and Draco, you will stop insulting my friends. Call the Weasley and Granger if you can't use their first names, but stop that Weasel- and Beaver-shit! "  
Harry glared at each of them, but they finally shut up, looks of surprise at his outburst on their faces.  
"Spoken like a true leader," Fred joked behind him and waved his wand to conjure four more armchairs.  
Sighing and ruffling through his already unruly hair, Harry walked over to the sofa where he flopped down. Hermione joined him, as did Ron after a moment. No one spoke a word until the group of people Harry had heard approaching entered the living room.  
"What is Malfoy doing here?" Ginny who stood between Luna and Seamus asked, with a glare on her face and crossing her arms in front of her chest.  
"He will be initiated, and no, I won't change my mind," Harry told her briskly and glanced over to her quickly. The girl threw him a narrow-eyed look as well, but conjured a chair and sat down without starting a second argument, and silence fell again.  
Harry watched as Dean, his father, Lavender, Parvati, the Creevey-brothers and all the other Order Members entered, avoiding to look over at his mates; he felt bad for having shouted at them, a good submissive shouldn't do something like that, it was disrespectful and he had promised Draco to be a good mate only this morning.  
When finally everybody was there, he stood up and his friends and year mates instantly fell silent. "Before we start the meeting three more students wish to join us," he said and motioned for Draco, Angelina and Lee to stand up.  
Dean and Seamus started to whistle as the two other Gryffindor's stood, but silence quickly fell again when Draco followed swiftly; apparently some had not noticed him yet in the crowded room.  
"You have all surely read about Narcissa Malfoy's murder, and Draco wants to help us defeat the man who killed his mother," Harry told them quickly before anyone could ask any questions, and to his relief the other students only nodded grimly in understanding and sympathy. He made his way over to a free spot next to his coffee table where Draco, Angelina, and Lee had gathered and pulled his wand out.  
"All three of you will have to agree to a binding promise, for that I need to touch the skin above your heart with my wand. This promise will keep you from giving any secrets anyway, even under torture," he informed them.  
"Sure," Angelina shrugged, obviously not feeling shy after four years of playing Quidditch together. The girl opened the upper buttons of her blouse and Harry placed his wand onto her chest. The others automatically pulled their wand and closed their eyes in concentration to support his spell, and he spoke the by now familiar phrase: "I, Harry Severus James Potter confirm you, Angelina Johnson, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will hold our secrets and dedicate your life to the fight against the rising darkness."  
His magic rose and he felt the connection form between him and Angelina. When he pulled his wand back again, Angelina gave him a bright smile and stepped back to make place for Lee; who simply pulled the t-shirt he was wearing off and stepped in front of him. How no one had yet picked up on the addition to his name was a mystery to Harry, but he guessed that it was like that with all things you expected to hear or see, it made you blind and deaf to changes.  
When lastly Draco stepped in front of him, he could not prevent his hand from shaking a little. His mate stood tall and proud like a noble Purebloods in front of him, just like Lucius had done all those weeks ago, and just like back then, he could not keep his eyes from wandering down to the muscled chest and the pale flesh as it was slowly unveiled. His fingers twitched around his wand, but even if there hadn't been a room full of people he wouldn't have dared to touch, regardless of how much he wanted to; his shyness and insecurity was still too strong around Draco, even though his fear of the blonde had completely vanished.  
He finally placed his wand onto the perfectly sculptured chest and lifted his eyes to look into ice blue ones that shone with trust and protectiveness.  
"I," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper, "Harry Severus James Potter confirm you, Draco Abraxas Malfoy, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix. You will hold our secrets and dedicate your life to the fight against the rising darkness."  
He held Draco's gaze as his magic once again rose and formed the first true connection between them. He felt his mate shiver at the feeling of his magic and wondered just how sensitive the blonde was. Time seemed to stretch between them and for a short moment that felt like an eternity, Harry could almost believe that they were alone in the room, but far too quickly the bond settled and he had to step away from his second mate and break the contact. He gave Draco a last, small smile, before turning back to the crowd and clearing his throat: "Now on to the main reason for our meeting," he said and sat back down again. "I am sure you all have read the article about the Death Eaters' escape."  
The tension in the room suddenly grew so thick that Harry could almost feel it on his skin as his friends exchanged uneasy glances.  
"Hermione asked me if I would be willing to train you, but the group is by now so large, and I still have my personal training with Dumbledore to think about, that I will not be able to train you regularly. However, Professor Snape and Professor Malfoy would be willing to help, so is Draco, he as well has had private tutelage for the last couple of years, and I would join you whenever I have enough time."  
He paused to give his friends time to think about his offer and watched as they glanced rather suspiciously over to the two Professors that were present.  
Slowly, low murmuring rose as they started considering the pros and cons. After about ten minutes he called them to silence again: "So, have you come to a decision?" he asked.  
"Well, Professor Snape and Professor Malfoy are both Order members and both surely know a lot more about duelling than we do," Seamus said and glanced over at his friend Dean.  
"But it is Snape and Malfoy we are talking about," Ron interjected. Harry rolled his eyes alongside his father and his friend Hermione.  
"But Professor Malfoy is a really good teacher, he has taught us how to be animagus and he doesn't even favour the Slytherins too much," Pavati argued and Luna added: "And Mr. Malfoy and Professor Snape are really good friends of Harry."  
Just when Harry believed that they would come to a decision, Ginny said:  
"Have you all lost your minds? They are Death Eaters who want to spy on us, and now you even want to let them train us?"  
To his relief Lucius stood up then and proposed: "I would suggest that we do a quick voting and come to a clear decision."  
His father nodded as well and before anyone could object he quickly said: "If you agree to be trained by Professor Snape and Professor Malfoy please raise your hand now."  
Hermione was the first to raise her hand, followed by Luna, the twins, Parvati and many more. Ron glared down at his own feet, before raising his hand as well, looking directly at him: "I am your friend and will help you, no matter what, even if I think that you are barmy right now."  
Harry felt relief wash over him even though he knew that it would be short lived and that he'll probably break loose when he finally introduced Draco and Lucius as his mates.  
"Then it is settled," he grinned, ignoring Ginny who was the only one who had not raised her hand in the end. "Hermione will contact you when we know where and when the first training session will take place, we will see you tomorrow in class," he told everybody.  
His year mates as well as the twins and their friends stood up and slowly left his quarters again.  
"Harry, this is so awesome that you have organized real training for us! We will be trained by real Death Eaters!" Collin Creevey suddenly piped up next to him, but the boy flinched when their feared Potions Professor leaned over the boy's shoulder and drawled "Ex-Death Eaters."  
Harry suppressed a snickered as his fan squeaked in surprise and turned around. "Of course Professor… Ex-Death Eaters, I didn't mean to say…"  
His father only sneered down at Collin before sitting down in one of the now empty chairs.  
"Well, I better go," Collin said and looked around for his brother Dennis, who already stood in the doorway that led out of his living room. Harry watched the two Gryffindors go in amusement, before leaning back in the sofa. When everybody had finally left besides Ron, Hermione and Draco he took control again: "As Draco has offered to help me with the defeat of Voldemort, I think it is only fair to explain the plan we have all agreed on. He already knows a little, but not that much." He gave the others a moment to nod, which did so with the exception of Ron, who stared grimly at the fire in the hearth but didn't protest.  
"Maybe one of you can explain the part with the prophecy? I don't understand the thing so well."  
His father nodded and Draco asked: "So, there really is a prophecy about you and the Dark Lord?"  
"Yes," Harry nodded but otherwise waited for his father to explain this part.  
"A few months before Harry's birth, Sybill Trelawney made a prophecy that the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord would be born at the end of July. It was a genuine prophecy, but as you know it could have stayed unfulfilled."  
"But the Dark Lord set it in motion with his attack on the Potter's?" Draco mused correctly.  
"Exactly," Severus continued. "It was me who overheard the first part of the prophecy, and blinded by my wish for revenge on Harry's uncle James as I was back then, I went to the Dark Lord and told him everything I had heard."  
"The prophecy continues with the words 'Either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives'," Lucius continued, making Draco snort.  
"Yes, a prophecy is a most curious thing, it might not come true at all, or sometimes only parts of it will. However, it also speaks of a power Harry has which the Dark Lord has not. Dumbledore believes it is love, but I tend to believe it is understanding and farsightedness."  
Harry sighed and continued at the expectant look of his first mate:  
"I do not plan on killing Voldemort, I believe it would only continue the circle of hate and revenge, I want to force him into a peace contract."  
"I suspect you have already found a way to do so?" Draco asked with a slight frown on his face.  
Nodding, Harry held his hand with his signet ring up. "Voldemort has split his soul into seven pieces; that is what keeps him alive and bound to this earth."  
"Horcruxes?" Draco gasped, paling.  
"Yes, one was destroyed when the killing curse he was throwing at me rebounded, and I destroyed another in my second school year, that was the coldness you felt from the diary."  
Draco's head suddenly snapped around to glare at his father: "You handed me a Horcrux when I was 14?"  
Lucius merely glared back: "Back then we all still thought differently and I was never as sensitive to magic as you are, I did not sense anything from the diary."  
"Well, I didn't think differently back then," Draco sneered, but Severus quickly interjected: "This is not important right now, let Harry continue with his story."  
"Right," Draco muttered but turned back around.  
When his mates' glares had smoothed out a little, Harry continued: "Another Horcrux had attached itself to me in the form of my scar, that is the reason for my connection to him and a fourth one had been hidden inside Nagini, maybe you have noticed that she has a lightning bolt scar on her back."  
Draco shook his head. "I have not examined her thoroughly yet," he drawled with a small shiver.  
"Originally I planned on destroying every piece of soul except one, but Hermione pointed out that I then had to literally work with a soulless bastard if I did that; so I have been collecting his Horcruxes and sealing them inside my signet ring. Three are still missing, but once I have collected them, I plan on bribing Voldemort into a peace contract under the threat of destroying his Horcruxes. I want to try and reconnect his soul and keep only one piece for safety."  
"Have you ever thought about how the public will react if you make a piece contract with the Dark Lord?" Draco asked.  
Not having done that at all, Harry could only blink. "I doubt that they will be happy," his second mate added with a sneer.  
"Well, they will have to live with it or kill him themselves, I will not become a murderer," Harry huffed and crossed his arms, suddenly feeling defensive.  
"I can look through the files in the Ministry, maybe I will find something that can help us, but otherwise we will just have to react to whatever foolishness Fudge comes up with," Lucius mused.  
"Maybe some of the Aurors of the Order will be able to help us," Ron suggested.  
"We will have to see, but otherwise it is a good plan, the only one that might be able to lead to a lasting peace," Draco agreed and Harry's instincts hummed in pleasure at the praise. He grinned a bit stupidly at his mates, but the moment was quickly destroyed when Draco asked: "Do we have a lead on one of the remaining Horcruxes?"  
Shaking his head, Harry told him: "Dumbledore mentioned some information he is gathering, but I guess he still needs some more time."  
"Maybe you should ask him during your next training session?" Hermione suggested.  
"Good idea," he replied, hoping that Dumbledore would send him a message soon.  
For a moment they all fell silent, everyone deep in their own thoughts until his father suddenly stood up: "I have to return to the dungeons and brew a batch of Healing Potions for Poppy."  
"Have fun," Harry smiled at his dad and waved.  
"Yes, because it will be such a challenge," His father sneered and swept out of the room.  
When Harry turned back to his friends and mates, he noticed that the mood had shifted in the few seconds he had looked away. Ron and Draco were stubbornly glaring at each other, while Lucius looked slightly amused and Hermione unsure, and was chewing on her bottom lip.  
"What's up, guys?" he asked, looking from one person to the next.  
"I believe they are fighting over who should leave," Lucius drawled and raised an eyebrow.  
"Mione and I certainly won't go, we are Harry's friends after all and not only some acquaintances, " Ron scoffed.  
"And father and I are not only acquaintances, either," Draco sneered back.  
Harry threw Hermione a helpless look, hoping that she would come up with an idea. He was beginning to wonder whether Draco saw a threat in Ron, even after his explanation; he couldn't think of any other explanation for their constant fighting.  
"What about Ron and I go and get our homework and Draco could join us?"  
"Hermione!" Ron protested, but the witch only said: "Well, if he is Harry's friend now, we should at least make an effort and get to know him."  
Harry sent her a grateful smile as she stood up and left Ron no choice other than to follow her.  
"We will be back in a minute'" Hermione smiled at him and dragged a still glaring Ron up to their common room.  
Draco looked equally disgruntled and Harry felt a pang of guilt that they would not be able to spend some time with only the three of them. Wanting to cheer his younger mate up, he walked over and carefully sat down on his lap. Draco instantly lifted him up as he noticed what he wanted to do, and sighed silently.  
"Thank you for tolerating them, and for joining the Order," he whispered and after a moment of hesitation leaned forwards and pressed a soft kiss to Draco's cheek. His mate's eyes widened the tiniest fraction and Harry could feel heat gather beneath his lips.  
Happy that he had been able to surprise the blonde, he hopped from his lap again and walked over to Lucius to give him a kiss as well. "Thank you too, for always helping," he said, but pulled away quickly when he heard his front door open and his friends returning.  
"Let's go to the library," he said even before his friends could reach this living room again. His mates did not look overly happy with the prospect of spending the next few hours with his friends, but stood up and followed him.  
"Ah, I was just wondering if we would go into your library," Hermione smiled a little and glanced at his mate's, who stood a step behind him.  
"It's the only room with a desk large enough to fit us all," Harry shrugged and went into the room.  
Lucius called for Oscar and ordered the elf to bring them some drinks and the essays he still had to mark as they all settled down around the huge table.  
He did not have a lot of homework left, but decided to read a bit ahead for his next Potions Lesson. He had gotten used to doing so regularly because he had a lot to catch up to in his father's class and didn't want to a shame the man. Right now no one knew that he was Professor Snape son, but he hoped that one day everybody would, maybe already at the beginning of next year; he would have to collect the Horcruxes by then anyway, now that Voldemort thought that Draco was planning on handing him over during the next summer holidays.  
"Harry, do you think you have a Runes book somewhere here?" Hermione asked, pulling him from his thoughts.  
"Probably, just try to summon one," he shrugged and then automatically added: "Let me see," and took her homework. He looked over the assignment quickly, it was close and everything was filled out with the exception of one space.  
"You have to add a G-rune," he told his friend who was just summoning a runes book.  
"How would you know?" She asked sceptically, but pulled her sheet over.  
Shrugging, he answered "I just do, maybe because of the ritual," even though he knew that this knowledge came from Malfoy Manor.  
"You are right," Hermione said, sounding very surprised. Harry grinned at her, but turned to Draco when the boy asked: "And how would Granger be able to read one of your books?"  
Grinning sheepishly, Harry rubbed the back of his head. "Ah, right. You don't know. There is a parchment I can add names to and then the books will change to English for the people I have added."  
Draco narrowed his eyes, clearly remembering the day when their mating contract had been made, but fortunately refrained from saying anything.  
"I'll just add your name," Harry said hastily and stood up.  
When he had returned he picked his Potions book back up and spent the next half an hour silently reading until he was interrupted once again:  
"Hey Harry, can you help me with that shield?" Ron asked and held his DADA-journal up. Looking at the page, Harry nodded, it was one of the first Shields Dumbledore had taught him to use correctly.  
"Sure, what is your problem with it?"  
"Dunno, but it just collapses all the bloody time," Ron huffed.  
He motioned for Ron to do the spell and watched as the redhead made a great circular movement with his wand. The shield appeared, but as soon as Ron lowered his wand it collapsed, just like he had said.  
"You can't take your wand away. This shield is fairly powerful because it draws continuously on your magic, you must keep the connection or it will disappear," He explained and demonstrated the spell himself.  
"You can direct the shield up and down and from one side to the other as long you keep the connection," he said and told Ron to try again.  
He felt his mates discreetly watching him as he continued to practice with Ron. Lucius had finished his marking some time ago, and Draco had also apparently finished his work.  
Finally, Ron started to pack his things and said: "Let's go to dinner, I am starving!"  
"Ah, I think I will just stay here, I am not really eating anyway," Harry told his friends, who shrugged in understanding.  
"Should we return after dinner?" Hermione asked, but sensing the falling mood of his mates, Harry quickly shook his head. "No, my mate will be coming by later."  
"When will you finally introduce her to us?" Ron asked and pat him on the back with a wide grin.  
"Um… I plan to invite my mate during Christmas break," he stuttered and tried not to nervously glance over to his mates.  
"You do that, man. You know I am really envious. You are so much younger than I am and already get more action."  
Harry wished the ground would open up beneath him and swallow him whole. Ron was talking as if he was the greatest womanizer in Hogwarts and his mates were hearing every word.  
"Don't speak like that Ron, you make Harry's bond sound like a scandalous affair," Hermione scolded him and grabbed him by his sleeve. "Weren't you hungry?" She asked pointedly and finally got their friend to move. "Right," Ron remembered and quickly grabbed his bag, before saying "Have fun," and following Hermione out.  
As soon as his friends were out, Draco stood in front of him, much closer than ever before. Harry drew in a breath, not having seen his second mate approaching. He didn't dare look up at the taller boy, who didn't seem to mind and took yet another step closer until their bodies were flush against each other.  
"So, you meet up with your little girlfriend every evening? Didn't know you were such a Casanova; should I have to be jealous?" Draco purred.  
Harry swallowed, the sound of his mate's voice was sending shivers down his back and he felt completely overwhelmed. Draco had not been so teasing since their peace and he had no idea how he was supposed to react. He took a hesitant step backward, only to collide with another strong chest.  
"What a naughty little submissive we have, I think we have to keep a closer eye on him," Lucius purred in an equally seductive voice. A second shiver overcame Harry as the man lowered his head and brushed soft lips against the exposed skin of his neck.  
"I think you are right, Lucius," Draco drawled and lowered his face until he was able to nuzzle the other side of his neck. Harry gasped silently, his knees suddenly feeling weak and shaky. A submissive mewl left his mouth and he lifted his hands to clutch onto Draco's robes.  
"I think we need to remind our mate whom he belongs to," Lucius' voice grew even deeper and Harry closed his eyes helplessly.  
"Maybe we should kidnap him for this weekend. He still has not been on a complete tour of our home yet," Draco suggested suggestively.  
"A good idea, we need to decide on a bedroom for us," Lucius hummed against his neck, but Harry had stopped listening a long time ago. His heart was racing in anticipation and the only thing that kept any physical reaction at bay was his overwhelming nervousness. He couldn't believe that he stood between his two dominants, their whole attention solely focussed on him. From this close, their bodies felt so warm and so strong and tall and they smelled so very good, like two fine bottles of spicy red wine, one a bit older than the other, but both exquisite. His mind was a pile of mush and he would not have been able to give an intelligent reply even if he had been asked to.  
"What do you think of our idea Harry?" Draco whispered into his ear, making him finally realize that they had been speaking to him. He gave a small whimper, a sound that could mean anything and nothing and was mainly a means to prompt his dominants to decide.  
"Very well, it is a date then," Lucius hummed lowly and finally stepped away from him, as did Draco.  
Harry instantly started stumbling, the only thing that had been keeping him upright had been his grasp on his second mate's robes, but before he could actually tumble to the ground he was scooped up into strong arms and Lucius' musky scent returned to his nose.  
He let his head fall against his older mate's shoulder and tried to calm his racing heart.  
"I think we overdid it," Draco chuckled and stretched a hand out to comb through his thick nest of hair  
"Mmm, how I have dreamed of doing this," Draco hummed in a voice that suggested that he was remembering something of their past. "And it is even softer than I had imagined."  
Harry still couldn't answer, but he sighed contently and pressed his head against the stroking hand, just like a cat that wanted to be petted.  
"Shall we retire?" Lucius asked and Draco pulled his hand away with a nod. Harry gave a protesting sound, the touch had felt so good after months with little or no contact with his mates and he didn't want it to stop.  
"I can continue petting you when we are in bed," Draco, promised him and he was carried into their bedroom, where Lucius put him down onto their bed.  
It took him a moment to return from his submissive state and to his senses, and he flushed as he realized how needy he had just behaved. The blush returned to his cheeks and he hastily stood up, before mumbling "I will go and get changed", before leaving the room to get changed.  
When he returned five minutes later, once again dressed in a pyjamas, a Weasley-jumper and a bathrobe, his mates had changed as well and were already lying down. He climbed in between them, but instead of lying down like he had done the previous nights, he sat there indecisively, looking from Lucius to Draco and not able to decide to whom he should be cuddling with. The thought that he would have to neglect one of them entered his mind and he started to shake; he wanted to be there for both of them, but how could he do that? How had fate even come to the conclusion that he would be able to satisfy two dominants? It seemed like an impossible task.  
"Harry?" Draco asked and he turned teary eyes onto the blonde. Draco instantly scooted closer, concern on his face, as did Lucius behind him.  
"What is wrong Harry, did we gone too far in the living room?" Draco asked and gently took one of his hands.  
Shaking his head, Harry forced himself to tell his mates what was bothering him, even though it sounded ridiculous to his own ears. "I… don't know who I should cuddle with… I don't want to neglect one of you."  
He looked down in shame, but couldn't keep himself from peeking up through his bangs quickly. His mates were exchanging a look Harry couldn't read and Lucius pulled him closer gently.  
"You will not neglect one of us, see?" he hugged him to his chest like he had done so often before, and in the next moment Draco scooted closer and spooned up behind him. Two arms came to rest on his hips and Harry felt himself instantly relax.  
"No need to worry," Draco whispered and pressed a light kiss to his neck.  
"Sleep well, Harry," Lucius said.  
"You too," Harry mumbled, but he was already half asleep, as his mind processed and was oddly relaxed with the knowledge that his two dominants would keep him warm and safe.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

The next day he awoke with a bright smile. It was finally Saturday, the day of their second date, their first real one. With the grin still in place, he sat up in one quick motion and jostled his mates from their peaceful slumber.  
"Harry?" Lucius asked and guilt rose inside of Harry as he saw silver eyes scanning their room in concern.  
"It's nothing, I am just so excited!" He grinned and turned to hug his older mate. Lucius relaxed against him and started to comb through his unruly locks. He started to purr at the affectionate touch and leaned against his older mate's strong body.  
"And why are you so excited?" Draco suddenly grumbled and pulled him out from his blissful state.  
Blinking at the unusual sound in his younger mate's voice, Harry turned to look at Draco, who had propped himself up on one elbow and was scowling at him.  
"Because today is our date!" He declared brightly, but Draco only continued to scowl at him.  
"We will not leave for a few hours, and some of us would appreciate some more sleep," Draco huffed and Harry watched in confusion as his mate lay back down and turned around.  
Not knowing if he should feel hurt at the dismissive words spoken by Draco, he turned back to Lucius, but only grew even more confused when he saw the man chuckling.  
"Draco never was an early riser, but he worked himself hard since he was little to match the diligent picture of a Malfoy, at least during the week. If you want to make him happy then go over to him and lay next to him until he wakes up."  
Blinking even more, Harry was wondering if Lucius was telling a joke, but when he looked at Draco's blonde head that was sticking out from under the boy's comforter, he realized that it was the truth. Giggling, he crawled to the edge of the bed and stood up, before walking over to Draco's side.  
"You mean I should cuddle with him until he wakes up?" He asked teasingly, earning himself a scowl from Lucius.  
"Malfoy's do not cuddle," his mate declared as dignified as ever; how those two could still insist on that rule, Harry had no idea. Shrugging, he lifted Draco's blanket carefully and crawled beneath it before snuggling against Draco's chest.  
"You know, that is so cute!" He declared, before lying down again as well.  
Lucius didn't even grace his command with a reaction and merely rose as well. "I still have some work to do before I can start in our weekend, so I will be going to my office."  
Harry's face instantly fell; he had hoped they could spend this whole day together. Lucius, who must have seen his expression, came over and sat down next to him. "If I finish my work now, we will have the whole weekend for each other; besides, Draco deserves some alone-time with you as well. We are all soulmates, but we are also still individuals."  
Understanding what Lucius wanted him to realize, he nodded and motioned for his older mate to bend down for a quick kiss, before saying: "Just… hurry, okay? I really want to see Draco's room and more of the Manor."  
"I will, I promise love," Lucius said and stood up again.  
Harry watched him leaving their bedroom but snuggled deeper under the blanket like he was used to, as soon as Lucius was out of sight.  
He must have fallen asleep again as well because the next thing he noticed was long fingers sliding through his hair. Humming contently, he blinked his eyes open. Draco had propped up next to him and was looking down at him with a gentle smile on his face.  
"You stayed with me," his mate whispered and leaned down to brush his lips against his forehead. Blushing, Harry nodded but didn't know what to say in reply; luckily Draco spoke up again.  
"Thank you, I always dreamed of waking up with you in my arms."  
"But we have woken up together for the past few days," Harry said with a small frown, but Draco shook his head: "Last night was the first time you slept in my arms, and you were not there when I woke up earlier, but you stayed with me after all. We should get up now as father should be finished now."  
Nodding, Harry sat up, pushed the heavy comforter to the side and climbed out of bed to get ready.  
"I will go to the other bathroom," he said and with one last smile at Draco, he left.  
As he entered Gryffindor's room, he saw a new robe lying on the bed, Oscar must have bought it for his date, but he ignored it in favour of the last traditional robe that still hung in his cupboard. Opening the cupboard doors, he pulled the black robe out, hoping that Draco would finally like this one, or he would be at a loss of what to try next.  
Sighing, he went into the bathroom and quickly pulled off his bathrobe, his Weasley-jumper and his PJ's, before dressing in what started looking more and more like one of his father's old robes as he buttoned the many black buttons up. When he was finished, he stepped in front of the room-high mirror, only to realize that the robe did indeed look like one of his father's, only the silver under cloak was missing. Pulling at the tight, high collar, he wondered how his father could wear these kinds of clothes every day, but keeping his goal in mind, he decided to bear with it and left the quarters again.  
Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the living room, hoping against all hope that he would finally get a positive reaction from his younger mate, but the blonde only rose with his father, who was scowling at his robe.  
"We thought, we could have a small breakfast at our manor and discuss what you would like to see today," Lucius said and stretched a hand out to him, even though he was still slightly scowling. Harry felt uneasy as he walked over; maybe he should just change into his new robe before they left, but Draco had already made his way over to the fireplace and was calling out: "Malfoy Manor, conservatory!"  
Lucius pushed him softly in the direction of the fireplace and he quickly took some floo powder as well and followed Draco into the hearth.  
The sight that greeted him as he stumbled out at the other end of the fireplace was breathtaking. He had landed in a middle sized room, with a small fountain in the middle of it. All kinds of roses were planted in beds or formed beautiful archways, while bushes were cut into the forms of magical creatures. He saw a unicorn, a dragon and even a Griffin to his right.  
Draco suddenly appeared next to him and he started a bit, not having noticed him standing there. "I didn't know that you had a conservatory," he breathed without taking his eyes from the beautiful sight.  
"We have a conservatory," Lucius' voice sounded from behind him and a moment later his other mate had joined him as well.  
"That is the private conservatory, only family members, and very close friends are allowed in here and you can only reach it from the red salon," Draco explained and offered him an arm, which Harry took without hesitation. Lucius placed a hand at the small of his back and he was led over to a small coffee table that was surrounded by a couch and two armchairs.  
"Does that mean we have more than one winter garden?" He asked and let go of Draco's arm to sit down.  
"There also is a conservatory for official balls, it is much bigger, of course," Lucius told him and sat down to his left, while Draco chose one of the armchairs across from him. Goblets appeared on the table silently and his older mate handed him one. The blood smelt delicious, fresh and full of magic.  
"What kind of blood is this? I have never smelled it before," he asked and took a small sip, it tasted even better than he had imagined and he let out a loud sigh.  
"Its dragon blood," Draco answered him with an eyebrow raised in amusement.  
Blushing, because his two mates were still watching him, Harry took another sip, before placing his goblet down again and asking: "So… um… do you have any plans for today?"  
To his disappointment, his mates shook their heads and Draco said: "We already know this manor; today you can decide what you wish to see."  
"But I don't even know what there is, so how can I decide?" He protested.  
"Are there not any kind of rooms or places you are interested in? I can assure you, we have everything you can imagine somewhere in or around our manor," Lucius told him.  
Looking around and out of the glass walls that were surrounding him and opening the view to more gardens, he tried to find an answer to his mates' requests. What he was truly interested in were the rooms and places his mates liked the most. Not the most occupied rooms, because that could also be a hated office, but their favourite places. But why couldn't that be his answer? He did not know any particular rooms besides the few he had seen on their last visit and it would be an answer as good as any. Making up his mind, he looked up again with a bright grin and declared: "I want you to show me your favourite places; they must be the most beautiful!"  
He watched his mates exchange a look quickly before Draco rose and said: "Then we should start with the stables."  
"You can ride? But it's a Muggle sport," Harry wondered but rose as well. His mates merely snorted at his words and waited for him to follow them. They lead him over to a nearly invisible door that led out onto a small, white pebble path.  
"I would propose we apparate, or it will be a long walk," Lucius hummed and held his arm out in offering. Thinking that he seriously needed a map to learn the outline of his future home, Harry grabbed the arm and he was once more pulled along.  
When he opened his eyes again, he stood in front of a huge, white marble building; snorting, Harry wondered which ancestor of his mate had concluded that horses needed a marble-home as well. When he finally pulled his eyes from the impressive building, he noticed that his mates were already going inside and hastily followed them. The inside of the stable was just as impressive as the outside. The doors of the horse stables were made of a light wood and behind each one stood a beautiful, white horse. They were huge and strong looking, but with a grace that spoke of their noble breeding.  
"The horses are Lucius' passion," Draco told him and walked over to one of the animals to stroke its nose. "He had taken over the task of breeding when he was only 16 years old. I for my part prefer riding them."  
Harry didn't know what to reply, he was so overwhelmed, not only to realize everything he now possessed but also by how much he still didn't know about Lucius. Even so, they had been a couple for nearly six months by now. But he truly shouldn't be surprised, it was only logical that a man with as many different occupations as Lucius would have equally interesting hobbies.  
"Do you two have your own horses?" He asked and began to walk down the gangway, studying each horse he passed.  
"We have," Lucius said. "My horse is Xerxes and Draco's is Dementor."  
Reading the silver plates on the doors, Harry searched for the two stallions. He found Xerxes first, but Dementor's box was right next to it. Both horses were even stronger looking than the others, with perfectly white fur and attentive eyes and they snorted as he stepped closer.  
"I thought Dementor would be black," he mused as he looked at the white stallion and pet it carefully. Dementor threw his head up at first, but then quickly calmed down.  
"He was as a foal," Lucius explained. "It is normal for white horses to be born black or brown, but he was black-furred for such a long time, that we thought he would stay that way."  
"And you kept a foal that didn't match the standard?" Harry asked cheekily and earned himself two glares from his mates.  
"We are not that superficial," Draco sniffed and Lucius added: "And these are magical creatures, not normal horses. Some foals bond to a human and it is said to bring bad fortune if you refuse the bond."  
"So Dementor chose Draco?" Harry asked and turned questioningly to the mentioned stallion.  
"Indeed. Dementor refused to be born, that is often a sign that a horse wishes to have a bonded master. I was quite helpless with what to do until I took Draco with me to the stables one day. He was only two years old, but Dementor was born on the same night."  
"We even have another foal right now that refuses to be born, even though it has been due since half a year ago," Draco continued and Harry quickly followed him as his mate made his way over to a large box at the very end of the stable.  
"The mother is Ester, but I am not sure who the foal's father is," Lucius mused as he walked closely behind Harry.  
Having arrived at the box, Harry looked inside and searched for the horse. He found the mare lying to the left, looking as if she would burst anytime. She seemed to be sleeping, but as soon as his eyes had landed on her, she looked up and straight into his eyes. Her eyes were a clear light blue and they seemed to look straight into his soul. For a long moment, he held her gaze, until it grew too intense and he had to look down.  
"Harry? Would you like to ride out with us? We could show you more of the grounds that way," Lucius asked from somewhere behind him, ending the strange moment. He quickly cleared his throat; apparently, his mates had not seen the strange exchange. Clearing his throat again, he turned around and nodded with a wide grin. He had never sat on a horse before, but he was sure that it would be a great experience.  
"Who will I ride with?" He asked and looked from Lucius to Draco and back again.  
"With me," Lucius declared with an arrogant smirk. "With Draco, you might be afraid that you will fall down at the smallest obstacle."  
"Don't make him think that I am a bad rider!" Draco huffed and gave his father a glare. Lucius merely snapped his fingers and called a house elf. The creature appeared and he ordered it: "Prepare Dementor and Xerxes for an outing. Our mate will join us."  
"Diddy will make ready," the elf answered in a high pitched voice and bowed deeply before disappearing again.  
"Let us go outside and wait there for the horses," Lucius added and turned to leave the stable again. Harry quickly took the arm Draco was offering him and followed his mate outside. It truly wasn't bad too waiting outside. The morning was clear and even though it was freezing cold, he couldn't feel it anyway. As he was came level with Lucius, the man laid his arm around him as well and he sighed in bliss. This was like a dream come true. He had never dreamed about much, but for the last few weeks he had always dreamed about his two dominants standing by his side and holding him lovingly, and now Draco and Lucius were doing just that. Leaning against Draco, he pulled Lucius closer, while his gaze wandered over the wide grounds that were spread out in front of him. Behind him lay the many gardens, but the landscape just in front of him was open and free, only bordered by an old forest to his left.  
"I… could never have dreamed of more…" He mused, not quite sure if he was talking to himself or to his mates.  
"I can believe as much… your home life was awful and so...pitiful…" Draco sniffed, but the comment only made Harry snicker. "That's not what I meant. I meant being here, with you two, with my own little family."  
A rhythmic sound made him turn his head around and he saw Xerxes and Dementor being guided out by the small house elf. He watched Draco take the reins of the right horse before following Lucius to the left one. His older mate showed him where to place a foot in the stirrup and after he had done so, grabbed him by the hips and helped him up. The horse seemed much taller now that he sat on its back. Harry almost grew dizzy as it moved. Normally he was not afraid of height, but the fact that it was not a lifeless broom, but a living being he was sitting on with its own mind, was somehow making his stomach feel queasy. He tried not to picture images of Xerxes suddenly starting to run and to buck and throwing him off. A movement behind him made him aware of Lucius and he relaxed slightly as his mate hugged him softly against his strong chest. Harry grabbed the mane in front of him and closed his eyes as Lucius gave his horse a light nudge and the stallion started moving.  
"Scared, Potter?" he suddenly heard Draco's voice to his left, and feeling as if he was just experiencing déjà vu, he opened his eyes and glared at his younger mate. "You wish," he mocked, but Draco only lifted one of his elegant eyebrows.  
"Just relax; I would never let you fall. And even if it were to happen, Draco would be right there to catch you," Lucius promised, just when the horse's gait changed into a light trot. He tried to take the advice to heart and let his muscles relax, and as he did so the feeling of being tossed about by the horse vanished and he started to feel more at ease. After another minute he even lifted his head from where he had been staring at his hand that was holding the mane tightly and looked around. Draco was still riding beside him and looking just as relaxed as Lucius' body felt behind him. As far as he could tell, Draco seemed no worse at riding than his father and the blonde was definitely looking stunning. His eyes travelled over those elegant hands that were holding the reins, and over the strong but lean figure, and suddenly he realized that he had never touched his second mate up until now. As soon as the thought had appeared in his head the desire followed. His fingers suddenly itched and he wondered if Draco's skin would feel just as soft and warm as Lucius'. Would it taste different? Would his younger mate's muscles form a different pattern under his skin? So many questions but at the same time he could feel that he still was too shy to act on his desire. It was just like it had been with Lucius in the beginning; the wish was there but his bravery was still missing.  
"Harry?" Draco suddenly asked and Harry blinked once as he realized that he had spaced out while staring at his second mate.  
"I know I am gorgeous, but we didn't need to ride out for you to stare at my body," his mate smirked and Harry quickly turned his head to hide his blush.  
"Be careful with your teasing my son or our little submissive will be too ashamed to approach us," Lucius hummed and added: "I hope you know that you can always stare at us as much as you like and touch us as well."  
Did he know that? Harry wasn't sure. He and Draco had not set the boundaries of their relationship yet; he still didn't know what his younger mate expected of him. Glancing backward, he saw that Lucius looked as if he knew what was going on in his head, but somehow he had the feeling that his older mate would not interfere in his relationship with Draco. It would probably be better that way, he and his younger mate needed to work their way through this phase of their relationship on their own. Lucius and he had done so already, but sometimes he still wished for a bit of help. Why was he still so unsure around Draco? He had forgiven the younger blonde and held no ill feelings against him anymore, but still the fear to do something wrong and reverse their relationship to what it had been before Draco's confession, was too strong.  
Shaking his head determinedly, he concentrated on the landscape that was slowly flying by. They had left the stable far behind already and were now riding across a wide meadow. The wind was picking up around them and growing colder with every passing minute as if it would start to snow soon. To his left he saw the first outskirts of the dark forest from the ground and he wondered how far their land stretched. It still did not come naturally to him to think of all this surrounding them as his as well. Sure, he never had been poor, despite what his mates and many other people had assumed, but he had never imagined becoming the owner of such splendour.  
"Shall we go a bit faster?" Lucius suddenly asked and before Harry could respond, Xerxes jumped and then started running. With a yelp, he quickly grabbed the mane of the horse harder and tightened his legs around its body. Behind him, Draco shouted something he could not hear as the wind was whooshing in his ears. A strong arm sneaked around his waist and in the next moment he was moving with Lucius on the horse. Lucius' movement felt so natural, as if the man was dancing and not riding, light and relaxed; it didn't seem to be an effort for his older mate to keep sitting on his horse and more as if the aristocrat truly belonged on the strong back.  
To his left Draco appeared, driving his horse mercilessly to catch up with them, a concentrated look on his face, and suddenly Harry understood why Draco said riding was not his passion, even though he was good at it, because now he saw that the sport did not come as naturally to his younger mate; he did not look as free and relaxed as he had seen him look on a broom so many times before. Draco still had to think as he was directing Dementor, while Lucius' eyes were shining with a wild passion behind him. And suddenly laughter bubbled up in his chest as he watched this moment between father and son, between his two mates and he realized that they were showing him a part of their daily life right now. The race seemed so natural as if they had done it many times before and now he was a part of it as well. A rush of happiness coursed through his body and a huge grin stretched his lips until it nearly hurt.  
An old and partly collapsed piece of wall grew larger in the distance and for a split second, Harry thought Lucius was planning on jumping over it and closed his eyes, but instead he felt the horse turn sharply and they were racing back to the stables. Draco was by now a good distance behind them, but the determined expression had not faded.  
His fear had completely faded by now and he was inwardly cheering for Lucius and Xerxes, but only because that would mean he would win as well. The stable came into view again and he threw another look over his shoulder, only to realize that Draco had caught up. Dementors snout was now at the same level with Xerxes' shoulder blade.  
"Faster Xerxes! Faster!" He shouted and even let go with one hand to pat the horse's neck.  
"Don't worry, we will win!" Lucius shouted above the roaring of the wind, giving Xerxes another nudge, the stallion picked up his speed even more and the stable came closer so rapidly now that Harry wondered if they would be able to come to a halt in time. As his sharp eyes were able to see the small cracks in the fine marble he closed his eyes again.  
He was pushed against the strong neck of the horse as Lucius pulled on the reins and Xerxes came to an abrupt stop. Gasping, Harry opened his eyes again, his heart still racing. To his right, Draco came to a halt as well, just in front of the wooden gate of the stable.  
"See, I told you Draco would lose," Lucius drawled behind him without seemingly bothering about the filthy glare his son was giving him.  
Lucius had slid from the horse and was now holding out a hand for him, which he took, before clumsily climbing from the stallion as well. Draco had dismounted Dementor and a silent pop was heard.  
"Is Diddy to put horses back?" The elf that had made the two horses ready earlier asked, and Harry watched his mates nod and give the small creature the reins before both offered him their arms at the same time. Thinking that Lucius had apparated him so many times today already, he took Draco's arm this time, who announced, "Then let's go to our personal Quidditch pitch," before he was whisked away once more.  
The Quidditch pitch he landed on was much larger than the one at Hogwarts. It reminded him of a Roman Amphitheatre with the seats that were arranged in a rising circle, and made of the same marble as the manor and the stable had been. The left goal posts were golden, while the ones to his right were shining silver and the grass beneath his feet was neatly trimmed.  
"Fudge tried to persuade father to allow the Quidditch World Cup to be held here, but he of course refused. It would have been detrimental to our wards and security," Draco drawled and Harry easily picked up on the pride in his mate's voice.  
"It would have been impressive," Harry mused, but then added with a smirk "But I would have been really annoyed if I had to go to your manor back then."  
"It's almost a pity, I would have liked to see the Weasel's faces," Draco hummed and offered him his arm again.  
Harry only rolled his eyes at the insulting name the blonde was still using for his best friend and his family, but took the offered arm and stretched a hand out for Lucius.  
"The stadium can fit about 100 000 visitors," Lucius continued to explain as they strolled aimlessly over the soft grass. "But why one of my ancestors had thought it necessary to build such a huge Quidditch pitch on our grounds I will never understand," the older blonde added.  
"Because it is more impressive of course, and it's just more fun to play in a stadium this size," Draco huffed and Harry quickly suppressed a snicker; it didn't take a genius to guess that the Quidditch pitch was one of Draco's favourite places and not Lucius', but he could easily share his mate's excitement. The pitch was breathtaking, beautiful and most certainly more than impressive. The silver and gold goal posts and the white marble reflected the weak winter sun, making everything around them seem much brighter.  
His mates came to a halt exactly in the middle of the pitch and he looked up into the gray sky, only to see a single snowflake falling down slowly. A second snowflake joined the first one and then a third, and letting go of Lucius, he caught them in his hand and said: "Look, it's starting to snow."  
His mates merely wrinkled their noses at his announcement and Draco drawled: "What a pity, I had hoped that we could fly for a bit."  
Harry sighed at his snobbish mate, well the father was no better than the son in that regard and shook his head lightly.  
"I propose we continue our tour inside," Lucius said with an annoyed look at the snowflakes and Draco asked: "The owlery?"  
"Yes," Lucius confirmed and in the next instant, Harry was whisked away again, only to find himself in a circular room, very much like the Hogwarts owlery, only that it looked much cleaner and instead of owls, fierce looking falcons sat on the many marble roof beams.  
A loud, familiar screech was heard from somewhere above him and Harry quickly ducked as he felt the wind move his hair, and in the next moment a huge, majestic looking bird swooped down and landed on Lucius' outstretched arm.  
"This is Octavian, you should already be familiar with him," His older mate introduced him to the horrible bird that had delivered his mate's presents to him in the summer holidays.  
"Um…" he said weakly and glanced at the falcon that was scowling down at him as if remembering their last encounter as well.  
"Octavian is the first falcon father bred and the most vicious one," Draco scowled while Lucius was still petting the bird's feathers; apparently his younger mate had never gotten along with the beast either. Somehow this reassured Harry; at least the bird didn't only hate him.  
"Our family have been breeding these silver falcons for over five hundred years," Lucius told him, unimpressed by Draco's remark. "If you ever need a second bird, just tell me"  
"Er… I think Justitius is enough for now," Harry quickly declined and stepped a bit further away as the falcon gave a loud screech.  
"I see, my hobby impresses you as much as Draco," Lucius remarked and Harry hastily looked down at his feet, feeling mortified and ashamed that he could not be more enthusiastic about his older mate's hobby.  
"Do you have another hobby as well?" He asked Draco, hoping that the question would distract from the fact that he was taking a second step backwards.  
"Yes, I have, shall we go to my quarters?" Draco asked with a glance at Octavian, and Harry quickly nodded, before asking Lucius "Are you coming as well?"  
"Yes," the blonde answered. "I will follow shortly.  
When Harry opened his eyes again, he was standing in a wide, bright room. One wall was made entirely from glass, letting the cool winter sun in. A sofa stood to one side and the only other piece of furniture was a huge, crystal grand piano. Draco led him over to the instrument and motioned for him to sit down before slipping in next to him.  
Somehow, Harry didn't know what to say; he had never imagined that his younger mate would be the musical type, but Draco was opening the lid, stretching his fingers a few times and in the next moment the most beautiful music he had ever heard reached his ears. It was a slow, tender waltz, sounding like a frail music box in the beginning, but it quickly grew stronger and even though he had heard many classical pieces while living at the Dursley's, it sounded like nothing he had ever heard. The pace of the music picked up a bit and he closed his eyes. Colours and patterns appeared in front of his inner eye, forming a beautiful picture.  
He barely felt the warm hand landing on his shoulder as he lost himself in the music that was now growing into a wild storm, almost covering the main motive of the soft waltz that was still playing softly in the background. The storm calmed down, only breaking through now and then until the soft sound was back again and changing to a more happy, almost eager and anticipating tune.  
When the music stopped, it felt as if it had broken off somewhere in the middle and Harry felt very disappointed. Opening his eyes, he scowled at Draco and asked: "Why are you not continuing?"  
Draco only smirked and as he turned his head to give Lucius a questioning glance as well, he saw the same expression there as well.  
"My son has been writing this piece for years and I always wondered what it was about," his older mate chuckled.  
Feeling even more confused, Harry turned back to Draco, who shrugged and said: "I cannot continue, because it is not yet finished, and I think it never will be."  
Harry's eyes widened as he slowly understood what his mate was hinting at. "You mean, you wrote this piece of music?" He questioned and Draco nodded.  
"The piece's title is 'Harry'."  
Harry's eyes widened in disbelief: "You are writing a piece about me?" He asked and then hastily commanded: "Play it again."  
Draco gave him an amused look, but turned back to the keyboard and started again. This time as Harry listened, he tried to remember the things Draco had written down in his diary and to imagine their many encounters from his mate's point of view, and as amazing as it was, he was quickly able to find some of those encounters in the music. Many he could only wonder about because they had most likely been of no importance to him back then, so he didn't remember them, but it was still amazing.  
A small tear ran down his cheek as Draco reached the point of his own death, his rebirth and his fury and desperation afterward. But that also was the point when the music grew softer again as Draco had worked his slow realization into the tune, and finally it quieted down again after his mate's confession.  
Harry had grabbed Lucius' hand somewhere along the way and was holding onto his older mate as if the man was the only thing keeping him from fainting, and that was exactly how he felt.  
When the music ended for the second time he was shaking all over and unable to look Draco in the eyes, who had turned to him and was now looking worried.  
"Harry… I think I shouldn't have… let me play something more light-hearted to cheer you up," his younger mate said in a concerned tone of voice, and Lucius sat down next to him. He climbed into the man's lap as a melody filled the room. Lucius pulled him against his strong chest and he leaned back and closed his eyes again. The same colours he had already seen before filled his vision again; this time they were forming flowers in front of his inner eye and within minutes his sadness had disappeared.  
"Would you like to give it a try as well?" Draco asked when he had played the last note of the piece and looked at him expectantly.  
Flushing, Harry started to fidget in Lucius' lap. It had looked like so easy when Draco had been playing, but he was clumsy, and talent in the art of music or anything were related to grace for that matter.  
"Just come over and I will explain it to you," Draco encouraged him and after another doubtful glance at Lucius, he carefully scooted onto Draco's lap.  
"From here to here is called an octave," Draco told him and pressed every key once. The colours rose in front of Harry's inner eyes again, and as his mate started to play a second octave they grew lighter but stayed the same otherwise.  
Hesitatingly, he put his hands on the keyboard, barely managing to spread his fingers wide enough and closed his eyes. He tried to recall the picture of that little piece of music Draco had just played and as the colours reappeared he pressed the matching keys and started carefully playing. It was a bit slower than Draco's version, but as he continued to play he grew more content and picked up his pace. The sound filled his ears and the colours in his view made a beautiful picture. First carefully, then more confidently he added other colours, lighter ones, without even realizing that he was adding a second voice to the piece.  
"Harry, why have you never told us that you can play the piano?" Draco asked almost accusingly when he had finally stopped playing.  
"But I can't" he objected. "It's just… because you showed me how to play it… you showed me all the colours… otherwise, I would have no idea how to play it."  
"But I showed you no colours," Draco said and gave him a confused look.  
"Harry, could it be that you are capable of synaesthesia?" Lucius asked and motioned for Draco to scoot to the left so that he could reach the keyboard as well. Harry watched all of this, feeling even more confused by the second.  
"What colour is this?" Lucius asked and pressed a key.  
"A very dark red, almost brown," he answered without any problem.  
"And this?" his older mate asked, pressing a different key.  
"A light red. It's the same, only the shade is different."  
Lucius nodded to himself, as confirming a theory. "This is most interesting, the notes I played were the same, only the octave was different. This is truly amazing. I guess you will have no problems with entertaining our guests at parties after all," Lucius smirked and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.  
Harry blushed, still not understanding what his mates had just found out about him. Shrugging it off, for now, he instead questioned: "So, what is this room exactly, a kind of music room?"  
"This is part of my private quarters," Draco said and sat him back down.  
"We are in your room?" Harry asked excitedly and ignored how his younger mate wrinkled his nose at the word room. Instead, he looked around until he found a door that was painted in the same white of the walls and made his way over. The door led into a bedroom, with a huge four poster bed that had silver hangings and light blue sheets. The floor was covered with a dark wood, a bookshelf stood in one corner and two more doors led into other rooms, one probably to a walk-in-closet. There was also a glass door opening onto a balcony. Somehow this room seemed lighter than Lucius'. It was less cramped and the walls were a lighter colour as well, all in all, he had to admit that he liked this room very much.  
"This is beautiful," he said after a moment of looking around. Walking over to the bookshelf, he pulled one of the books out, only to experience his second déjà vu that day as he found a second row of slim novels hidden behind them, just like they had been in Lucius' office.  
Grinning to himself, he pulled one of the novels out, only to blink stupidly at the cover. It showed a colourful picture of… well, he couldn't quite say whether it was a girl or a boy. The teen was flat-chested, had a slim waist and short, brown hair, but its eyes were huge and bright, its cheeks rosy, just like its lips and the lashes long. The boy or girl also wore something that looked like a short, black dress with spaghetti straps which was made from a fabric so thin and see-through, that it couldn't cover the small, rosy nipples and small panties. Somehow, it all looked very feminine, but then again, Draco had tried to convince himself that he preferred girls.  
He was about to open the book when suddenly Draco appeared next to him and took the book from his fingers.  
"I believe that this is a book not yet appropriate for you," his younger mate said with a blank face that looked somewhat forced, and Harry got the feeling that Draco was trying to hide something, although he could not say what his mate was trying to hide exactly. But not wanting to argue, he just gave Draco a small glare and went over to Lucius, who had sat down on the bed. The older vampire stretched his arms out invitingly as he approached and said: Now after you have found not only mine, but also Draco's hidden fantasies , would you mind finally explaining to me why you refuse wearing the robes I have given you, for these last days?"  
"Er…" Harry said stupidly, suddenly panicked and trying to quickly turn around, but before he was able to do so Lucius had already grabbed his right wrist with a quick movement and was pulling him onto the bed. He landed face down and had to push around, only to find that Draco now lay on his other side, blocking the way out of the bed. He felt slightly caged in as the two blondes bent over him, their heads propped up on one hand and identical smirks on their faces, while he lay on his back like a helpless beetle.  
"You know, love, we have all this time to wait for an answer, it's the weekend after all," Lucius hummed in a voice that sounded even deeper and more seductive than usual. Harry swallowed, but when he didn't answer the man added: "I perfectly understand that you admire Dumbledore and your father, but to copy their attire…this black robe doesn't suit you."  
A wave of anger, annoyance, and hurt suddenly rose inside Harry and clenching the sheets to his left and right, he snapped: "Well, you don't have to like it, it's for Draco!"  
His mates blinked back at him, looking taken aback and very confused for Malfoy's.  
"Why are you wearing these depressing robes for me? And what is it with those you wore the last couple of days?" Draco asked, gesturing at his attire.  
"I tried to find an outfit you would like on me," Harry snapped and glared even fiercer, but his mates continued to look at him with the same baffled expressions.  
"Harry, this does not make a lot of sense," Lucius drawled, but he could see the uncertainty in the older aristocrat's eyes.  
"Well, it was Draco who said that my previous robes wouldn't suit me and that I look unmanly in them!" Harry shot back and turned his face to the side, refusing to look at either of them as mortification joined his anger and confusion. However, he heard Lucius sigh long and exasperatedly, and for a long moment he had the feeling that his dominants were holding a silent conversation above him; but he refused to care, at least, until warm fingers touched the side of his face carefully and he was forced to look up again. Draco was looking down at him and his blue eyes were swirling with emotions. "Harry, you realize that I was still trying to deny my attraction to you when I told you that?"  
"I know that," Harry huffed and rolled his eyes.  
"Then you should also realize that nothing I told you back then was meant earnestly."  
"You mean?" Harry asked, trying to catch up with what his younger dominant was telling him. Draco had emphasized so often that he had not found him attractive, that the thought had never occurred to Harry that it could have been a lie. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, he looked away again. He should have known; Draco had done everything he could to convince himself that he hadn't been attracted to him. Oh he had been so stupid!  
Draco's delicious scent grew stronger as the boy laid partly down on him and started to nuzzle his neck.  
"You were making me crazy, with those tiny shorts, exposing your beautiful, perfectly rounded backside and those patches of free skin… so fair and soft looking… your legs, so endless in those boots and I will not even start describing your delicate waist and your long neck, which I only wanted to sink my teeth into…I still want it..." Draco whispered, his hot breath tickling Harry's ear and he felt the heat rise in his cheeks. A warm, wet tongue slid over his carotid and his heartbeat quickened as he waited for the Draco's fangs to sink into him. He shut his eyes together, but nothing came; instead, he felt his younger mate move away again until the boy was just lying next to him again. Opening his eyes, he blinked into lust filled eyes.  
"You are so beautiful… so attractive…" Draco whispered and gave his lips a quick kiss, making him blush even more.  
"So… you like me as I am?" Harry asked and he could feel his eyes shine with happiness.  
"Of course," Draco sniffed. Still smiling, Harry cuddled up to his younger mate and for a few minutes they just lay on Draco's bed, enjoying each other's company.  
Harry's eyes had already started drooping, so relaxed did he feel in between the two noblemen, when he remembered a question that had plagued him for some time now, and they fluttered open again.  
He bit down on his bottom lip because he was not sure if he should ask or if his question would just sound stupid or strange, but when Lucius asked, "What is it?" he quickly made his mind up.  
"Um... Lucius, Draco?" He asked, earning himself two raised eyebrows; his mates were just so alike sometimes.  
"Yes, love?" Lucius asked and stroked his head once.  
"So… what are you two to each other? Are you still father and son, or now just Lucius and Draco? I mean… if I were to ask Draco 'Where is your father?' would that still be alright?"  
His mates exchanged a look and finally, Lucius spoke up, "Draco and I actually talked about it and we believe that we will one day be at the point where we are only mates, but it is quite some time into the future. We have been father and son for many years and old habits die hard."  
Draco nodded and added, "We will tell you when we have reached that point, but we are not there yet."  
"It's fine," Harry smiled, he could understand his two dominants; their lives had changed quite a lot as well and going from father and son to mates while sharing one submissive had to be a huge step and probably not an easy one. Truth to be told, he was already very proud of how well they had all settled into their new relationship, after all that had happened in the distant and more recent past.  
"It's okay," he smiled, not noticing that he had started purring.  
"I am afraid we have to return to Hogwarts now," Lucius suddenly announced and sat up.  
Harry sighed; he wished they could stay for a little bit longer, but he also knew that his father was probably already waiting impatiently to hear about his date. So nodding he sat up, and when Draco had risen from the bed, he also climbed out and waited for Lucius to do the same.  
They had come without any winter cloaks or any luggage, so there was nothing to prolong their stay and Draco led them to his personal fireplace in his living room. From what Harry was able to see in the few seconds he spent into the room, it was just as elegant as the vampire's bedroom.  
When said mate had floo'ed ahead, he also grabbed some powder, called out his destination and left for Hogwarts.


	36. Chapter 36: A Christmas Mating

**Chapter 36: A Christmas Mating**

 **HP**

Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione in the Great Hall, watching them eating their dinner. Three days had passed since Draco's initiation into the Order and their romantic date, and scheduled for this evening was the first training session for the Young Order.  
"I wrote mum and invited her to Privet Drive for Christmas and she is completely thrilled," Ron just told him.  
"Then your family will come?" Harry asked, taking a sip from his goblet with blood and tried to not glance over at his mates. The last days had been great; he, Lucius and Draco had spent as much time together as possible, and since their day at Malfoy Manor, he and Draco had grown much closer. He still felt a bit unsure around his second mate, but that was mainly due to still not knowing him as well as Lucius. They had done nothing more than cuddling on the sofa during the day or cuddling in bed during the night, but instead talked a lot, played some chess and had done homework together; it reminded him a lot of the beginning of his relationship with Lucius and he was glad that things were progressing so well.  
"You can bet on that!" Ron said, in answer to his question.  
He quickly concentrated back on his friends; Hermione was growing suspicious enough, even without him spacing out because he was staring at Draco and Lucius Malfoy like some lovesick puppy.  
"Have you already floo-called Sirius and invited him and Remus?" Hermione asked.  
"No, but I wanted to do that before the others arrive," he told her.  
"Then we had better get going, they will be there in 15 minutes at most," she said and stood up, taking her school bag."  
"But I am not finished yet," Ron protested, but Hermione only shot back: "This is your third portion; you won't die of hunger before breakfast tomorrow."  
Ron huffed but stood up as well and they left the Great Hall together. As he left, he felt his mates' gazes on him but tried to ignore it, even though it was difficult.  
Once in his living room, Harry placed his school bag to the side and went over to his fireplace. He took a handful of Floo Powder from the box on the mantel piece and threw it into the flames, before shouting "Number 12 Grimmauld Place," and putting his head into the hearth.  
To his relief, his godfather was not making out with his former Professor today, but simply reading next to the other man.  
"Sirius!" he called and snickered when the two men flinched and dropped their books.  
"Prongslet!" his godfather exclaimed and jumped up from the sofa, a second later he crouched down in front of him and asked: "How are you? How is school going? Is Malfoy still behaving well?"  
Harry shook his head at Sirius but answered all his questions. "I am fine, school is going well and Lucius is still a great Professor, even though I am not learning much currently as we are practicing Shield Charms and Offense Hexes, which Albus has already covered quite thoroughly."  
"That's good to hear. So, have you just called out of boredom?"  
Harry shook his head. "No, I want to invite you and Remus for Christmas. The Weasley's, Hermione, dad, the Malfoy's and I are going to celebrate at Privet Drive and I thought you might like to get out of the house for a few days and come as well."  
Sirius face brightened. "Of course we will come," he grinned and turned to Remus "Am I right, Remi?"  
"If Harry has enough space for us all, Lupin replied with a smile and a nod.  
"I have. We renovated the house, remember?" Harry replied.  
"Then it's a deal. But did you say the Malfoy's are coming? Even the little one?"  
Harry blushed, glad that his godfather was not able to see it and said: "The little one isn't so little anymore."  
His godfather made a face, but Lupin scolded him "Padfoot, we talked about this, you better behave," and Sirius sighed in defeat. "Well, if those blondes are coming, it is even more of a reason for me to be there." the man grinned and winked.  
"Then we will see you in six weeks at the latest, but I have to go now, today is the first training lesson for the new Order Members," Harry told the animagus and waved in Remus' direction.  
"Have fun, pup," His godfather said and he pulled his head out of the hearth again, only to be greeted by a shock wave of noises. Turning around in confusion, he found his living room full of his friends from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff.  
"They didn't know where to go to," whispered Hermione next to him and Harry could have banged his head against the wall for his forgetfulness; he had not given them any orders about where they would actually train.  
"Hey guys, I am glad that you are all here. We will go to the fifth floor now and there Professor Snape, Professor Lucius and Draco will be waiting for us in the Room of Requirements," he greeted the group and went ahead when they freed a small passage for him.  
"The Room of what?" Lee asked as they left his quarters and went down the hallway in the direction of the Great Staircase.  
"The Room of Requirements," he explained. "It is a room that can transform into any room you might need."  
"Fred," said George suddenly behind him. "I think we stumbled across that room once. Do you remember the night in our forth year after we had snuck down to the kitchen and Filch nearly caught us?"  
"You mean that old broom closet that suddenly appeared out of nowhere?" Fred replied with a grin.  
"Yeah," his twin brother nodded, but Harry blocked them out as they had reached the fifth floor and he now was looking for any signs of the room. Dumbledore had mentioned the Portrait of Barnabas the Barmy and after a moment of searching, he indeed found a wooden door where the portrait usually hung.  
Behind him, the other students had fallen silent and were now looking nervously at each other, as they only now felt the reality that they would be trained by three Slytherins, but he simply knocked and waited for an invitation.  
"Come in," the smooth voice of his first mate called; he pushed the wooden door open and stepped in first. Lucius, Draco and his father all stood in the middle of a huge, nearly bare room. Light wood covered the floor and the walls were lined with practice dummies, one for each student.  
Harry joined his mates and greeted them with a happy smile, while the others formed a circle around them. When all the students were staring at them, he turned to face them, and Lucius took control of the lesson: "Good evening and welcome to your first practice lesson. Today we will assess how well you have mastered the spells you should have learned in the past four years."  
Harry could have snorted at the arrogant smirk on both of his mates' faces but refrained from doing so; it probably would not sit well with the others.  
"For the test, you will use the dummies behind you. They are an exact copy of those the Ministry uses for their Aurors training. The test will take about half an hour, after which we will reset the dummies and they will start to only request those spells from you that your skills were lacking in. Please choose a dummy and begin."  
"So, do you want me to help or practice as well?" Harry asked and turned to look at the three older vampires.  
"I doubt you need any practice in this area," his father said with a raised eyebrow.  
"Then I will go and see if anyone needs help with a spell," he mused and glanced over the other students. He didn't feel quite as odd anymore in his role as Head of the Order, he had started getting used to giving people older than himself orders, but it still felt kind of odd with his year mates. It wasn't like with Professor McGonagall and Kingsley with whom he have never had more than a friendly but professional relationship with. He went to class with most of the gathered students and he had celebrated Quidditch victories or birthday parties with many.  
His mates and father gave him a nod and he left the group to watch his friends practice with the dummies. He himself had never practice with such a device, Dumbledore preferred to train him in combat situations. But that, of course, wasn't possible with so many people and the dummies did a good job. They almost looked like stuffed rag or material dolls, the only difference was that they had something that looked like a wand in one hand and also that the name of the spell they practiced and was supposed to shoot at them, appeared in bright red letters on their chests.  
Hermione did a very good job, her spells were always precise, but Harry noticed that she sometimes lacked power. Ron was more powerful but had already forgotten some of the curses they had learned over the years or was just pronouncing them incorrectly or made a mistake with his wand movements. That seemed to be the problem most of his fellow students had. He suspected that some of them might never have learned the spell correctly in the first place and once the lecture in class had been over, they had never wasted a second thought on them. It was almost frightening to see how little some had learned in DADA the last couple of years. Neville surprisingly remembered all the spells and did the wand movements correctly, but his nervousness that often made him stutter was a huge problem of his, and the presence of Draco and Snape did not help either. The boy continuously turned around to check if either of the Slytherin's were near and whenever they did come closer, he started to shake so badly that he even dropped his wand sometimes. But at least Neville's fear of Draco seemed to have slightly lessened since their weekend at Privet Drive, but with Severus, it was still bad. For a split second Harry thought about telling the other Gryffindor that the man was his father, maybe that would help a little, but he dismissed the idea quickly; he couldn't tell them something so personal without discussing it with his father first.  
He continued his rounds and watched Luna for a few minutes, who was practicing just as dreamily as she did everything else as well, but her spells were good. After about half an hour the dummies started to turn off and his mates and father went to the students to charm them for the second round of practice.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

The next few weeks went by in a blur. Many Professors had decided to write additional tests in preparation for the OWLs that would conclude the Fifth Year. Draco had been even more busy with his duties as Headboy and Lucius sometimes got lost between the stacks of essays and tests he had to correct and often Harry only saw them in class, when other people were there as well and they could not really interact with each other, or when they stumbled tiredly into bed.  
Neither his relationship with Draco, nor with Lucius had developed any further in those weeks, but whenever their eyes met Harry could clearly see that not only he was starting to suffer from the situation. Often he could feel his mates' gazes on him, and they felt hungry like never before, even Lucius had never seemed so on edge as he had been lately. They all wished to complete their bond and the inability to do so was slowly driving them all insane, but at the same time, they wished to give their relationship the time and respect it deserved, a rushed shared meal was not an option, especially as it would be the first time Harry would share blood with Draco.  
Time had flown by so quickly, that Harry had been shocked when Ron had asked him if he had already packed his trunk for the holidays the evening before. He of course had forgotten completely, so that was what he was doing right now. Harry had agreed with his mates that he would floo ahead to Privet Drive with his friends, as Lucius and Draco still had to do some Christmas shopping and he truly wanted to spend some time with his friends as well, he had seen them even less in the last six weeks than his mates, because with Lucius and Draco he at least shared a bed every evening (with the exception of one night each week which he spent with his dad).  
Ron and Hermione would return to the Burrow in the evening to help Mr. and Mrs. Weasley pack all the presents and food they wanted to bring along for the feast, and he would have a whole day to himself and his mates, but before that he would bake Christmas cookies with his friends. He couldn't even remember how this plan had come about, but one evening Ron had told Hermione that every good woman should be able to cook and bake. Of course, Hermione had instantly exploded, but had to admit that cooking and baking was indeed something she had no knowledge of. In the end, Harry had proposed that they could all bake some cookies for Christmas together, this way Hermione would learn something new and Ron hopefully realize that cooking was not a mere woman's job.  
Standing up, he took the basket from his cupboard that contained a whole arrangement of different kinds of blood, carefully hidden by his dad in red wine bottles, and cast a charm to keep them from breaking, before placing them into his trunk as well. He wanted to use their baking marathon to make some of the Blood Drops. That was why he had asked Severus to give him the recipe and prepare the ingredients so that they would not draw too much suspicion from his friends. Hopefully, he would find some nice spices that would give the sweets a wintery touch when they went shopping, he was optimistic.  
Having secured the bottles in his trunk, he once again walked over to his closet and retrieved the three wands in their silver boxes. Smiling proudly, he opened one of them and stared at the elegant wand that lay in the perfect fitting inlet of the green velvet. He was rarely proud of himself, but whenever he took a look at those three wands and felt the magic humming inside of them, he felt his chest swell with pride. After he had put the wands safely into a side pocket of his trunk, he picked the robes and jumpers up he would take along and placed them on top of it all. Content with the result, he closed his trunk and called "Oscar!"  
His elf appeared instantly and bowed deeply. "What can Oscar do for Master Harry?" the elf requested and waited for his order.  
"Could you take this trunk to Privet Drive? There are some bottles inside which I will need in the kitchen later and when you are finished you can go to my friends, Ron and Hermione, and ask if you can take their trunks as well…. Ah, and, go to Lucius and Draco as well, but hide their trunks in my bedroom, so that my friends won't see them." He told Oscar, who bowed again before leaving with his trunk.  
Hermione would probably be angry with him if she ever witnessed how much he had gotten used to giving Oscar orders, but in his opinion, he did nothing wrong as long as he was polite and friendly to his servant.  
He went into his living room, his two familiars following him excitedly and picked up 'Quidditch, a History', while Justitius attached himself to his right sleeve and Nagini already curled around his body to not accidentally be forgotten later. After ten minutes he heard his friends enter his quarters and had to place the book to the side again.  
"Ready?" Ron grinned.  
Just like himself, his friend had already exchanged his school robes for one of his warm Weasley-jumpers. The redhead probably did not look quite as odd, because Harry had simply exchanged his button down and waistcoat for one of his jumpers and was still wearing his usual shorts, tights and boots, but this way he would at least neither insult Molly, nor Lucius and that was what mattered the most.  
"I am ready," he grinned back and stood up to walk over to his fireplace, where he proceeded to take a handful of Floo Powder, tossed it into the flames, and called "Number 4, Privet Drive," and stepped into the hearth to be swirled away with Nagini and his little bat. He stumbled out of the fireplace at the other end and was first met with the sight of his three ghostly relatives sitting on one of the new couches and pointedly ignoring him.  
Oscar had already decorated the house beautifully, and a huge Christmas tree was emanating a soft, golden light in one corner. The windows were decorated with shining stars and light chains and he could see mistletoe hanging in the doorway that led to the hall.  
"Wow, your house elf is really awesome," Ron said as he stepped out of the fireplace behind him, quickly followed by Hermione who threw their friend a disapproving look at his words. "You should tell that to Oscar," she huffed, but luckily let the topic drop with a sigh. "But he is right; Oscar did decorate your house beautifully."  
"Yeah," he agreed and then changed the topic, "I think we should go shopping now or it will be too late for baking as it will take a while."  
"Sure," his friends nodded, but Petunia who obviously had listened in on their conversation, suddenly screeched: "You will not destroy my kitchen with your freakish friends!"  
"Have you ever tried to simply turn on the telly to distract them?" Hermione whispered with a glance over at the three ghosts.  
"No, but it's worth a try," he whispered back and walked over to the coffee table, picked the remote up and turned the telly on, which started to show a Christmas Music Show.  
To his relief, his aunt turned to the show after another filthy glare at him and he quickly had his friends to follow him out before Petunia could change get her mind and start screaming at him again.  
At the door he came to a halt and looked down at Nagini, who was still curled tightly around him: " _So girl, you have to let go of me now, I need to go shopping with my friends."_  
 _"Can I go hunting? The sheep in that meadow are really tasty,"_ the snake asked and unfurled from around him.  
 _"You better wait for another hour or so until it has gotten dark outside,"_ he told his familiar, who scowled but obediently slithered up the staircase to most likely take a nap in his room.  
"Let's go then," he said and opened the front door.  
"Yeah, I am really curious about that Muggle shop, I only know the markets mum always goes to," Ron grinned excitedly.  
Harry led the way from the house and turned right while trying not to smile too widely as he remembered the two times he had gone shopping with Lucius.  
"What do we need for the cookies?" Hermione asked, stopping his musing before it could even start.  
"Not a lot, I thought we could bake cinnamon stars. We will need eggs, powdered sugar, cinnamon of course, and ground almonds. I also need some oranges, and cloves," he told her.  
"What's the other stuff for?" Ron asked curiously and fell into step with them.  
"I want to make a winter edition of those bonbons my father always makes for me."  
"Do you want to give them to your dad and mate?" Hermione asked with a soft smile on her lips.  
"Yeah, I thought it would be nice," he smiled back.  
"Will your mate be here for Christmas Eve?" Ron asked with a wide grin.  
"Probably not," Harry answered, thinking that he would leave that shock for one of the other days during the holiday; he wanted to spend Christmas Eve in peace.  
"And, what does she looks like?" His friend asked, his grin broadening, but before he could say anything, Hermione had already interjected: "I could also imagine Harry with a male mate; he so small and young, somehow I think it would match better than a girlfriend."  
Harry had almost forgotten that Hermione had promised to prepare Ron for the show, but now he gave her a thankful smile, while Ron only looked incredulous.  
"Harry, a submissive, is that what do you mean?"  
"Yes, why not?" Hermione asked with a shrug. "He would finally have somebody who takes care of him, don't you think after all the things he has gone through it would be nice? To know that someone is there to protect and care for him? "  
Ron's face distorted into a grimace: "Mione, you have read too many sappy romance novels. Besides, Harry is the boy-who-lives, he doesn't need anybody to take care of him, and he's not that weak."  
"But he is still only a human being… or magical creature," Hermione continued, correcting herself.  
Harry meanwhile could only shake his head; in some matters Ron was just as thick as a wall of bricks. Hopefully, he wouldn't disappoint his friend too much when the truth came out in a few days.  
"I know that he is a normal boy," Ron said, "And that is why he has a girlfriend. Normal boys like girls with nice…" He caught himself before continuing with a flush "anyway… normal boys are not… you know…"  
"Gay?" Hermione questioned with a raised eyebrow, while Harry wished to be anywhere but in front of a Muggle grocery shop while they were discussing his sexuality.  
"Don't say the word, it is improper," Ron hissed.  
"I thought wizards were not prejudiced against homosexuality… something about not being able to choose one's soulmate and male creatures that can carry babies," he interjected.  
Ron seemed irritated for a moment and blinked at him, but then he sighed. "We aren't. It's OKAY if you are a creature or have found your soulmate who is, unfortunately, the same sex, but we are talking about you! And there is just no way that you could be anything other than…"  
"Ronald Weasley," Hermione snapped when he paused meaningfully. "Don't you dare say NORMAL now!"  
"Fine, I won't say it," Ron grumbled. "But you have to admit that the thought of Harry having a male mate is just hilarious."  
"Let's just end the conversation, we are here anyway and muggles are not very open minded in this area," Harry stopped the discussion and came to a halt in front of the grocery shop. His friends nodded; Ron in clear relief and Hermione with a frown.  
"This is a muggle market, right? Looks funny," Ron said and eyed the shop curiously. "There is no handle on the door," he commented.  
Smirking, Harry walked ahead until the optical sensors were able to sense him and waited for the door to open. Ron actually took a step back in surprise and asked: "How can they do that if they don't have magic?"  
"They use cameras," Hermione answered unhelpfully and followed him inside.  
Ron looked hesitant for a moment, but then quickly followed as well, his eyes huge as saucers  
"This is really awesome! So many different things in one place. Don't they have separate shops for candies and vegetables and meat?"  
"Sometimes they have, but those you usually find in shopping centres," Harry told him and grabbed a trolley.  
"Spices are over there," he said and pointed in the right direction. Hermione went ahead and into the aisle, asking: "What was it you needed. Cinnamon and cloves?"  
"Yes," he confirmed and Hermione took two small boxes from the shelf. Next, they came to the fruits and vegetables and he felted a net of oranges, before searching for ground almonds and powdered sugar.  
"I bet dad would love to try some of those Muggle sweets," Ron hummed and followed them at a little distance.  
"Just pick some out, we can give it to him as a group," Harry suggested. Hermione nodded in agreement but Ron made a disappointed face "But I don't have any Muggle money."  
"Harry will pay, just give him a few new Knuts when we are back at Privet Drive" Hermione suggested and Ron's face lit up.  
"Which one tastes good?" the redhead asked, and Harry and Hermione had to hurry to follow him over to the shelves with sweets.  
Harry, who had never been allowed to try any of the Christmas sweets shrugged helplessly and turned to Hermione; it was moments like this that he hated the Dursley's the most, when he had to admit that he had gaps in knowledge, even in the world he had grown up in.  
"These are good," Hermione said and put a bag with chocolate- peppermint beans and truffles into the trolley.  
Looking into the trolley, Harry noticed that they had everything and turned to the cash register. To his relief the brunette from his last two visits was not working today and instead a nice looking, elderly woman greeted them.  
"Last minute shopping, my dears?" She smiled as she scanned their groceries.  
"Yes, we want to bake some cinnamon stars for our parents," Hermione told her while Harry was pulling a bag from one of his pockets and started packing their things.  
"That makes it £15,42," the woman said and he gave her his credit card.  
"Merry Christmas," the cashier wished them as she handed him the card back, and after wishing her a Merry Christmas they left the store.  
"I have brought some nice Christmas CD's, there is a spell I can cast to play the CD," Hermione told them when they stepped outside again. It was already dark, but that didn't mean that it was late; it was just 4 PM.  
Smiling, Harry nodded; the wizarding world of course had Christmas songs as well, but he had grown up with the Muggle songs and always had a problem getting into the festive mood with the unknown songs.  
His relatives were still watching TV as they returned. They didn't even enter the living room and instead went directly into the kitchen, in hope that they might have even forgotten that they were here. Oscar had placed the numerous blood and wine bottles on the counter; he had even found two bottles of expensive French Firewhiskey and almond liqueur, which his father had bought beforehand. Harry and his friends were still underage and would not have been able to buy any in the supermarket. He pulled out a bowl and enlarged it, while Hermione unpacked their groceries and Ron simply watched.  
"What is the first step?" Hermione asked eagerly as soon as she was finished.  
"First you have to separate the egg white from the yolk," he told her and placed a smaller bowl on the table for the yolks; they wouldn't need them.  
His friends did as told while he watched over them and corrected mistakes before they could even happen. Ron didn't dare grumble about woman's work, not after the previous argument he had with Hermione, and instead decided to snicker whenever their bushy haired friend let a piece of eggshell fall into the bowl and had to fish it out again. When half the eggs had made their way into the bowl, he went to the small pile of groceries and took out the two bags of ground almonds, opened them and added them to the egg white as well. He did the same with the powdered sugar, before turning to Hermione and asking: "Do you know a spell to mix everything or should I look for a mixer?"  
The girl thought for a moment, but then admitted sheepishly: "I don't know any household spell."  
"Do you know any?" Harry turned to Ron, even though he already knew the answer.  
"Nope, mum did everything herself in the kitchen, she says it's her 'Kingdom', not even Ginny is allowed to do more than washing dishes and peeling potatoes." The redhead shrugged.  
"I will search for the mixer," he mused and walked over to one of the cupboards. It took him nearly five minutes to look through all the odds and ends they had kept from Petunias kitchen and find the device he was looking for, but finally he did. His friends were by now finished with the eggs and he quickly gave Hermione the blender, who started it carefully while he added the cinnamon they had nearly forgotten.  
"That's awfully loud," Ron complained as the mixer started and put his hands over his ears.  
"It is," Harry shouted over the noise, just when Hermione had stopped the device again.  
"I think the dough is ready. Do you know where the rolling pin is?" she asked.  
"Just look through the drawers, I don't know yet," he told her and scattered some powdered sugar on the table so that the dough would not stick to the surface.  
Hermione was much faster in searching through the new kitchen and came back a moment later, holding up the rolling pin and biscuit cutters. "I have the pin, and star shaped cutters," she announced and placed a cutter in front of each of them.  
Ron picked the cutter up and eyed it wearily. "Mum has a spell for these things," he said and placed the metal star back down.  
"We would have too if you had asked for those spells," Harry grinned and took a portion of the delicious smelling dough and started to flatten it with the rolling pin.  
"Why didn't you ask her? You were planning this," Ron asked in a slightly accusing voice, but Harry merely shrugged.  
"I always baked and cooked the Muggle way, I simply forgot," he explained.  
"That's understandable," Hermione mused and watched as he flattened the dough further.  
"Can you fetch the baking trays, please?" He asked her and looked the dough over once more, but it seemed ready to be cut.  
"So, how does this work, now?" Ron asked with a sceptical look.  
"It's easy, you just put the cutters on the dough and push them down, then you take away the cutter and take the dough out of it," Hermione explained while Harry walked over to the stove. He hoped that his friends would be distracted enough that they would not notice what exactly he was concocting. Glancing back, he pulled the huge pot his aunt had always used for stew out of the lowest drawer and put it on the electric stove. Luckily the recipe for the bonbons didn't require exact temperatures, so he should have no problems using the Muggle stove. Next, he put the wine his father had provided him with into the pot, added 2kg sugar, cinnamon and extracted the juice from 4 oranges, before putting the juice into the mix as well. Lastly, he added three cloves and started to cook everything slowly, while preparing a second mixture on the foundation of the fire whiskey.  
"Mh, that smells delicious," Hermione hummed after a while when the vapour began rising from his brew.  
"And very alcoholic," Ron commented with a grin.  
"Yes, but the alcohol will evaporate because of the cooking, so it will be fine," Harry explained.  
"Shame," Ron grinned, before turning back to his own task.  
Seeing that the liquid had thickened to a sticky goo, Harry quickly pulled his wand out, levitated the pots to the side and summoned a couple of smaller ones in which he divided the eight different kinds of blood he had brought along. Smelling them, he quickly decided to which he would add the red wine mixture and distributed and stirred the batches magically. With another spell everything divided into perfectly shaped bonbons and piled up in one of the now empty pots, after which he repeated the procedure with the second mixture. Now he only had to pack them into three bags and everything would be ready for Christmas morning. Unfortunately, he noticed then that he had forgotten to bring any nice bags and ribbon along. Huffing at himself, he called "Oscar!" and waited for the elf to appear.  
His friends looked up curiously from their cookie-cutting when the pop came.  
"How can Oscar be of help, Master Harry?" the little creature piped as soon as he appeared in the room.  
"Could you please pack those bonbons into three bags and take them up to the other gifts afterward?" he asked the elf who nodded and snapped his long fingers.  
"Of course, Oscar will wrap presents." Oscar squeaked and disappeared along with the bonbons. He returned to his two friends who by now we're nearly finished as well.  
"I can't wait to try one of them, they already smell so good," Hermione smiled and gestured to the cookies lying on the baking trays.  
"They do" he agreed, a bit wistful that they would taste like nothing for him.  
"When they are finished," Ron suggested "We can take some pillows and blankets and place them around the Christmas tree and enjoy them. My brothers and I used to do that when we were little."  
"That's a nice idea," Hermione agreed with a happy sigh and mused: "Isn't Christmas a wonderful time. Everything becomes more calm and peaceful and the candles and lights in the window are bathing everything in that soft, warm light that makes me want to curl up under a blanket and read…"  
Harry smiled softly as well, remembering his first nice Christmas, the one his First Year at Hogwarts, and wondered how these holidays would turn out now that he actually had a real family. He knew it sounded cruel and unfair towards his friends, but he wished Lucius and Draco could already be there and be the ones sitting down with him under the tree. Reminding himself that they would be there in about three hours, he smiled at his friends and announced: "I will prepare the oven."  
Ten minutes later they had put the cookies into the oven and were now preparing some hot chocolate, or more precisely, Hermione was preparing some hot chocolate for Ron and herself, while Harry and Ron put every pillow and blanket they could find around the Christmas tree. The Dursley's had fortunately disappeared to somewhere, so they had been able to turn the telly off and instead continued to listen to Hermione's CD.  
"Doesn't that look nice," Ron grinned and gestured at the pile of blankets.  
Harry simply grinned wide in answer and sat down on a particularly fluffy pillow. His friend flopped down next to him and stretched his long legs out.  
"You still have not told me what your mate looks like. What kind of hair does she have?" Ron asked.  
Turning to watch the Christmas tree, Harry truthfully told him: "A really light blonde."  
Hermione choose that moment to join them with two mugs of hot cocoa in her hands and said: "Do you have any plans for your date?"  
Flushing, Harry averted his gaze. He indeed had spent some time thinking about what he and his mates could do that evening; it was the evening before Christmas after all and he felt as if they should do something special, but until now he had not been able to think about anything that would fit the occasion. He needed something that would stay in their memory and it would be good if he could find something that would be romantic at the same time.  
With a frustrated scowl he intertwined his hands, why couldn't he think about anything. He stared at the thin, blue veins beneath his pale skin of his hands and suddenly it struck him; Draco did not yet know about his true form, he had worn a glamour around his second mate ever since the beginning and had not yet taken them off in front of him. Sure, Lucius could already see him as he truly was, but it still sounded like a romantic gesture and he was sure his older dominant would appreciate it as well, especially if… but would he be brave enough to go so far?  
Thinking about how careful and gentle Draco had been the last few weeks and how his body had reacted the few times he had been physically close to his powerful mates, he believed he could go that far; it was for them after all, but the thought made him flush.  
"Harry?" Hermione's voice pulled him out of his silent musing.  
"Yes, I have some plans," he said, blushing. Ron snickered next to him and pat him on the back.  
"It's not what you think!" He protested, but knew that he couldn't be sure about it, if he truly revealed all his submissive traits in front of his mates, it could quickly grow into more, but that was a risk he was willing to take, even though he was still very nervous, his instincts hummed with the desire to finally seal his bond with his mates.  
"Oh," Ron said, almost sounding a bit disappointed; he really needed to get Ron and Hermione together, especially when his red-haired friend was starting to live a romantic life through him.  
"Well," Hermione suddenly said in a voice that sounded a lot like Professor McGonagall's, "I think Ron and I better leave then and give you some time to prepare for your date."  
Harry felt bad as a thankful smile spread over his face as his bushy haired friend stood up and dragged Ron along.  
"Mione, I wanted to stay and greet Harry's mate," he protested, but to Harry's relief, Hermione only said firmly: "We will not intrude on a date, especially not at Christmas."  
"But it isn't Christmas yet, and we haven't even tried our cookies yet!" Ron objected, but he only received a glare that warned him to not be such a nitpicker.  
"Don't worry, neither I nor my mate will eat the cookies, you can have some tomorrow," Harry grinned at his friends and watched as Ron was pulled to the fireplace. Hermione let go of Ron's arm there and turned back to him: "I wish you a beautiful evening with you mate," she smiled with an honest expression, before adding, "You truly deserve this."  
"Yep," Ron agreed, even though he was still clearly reluctant to leave.  
"Thank you guys, I am sure the evening will be great," He smiled brightly and waved goodbye as Ron and then Hermione left.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

As soon as his two friends had disappeared and silence descended upon him, he suddenly realised that he had no idea how to go about a romantic evening. Until now, Lucius and sometimes Draco had initiated those moments, although Draco had not had many chances yet due to the murderous schedule the Professors had forced on them.  
Oscar had once told him that it wasn't right to go on a date in an old robe, but he had no time to go to Diagon Alley and buy a new one; besides, it seemed unfitting if he truly wanted to present himself to his mates. Something that could be more easily opened would probably be better. And he would also need something for the mood; he doubted that his mates would appreciate the Muggle songs that were still playing in the background.  
Coming to a decision, he called for Oscar and waited for the elf to appear. It took his servant no time at all to pop in, excited as ever when Harry called for him.  
"What can Oscar do for Master?" the elf squeaked with a bow.  
"I need a white gown or robe, made from silk would be best, and some wizarding Christmas music that my mates would like and maybe one bottle of the wine dad has been making for himself and Lucius; can you bring me those things, please?"  
Oscar's ears flapped as he nodded. "Oscar knows Master Lucius and Master Draco favourite Christmas music, and Oscar can go to Hogwarts and fetch wine and Oscar will find a robe," he promised and disappeared again before Harry could say anything else.  
With a shake of his head, he went into the kitchen and pulled a bowl from one of the shelves, before transforming it into a more elegant, silver one which his mates would appreciate more than the colourful Ikea-design. He placed some of the bonbons in the bowl and carried it back into the living room, only to see that a silver tray with three glasses, a bottle of the special wine and one with the pumping juice he liked to drink sometimes, already stood nestled between the pillows and blankets on the floor. For a moment, he thought about placing it on the coffee table, but he liked the idea of sitting underneath the Christmas tree with his mates. They probably wouldn't have a second chance of sitting there as mates this Christmas, so he left everything as it was.  
Suddenly a neatly folded white silk gown appeared next to the tray and he picked it up and left for their bedroom.  
The room looked just like he and Draco had left it and only a single candle was illuminating the place right now. Closing the door behind him, he walked into the bathroom where he slowly started to undress, layer after layer. He placed his things on a small footstool neatly, before stepping in front of the room high mirror, pondering whether he should key Draco into his glamour now, or take it off in front of him.  
After a while he decided on the latter, thinking that he wanted to see the reaction on his second mate's face and picked the gown up. When he had tied the sash around his slim waist and made sure that the gown would show just enough of his skin to be teasing, he returned downstairs where now wizarding music was playing and sat down next to the tray.  
He actually had no idea when his mates would arrive; they had not decided on a time, hopefully they would not be purposefully late to make sure that they would not be encountering his friends. But he shouldn't have worried; only a minute or two after he had settled down between the pillows, a pop was heard and Oscar's high pitched voice asked: "Master Lucius sends Oscar to ask if Master Harry is already alone."  
"They can come," he said, suddenly feeling very nervous. He had only always been shy and restrained around Draco  
What would the other boy think about this bold and quirky side of his? He had been allowed to act so open and freely by Lucius, but would Draco appreciate it as well or would he prefer a classic submissive, someone calm and more passive?  
He was about to scramble up and quickly go and get changed when the fireplace flared to his right and his two mates stepped out of the hearth, so quickly behind each other that it almost seemed as if they must have used the floo together.  
Harry's back tensed as he watched his dominants' brush the soot from their expensive robes; both were wearing black, but as usual Draco's waistcoat was silver and not black like his father's.  
His mates had not noticed him yet and Draco drawled: "I wonder how Harry got rid of the Weasel so quickly."  
"I think it will be safe to assume that Miss Granger had a part in their early departure," Lucius drawled in answer and Harry had to bite his tongue to keep from snickering, it was amazing how similar those two could sound on occasions.  
But he still must have made some kind of noise, because the heads of the two Malfoy's snapped around and their piercing eyes landed on him. Harry instantly felt their gazes starting to wander over his body, lingering on his neckline that showed a patch of his pale chest and on his legs that were only covered to his knees.  
"Harry," Lucius breathed while Draco was still staring at him, his eyes darker than usual.  
"I see you prepared something for this evening," the older man said, taking his cloak off and hanging it over the back of one of the couches, before coming over. Draco finally snapped out of his daze and followed his father and Harry had to try hard to not fidget as his mates sat down, Draco to his left and Lucius across from him, but close enough that their knees were nearly touching.  
His mates' eyes swerved over to the tray then and Harry understood that it was his job as the submissive to serve them. Harry blushed because he had never before thought about that kind of duty; although it felt natural when his hands closed around the wine bottle. He poured the red liquid into the two wine goblets. "Thank you," Draco said and his instincts started to hum in joy at the praise.  
"So," Lucius prompted as he picked his glass up, "tell us about your day with your friends."  
"It was good," he started to tell them, somehow amazed that his mates could even be interested in his meeting with Ron and Hermione. "We went shopping first, but this time there was an old Lady at the cash register…" He smiled sheepishly, but Draco only frowned in confusion.  
"When Harry and I went to the shop," Lucius explained in an arrogant drawl that sends delightful shivers down Harry's spine, "a young Muggle was working there and flirting with me. Our little mate got a bit… jealous." The smirk on Lucius' face was far too arrogant Harry thought, but found that he didn't truly mind.  
"Ah, I understand," Draco hummed, smirking as well and taking a sip from his wine.  
"But you were telling us about your day," Lucius interjected and motioned for Harry to continue.  
"It wasn't that interesting…" Harry mumbled but continued his tale. "When we got back I explained to Ron and Hermione what they needed to do and they started to bake while I made some Christmas candies for us," he said and gestured to the candy bowl his mates had not yet noticed.  
Draco leaned forwards a bit and sniffed audibly. "They truly smell delicious," his younger mate purred seductively and Harry gulped at the melodious sound.  
"But I am more interested in hearing why you greeted us in nothing but a silk gown."  
Draco's eyes had darkened even further and for a second Harry felt like he was paralyzed, he could only stare back into those ice-blue orbs that were eying him hungrily, and somehow he knew that this would be the evening, this would be the day they would mate, the 24th of December. He felt his magic rise inside of him, preparing for what was about to come and lowered his eyes submissively.  
"I… want to show you my true form," he whispered, too nervous to speak any louder. This was different from his last mating where his instincts had kicked in and made him act on autopilot, but he was sure that it would change as soon as Draco were to start claiming him… or would both of his mates claim him? If possible, he grew even more nervous at that thought; the thought that not only Draco, but also Lucius would want him tonight was overwhelming, but also exciting at the same time.  
"Show me," Draco suddenly commanded in a dark voice, startling Harry who had gotten lost in his own thoughts.  
"Yes," he replied, closed his eyes for a second and dropped his glamour.  
He didn't know what he had expected, but certainly not no reaction at all. He still had his eyes closed, but opened them again, only to see Draco looking at him searchingly. He was about to give him a hint when his icy orbs suddenly snapped up to his throat where now his carotid was visible against his almost translucent skin. Draco took his hand and slowly rose, pulling him up as well. When he was standing, his younger mate let go of him and raised his hands to his sash, slowly untying the silk belt. He tried not to tremble in nervousness as he was slowly being exposed, but his heart raced like mad in his chest.  
Lucius rose as well and stepped behind him, but not touching like the last time they had stood like this, because right now it was Draco's turn to have a first look at him and judge him, and that was what was making him so nervous.  
The sash fell to the floor and his gown opened in the front. Draco's eyes roamed his exposed skin hungrily and from beneath his lashes, Harry could see the blonde slowly losing his control. For the first time since his mate's resurrection, he saw his fangs grow from his gums and the red ring appear around his irises. His gown was pushed to the side and slid down his small shoulders and onto the floor, but he didn't move, waiting for his second dominant to take the next step, while his heart rate increased even more.  
"So beautiful," Draco whispered and lifted a single finger to trace the line of one of his blue veins. Harry shivered beneath the contact and his magic rose to meet Draco's, prickling over his skin.  
"So delicate, a true diamond," Draco mumbled, sounding as if he was not even aware of what he was saying.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

More fingers joined the single one on his chest, and Draco's second hand rose as well to roam over Harry's body with light, caressing touches. One of Draco's claws stretched over the skin and a second, more violent shudder went through Harry's body. And that was all it took for Draco to snap.  
Suddenly one of the blonde's hands shot out and closed around his throat, lifting him off the ground. Magic exploded from all three of them and Harry felt his body react to the sudden burst of power and the shift in the atmosphere.  
"So sensitive," Draco purred, but the next words were spoken in a low, dangerous growl "And finally mine."  
The hand around his throat tightened, injuring muscles and organs hidden beneath the skin, but Harry's mind was drifting away and submitting to his instincts, unable to do anything but shiver in delight under the strength his second mate was showing.  
"I want you on your knees in front of me," Draco growled.  
"Yes, on my knees, make me yours," Harry gasped out hoarsely, a submissive purr rising in his chest. Draco opened his hand and he fell to the floor, where he quickly scrambled onto his knees like Draco had commanded. Lucius still stood behind him but did nothing more than watch, and he suddenly felt as if his other dominant would scrutinize him a second time as well. However, he had no time to think about it as a hand suddenly grabbed his hair and yanked him forwards until he was kneeling on his hands and knees like a dog.  
His eyes flew up and he saw Draco opening his belt and fly only a second before something large, hot and hard was shoved into his mouth. Harry moaned pitifully and went cross eyed as the taste of his second dominant exploded on his tongue, just like with Lucius, Draco's sex tasted like flesh and of what he imagined his blood would taste, only much weaker. Magic crackled on his tongue as the grip in his hair tightened and Draco started to violently thrust in and out of his mouth.  
"Finally mine, so many years… never looked at me… but now you have, haven't you Potter?" Draco growled nearly incomprehensible. "Bow for me, suck me, what would your little friends think if they saw you like this now? You always were meant to be mine."  
Somewhere in the back of his mind Harry realized that he probably should be shocked by his mate's cruel words, but as he looked at the angry face and his mouth was violated, he only felt glad that he could help his dominant to get the past pains and frustrations out of his system, so that they would never ever be an issue again.  
Draco's cock slammed harshly against the back of his throat and the only warning he got was the stiffening of his younger mate's body before a sticky, hot substance washed down his throat. He greedily swallowed every little drop of the bitter-sweet liquid, still not daring to move anything but his throat. Even as Draco relaxed against him and his mate's cock softened a little on his tongue, he did not move but waited patiently. Draco finally pulled out of his mouth, but the low growl from behind him told him that their mating had just begun.  
He was pushed down onto his back and Lucius descended on him. The older blonde's lips traced his skin skilfully as he nipped down his carotid and along his jaw bones, never breaking the skin as that was a pleasure that would come later. Harry couldn't help himself but mewl under the alluring assault. A second pair of lips suddenly began to tease his nipples and his mewls changed into loud, helpless moans. He felt himself harden rapidly beneath the touch and spread his legs invitingly for his mates, but the four hands that softly landed on his body did not touch him where he needed them to touch and his hard length began to burn and throb painfully from the torturous neglect.  
Suddenly the hands disappeared again and he gave a pitiful whimper. The lips were still on him, now sucking and licking down his sides, but when the hands didn't return, he forced his eyes open to check why his mates weren't touching him anymore, only to find them tearing their clothes off while their lips were still attached to him. He watched in awe as more pale skin and muscles were unveiled and allowed his eyes to roam the broad chests of his dominants'. Lucius and Draco grabbed their trousers simultaneously and yanked them down before kicking them off and Harry neatly fainted at the sight of the two almost identical, large and light coloured cocks, but before he could do so, teeth bit down on his nipples and he snapped his head back with a moan.  
The hands returned, this time not only tracing his dips and curves but scratching over the sensitive veins and drawing blood. The liquid floated hotly down his body, but neither of his mates licked it up. He writhed under the claws, needing more. He pushed against the sharp points, forcing them deeper into his flesh; just then two hot bodies lay down on his small frame. Lucius and Draco's hard members pulsed hotly against his skin and he wanted to buckle up and rub against them, but their weight was pressing him down.  
The next few minutes were a blur of sensations: Touching hands on his chest, arms, neck, legs, and belly; nibbling teeth wandering the lush patches of his blood vessels. The roaming of their hands and hot lips and tongues grew more violent, hungry and desperate until Harry thought he could take it no more and then suddenly, his mates disappeared from him.  
Confused, he opened his eyes that had closed in ecstasy long minutes ago, and blinked up at his dominants. Draco and Lucius were kneeling between his spread legs. The red rings around their eyes had spread to cover nearly the whole iris and the hunger he saw in them surpassed everything he had ever seen before. He froze at the sight and finally looked away, crumbling under the intense stares.  
As if he had given an invisible signal, Draco and Lucius each grabbed one of his tights and pushed them up, and in the next second everything happened far too quickly for Harry to comprehend. The free hands of his mates darted down to his stomach and suddenly something hot and big pressed against his entrance, only that it wasn't just one thing, it was two. His eyes widened in sudden panic, but before he could do anything his mates had slammed their cocks forward with one single, powerful and violent thrust and he was ripped in two.  
Pain and pleasure coursed through him in equal amounts and the noise that left his throat was a mixture of a pain filled cry and an exclamation of the greatest bliss. He felt the skin around his pucker bruise and blood dripping out of his backside, but the shock was ebbing away and as Lucius and Draco started to move in a perfectly matched rhythm; his body nearly exploded. This was like the scratches Lucius had always inflicted on him, but a thousand times better. His mates were so strong, so powerful and he felt so safe with their strong hands grabbing him and their hard cocks moving inside of him. They were stretching him past anything he had ever believed possible, rubbing against his inner walls with every movement. He could feel their different magics around their cocks, the only thing that was making him able to differentiate between the two pulsing organs. Suddenly Lucius and Draco shifted inside of him and brushed against something and he gasped in surprise. His mates instantly thrust there again and this time it was like an explosion of stars in front of his eyes as waves of pleasure rolled through him, setting every nerve on fire.  
Lucius and Draco increased their thrusts and soon Harry wouldn't have been able to tell where up and where down was, all he was still aware of was the magic building inside and around him, the pleasure he was writhing under, the strong presence of his dominants and his throbbing member. The tingle in his lower abdomen intensified and his balls tightened.  
"I… I…" He stammered, not really knowing what he wanted to warn his mates about, but Lucius only lifted the hand that was not holding his leg up to his right nipples, while simultaneously laying down on him. Draco grabbed his small cock, rubbing and tugging on it almost urgently as he too, lay down on him. The thrusting of their hips increased once again, making Harry unable to tell where one wave of pleasure ended and where the next started and in the next moment he was exploding. His vision went white and he threw his head back, just when four fangs entered his left and right carotid. The intrusion sent a second orgasm after the first that had not even ended yet, making it almost painful, but only almost. He cried in ecstasy as he felt his blood rush through and out of him while the hot liquid was pumped inside of him, warming his insides. His magic finally connected with his mates and he could feel their bond growing like a second awareness inside of him, connecting them forever and even beyond. His orgasm died down, replaced by occasional shivers of his over sensitized body. He lifted his hands and grabbed his mates shoulders, a weak attempt at pulling them closer, but Lucius and Draco understood and the hands that had been on his nipples and now flaccid cock sneaked around him to pull him against the strong forms of his blonds'.  
Far too quickly their sucking grew slower and weaker and soon after they pulled their fangs out of him and licked the wounds close. Lucius and Draco propped themselves up a little and for a long moment, Harry stared into their eyes, that were so similar and yet so different at the same time, and shone with such love right now. After a small eternity, his mates both leaned down again giving him a kiss, something they had not done during the actual mating. For a split second Harry wondered how they managed it, as both their tongues entered his mouth and engaged his in a sinful dance, but in the end, it didn't matter; it was probably a vampire thing, he shouldn't have been able to accommodate two huge cocks either.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

When they parted again, Lucius rolled over until he laid to his right and pulled him down and against his chest. Draco lay down as well and they all scooted together until their bodies were pressed against each other.  
Harry sighed as he felt the naked forms of his dominants encase him, his eyelids already drooping. He had wanted to at least say a small 'I love you', or 'sleep well', but he never did, as he had already fallen asleep, feeling safer than ever before as his soulbond informed him about his mates contentedness; he didn't even notice the group of shocked witches and wizards standing just behind a magical barrier outside the living room and neither did his mates.


	37. Chapter 37: Hermione's POV

**Chapter 37: Hermione's POV (Just a Little Extra)**

 **HG**

Hermione stepped out of the hearth behind Ron, and from the festive silence into utter chaos. Spells were flying from left to right; Mrs. Weasley looked completely dishevelled as if she had been hunted by something, and on top of all the racket could be heard what sounded like loud inhuman snickering. A glance at the kitchen table across from her showed her the reason for the chaos:  
The gnomes that usually resided in the Weasley's garden had somehow managed to get inside the house, probably driven by the early and especially hard winter, and were now emptying every cupboard and shelf. The redheads were trying to hinder them from leaving with their food, but it was clear that they were not successful as all that was left by now were some apples and potatoes.  
"What the…?" Ron asked next to her, just when a gnome jumped to avoid a stunner and ran giggling out of the back doors.  
"I guess they are hungry," Hermione mused, still too shocked by the crazy scene playing in front of her and too afraid of getting hit by a stray curse to step further into the kitchen.  
"But we are hungry as well!" Ron protested weakly as if that would change the gnomes' minds and make them bring their reserves back.  
The chaos continued for 15 more minutes and only ended when the last gnome had left with the last potatoes and slammed the back door closed behind itself.  
Molly fell on a chair in exhaustion, and Hermione finally decided that she could dare leave her safe spot just next to the hearth.  
"Mrs. Weasley, what happened?" She asked, even though she had already figured it out.  
"I don't know!" Mrs. Weasley threw her hands into the air as if not able to accept that her kitchen had just gotten looted. "When I came down from packing Arthur and my trunk, they were already there and carrying food out! It must be the cold!"  
"Far too intelligent, those creatures are," Mr. Weasley sighed and plopped down on a chair next to his wife, only to be followed by his sons and only daughter.  
"What are we going to do now?" Mrs. Weasley asked in an exasperated voice. "The Christmas dinner is safe luckily, as I had put the ingredients into the trunk earlier, but there is nothing left for tonight or breakfast tomorrow and the market has already closed!"  
"Is there truly nothing left?" The twins asked in unison, but Mrs. Weasley only shook her head sadly and exclaimed "What a disaster!"  
Hermione agreed that it truly was a disaster for the passionate housewife, even though she could not exactly connect with her exasperation, therefore she kept silent for now; but in the next moment she wished she had at least tried to come up with an idea, when Ginny loudly suggested: "Why don't we all go to Harry? I am sure he has food and he is expecting us tomorrow anyway; a few hours earlier won't matter."  
Mrs. Weasley perked up and Hermione quickly interjected "But he has a date with his mate right now, we shouldn't intrude," she truly wished that Harry could just enjoy his evening with his two mates; he deserved it after the difficult period he had with his second mate and the stressful past few weeks; and even more importantly, she didn't want Ron to find out about the sex of Harry's mates today and have to deal with his bad mood on Christmas. Surely Harry didn't imagine his Christmas like that either.  
"But didn't he want to introduce her at Christmas anyway? It will just be a day or two earlier," Ginny argued and Hermione saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Fred, George, and even Bill and Charlie exchange a look; apparently, the two oldest Weasley sons had been informed about Harry's mate.  
"Hermione is right, it would be impolite to intrude on their date," Mr. Weasley finally said to Hermione's relief, but neither Ginny nor Ron apparently wanted to give up easily. Ron because the thought of going longer than three hours without food was apparently not even imaginable, and Ginny because she most likely wanted to get a glimpse of Harry's girlfriend and find a way to break them up.  
"But Harry surely won't mind, and you can make it up to Harry and his girlfriend with one of your roasts," Ron said, forgetting the fact that neither Harry, nor his mate would appreciate any food, but unfortunately Mrs. Weasley had apparently forgotten that fact as well, because she was starting to chew on her upper lip with indecision.  
"But it still a date we would be interrupting and Harry has been looking forward to it, he had even planned something romantic," Hermione quickly said, hoping that she would hit a nerve by pulling out the romantic-card.  
"But I am sure his girlfriend," Ginny objected and wrinkled her nose as if the thought of Harry even considering somebody else other than her was disgusting, "will be happy to get to know us, we are his family after all."  
Hermione opened her mouth again, wanting to remind them of the fact that Harry finally had a father now, but Ron was faster and whined:  
"Mum, we are five growing boys, you aren't really considering letting us starve until tomorrow?"  
This seemed to be the breaking point for Mrs. Weasley. "You are right, I cannot do that and Harry is such a dear; I am sure he will understand. One of you needs to go and call Sirius and Remus, tell them to come over in half an hour."  
Hermione helplessly buried her face in her hands, praying that they would not walk in on Harry doing something with his two male mates, because she could honestly not predict who would blow up worse; Ron, who refused to see Harry as anything but the strong hero, Sirius who still saw his innocent godson in the boy or Remus with his protective werewolf Mooney as an alter.  
Charlie, who had gone to floo call Sirius and Remus, came back and deciding quickly, she stood up as well and left for the fireplace in the living room. The room was luckily empty as she entered and crouched down in front of the glowing hearth and tossed some floo powder into the hearth, before calling:  
"Professor Snape Private Quarters!" After only a few seconds her call was accepted and she stuck her head into the flames. The Potions Master was sitting in an armchair just to her left, a heavy tomb on his lap and looking more than displeased at being interrupted.  
"Miss Granger, to what do I owe the pleasure for receiving a floor call from you on one of my few days off; it cannot have something to do with my son for once, as he is with his mates and we'll protect," the man sneered and Hermione wondered how a human (or nonhuman, in this instance) could be so caring on one hand and so foul tempered on the other. Dismissing the question, she bit down on her bottom lip and before answering, "He is not in danger as such, but it has something to do with him…"  
"And what" Professor Snape huffed in cleared annoyance "could cause my son trouble when he is in the company of his two mates; who, by the way, I trust completely?"  
That statement somehow confused Hermione; the man didn't seem like someone who would easily entrust his son with anybody, especially after the way Harry's second mate had behaved in the beginning, but she quickly explained, "The gnomes emptied the Weasley's kitchen and they are planning on flooring over to Harry in about twenty minutes, Sirius and Remus will be joining them as well…" she almost withdrew from the floo when the Professor jumped up, cursing.  
"Thank you for informing me, Miss Granger, I appreciate it and I am sure Harry will as well, I will see you at Privet Drive," the man said, before shutting the floor connection in her face. Hermione stumbled backwards and landed harshly on her butt, not knowing if she should be angry about the unfriendly dismissal or astonished over the honest thanks. In the end, she simply shook her head and returned to the kitchen, just in time to see Sirius and Remus arrive.  
"Oh Mooney, I am so excited, we will finally see Harry's cute little girlfriend," Sirius just snickered. "I am sure she is beautiful and just as innocent as he is, maybe even a few years younger; they will be so cute together! Did you bring the camera, I want to take some funny photos to show them to their children in a few years…" the animagus rambled on, while Remus already looked slightly annoyed. Hermione only sighed in sadness, it was difficult enough for Harry not being able to have children, but Sirius could make it even more difficult; maybe she should talk to him, but no, she still hoped for a miracle and that Harry would somehow be able to talk himself out of the mess they would be causing.  
Ten minutes later they had all shrunken and pocketed their trunks and were lining up in front of the fireplace.  
"I will go first and warn Harry that you lot will be arriving," Mrs. Weasley announced and threw her daughter, who was pouting, a warning look. Hermione couldn't believe how badly Ginny's obsession with Harry had grown out of hand.  
"Mrs. Weasley," Hermione tried softly, her voice slightly breaking, but she coughed gently to get rid of the lump in her throat.  
"Yes, dear?" Mrs. Weasley looked at her, obviously distracted, but as always sympathetic towards anyone's issues. "Maybe I should go first?" Hermione smiled and blushed when Molly Weasley frowned. "I just mean, Harry is on a date and maybe they, you know…" her cheeks blushed even more.  
But Mrs. Weasley laughed and waved her hand in a dismissive way. "Oh, come on dear, our sweet Harry won't be doing anything improper so early in his date." she said with utter conviction.  
"But..", Hermione tried but she already saw Mrs. Weasley disappear into the fireplace, followed by the twins, then Ron, and finally, she stepped into the hearth as well and was swirled away while her body tensed in apprehension.  
The first thing Hermione noticed as she stepped out at the other side of the connection was that magic hung heavily in the air. She was not sensitive by any stretch of the word, but she could clearly feel three different signatures; one was clearly Harry's and the other two were fairly similar, as if they belonged to brothers. Frowning, she turned to Ron who was also looking confused. Behind them the rest of the group arrived, but only when Ginny asked "So, where is he?" did she notice Mrs. Weasley standing stiffly in front of a shimmering barrier.  
"Mum?" Ron asked, stepping next to his mother and gasped. Suddenly afraid of what she would find, Hermione slowly approached the barrier. With every step, the magic around her grew heavier and almost alluring, like an invisible power that had suddenly grabbed her and was now pulling her in the direction of the doorway. She walked in a daze, unable to fight the strong control of her friend's magic. As she finally reached the living room, she came to an abrupt halt and snapped out of her stupor for a quick moment.  
There, between the pillows and blankets they had laid out on the floor, sat Harry, dressed in nothing but a short, white silk gown. To his left sat none other than Draco Malfoy and across from him Lucius Malfoy. Draco leaned forwards, seemingly asking something because Harry hastily looked at the floor and bit down on his bottom lip like he tended to do when especially nervous. He finally said something, but Hermione couldn't see anything happening as his friend closed his eyes in concentration, although the magic around them rose and swirled again.  
A long pause rose then in which she desperately tried to comprehend what she was seeing. Had the Malfoy's just come by and interrupted Harry in his preparation? But her gut was telling her that she just didn't want to acknowledge the facts she was seeing, and it grew impossible as Draco took her friend's small hand and pulled him to his feet.  
"What's wrong?" She absentmindedly heard Sirius ask and felt him step up behind her, but she couldn't answer as she watched Harry, Draco Malfoy's arch rival of over four years stand there calmly as the older teen opened the raven's silk sash and let it fall to the ground. She wanted to gasp at the sight in front of her, but the magic was controlling her again, therefore she could only stand rooted to the spot, her eyes on the sickly thin frame, but some instinct inside of her, told her that she still was missing something important, something hidden by a strong glamour probably.  
The younger blonde's ice blue orbs were now tracing her friend's body hungrily, while Lucius Malfoy rose as well and stepped behind Harry, with the same devouring expression in his cold eyes; only that neither pair was cold anymore. Instead, they burned with a deep love and devotion and suddenly many comments Harry had made over the last couple of months made sense, and it was even more than that. Harry had found his mate by chance while he had been staying at Privet Drive with his dad and Lucius Malfoy; it had sounded as if a third person had been involved and it had probably been done on purpose. She also suddenly remembered quite clearly how Harry had run off to his mate during their stay at Grimmauld Place, but it had never happened a second time after Mr. Malfoy had arrived, although they still had been there for over two weeks after the incident. And Harry had found out about his second mate on the same day Draco had returned to Hogwarts. He had even told her that he and his second mate had difficulties because the boy was just like Draco, only that the other dominant hadn't been just like him, but in fact had been him.  
Even the fact that Harry and his mates had experienced so many problems in the beginning, wasn't difficult to understand anymore, considering that Draco was Lucius' son and Harry's rival at the same time. The way Harry had overreacted over some of Draco's stupid remarks suddenly made sense too, or his angry looks whenever he had seen the blonde with Parkinson or Greengrass; it must have been horrible to see his own soulmate going off with girls. And Harry had even told her and Ron earlier that his mate had very light blonde hair; how could she not have added one and one together? She had known that Harry had two male mates all along, and there were only two powerful, light blonde haired wizards in their world, why hadn't she seen it?  
"I see, I am too late," drawled a quiet voice behind her and Hermione quickly turned around to Professor Snape, who was looking unfazed by what he was seeing in the living room.  
"You knew, Professor?" She asked, even though she realized that it was a stupid question. The Potions Master gave her a look that told her just that, and drawled, "Why else would I be so calm and trusting towards his mates? I have known Lucius for over 20 years now and Draco for 17."  
With and understanding nod Hermione glanced over the group that had by now gathered around her. They all looked confused, even those who knew about Harry having a male mate. For a quick moment she wondered why no one would believe that Harry could be happy with the Malfoy's, they were humans as well after all, but when she turned back around she froze in shock at what she saw.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

Draco Malfoy's hand had pushed forwards, closing around Harry's neck and was now lifting him up like a ragdoll. Anger was blazing in his eyes which had frozen over again, and he seemed to growl something to which Harry replied. Harry was carelessly dropped to the ground and sadness rose inside of her heart as she watched her small friend scrambling to his knees. Tears gathered in her eyes as she wondered why Harry couldn't for once have luck in his life. She forced herself to watch as the blonde teen buried his hand in Harry's thick hair and yanked him onto all fours, wanting to at least be able to be there for him tomorrow, but a second wave of shock nearly overwhelmed her as Draco Malfoy unzipped his trousers and pulled his thick and clearly hard penis from his trousers. She wanted to jump forwards, tear the barrier down and help her friend, but suddenly she noticed that she couldn't move an inch, and as she concentrated she felt Harry's magic weighing her down and making her unable to move. All she could do was look around, but she only saw more angry and exasperated faces as they in turn watched Harry, but she should not have done that.  
Her body began to shake as she could do nothing more than watch helplessly as Draco Malfoy pushed his penis into her friend's small mouth and started to rape it violently. A thousand curses she had never even dared consider using, ran through her mind but she couldn't do anything, the magic still held her tightly. Desperately she tried to fight against the restraints, but Harry's magic was too powerful, even when it had only been activated subconsciously. Her desperate efforts however, were interrupted when an ice cold hand lay down gently on her shoulder and she shivered.  
"Miss Granger, do not forget that Harry and his mates are not human, neither am I," the voice of Professor Snape whispered nearly inaudible.  
"Do you mean to say that this is… this is…?" She couldn't even speak it out loud, not able to connect the violent picture in front of her to the romantic notion of mating.  
"A mating ritual, correct. Look at his face closely; does he look like the victim of a violation?"  
Gulping, Hermione forced her eyes to wander down to Harry's face, she had avoided it until now, not wanting to see how the Slytherin's penis entered and left her friends mouth over and over again with a force that could only be considered inhumanly brutal, but now she did and Harry's father was right. A tranquil, even happy expression lay on that young face of her best friend, as if he had not even once considered being anywhere else other than in front of Draco Malfoy, as if he belonged there. Could it be possible that Harry had planned to mate with his mates tonight and had even known how the evening would progress? That thought send a shiver down her spine; just then Draco Malfoy stiffened in front of her friend and Harry's throat started to make swallowing motions.  
Relieved that they wouldn't have to watch the real mating, she tried to turn around, only to realize that she still couldn't and as she looked back to the scene, she instantly knew why; apparently the three mates were not yet finished.  
To her utmost horror, the group of three seemed to continue their mating. Apparently, they did not notice their unwilling spectators. Hermione wasn't sure if it had to do with their lustful activities or the heavy magic in the air.  
After not only Draco but now Lucius as well had descended down upon Harry, they thankfully arranged themselves in a way that did not force Hermione to be able to see their intimate parts. Instead, she could see the expressions of both Malfoy's, and once again was struck by the knowledge that what was happening right there was an act of consent.  
Her hand covered her mouth when she saw the first trail of blood. Many gasps were heard throughout the group standing outside the barrier. Professor Snape, who was still standing close to Hermione, spoke up once more, "I need you to remember that they aren't human. Blood and pain that aren't caused maliciously are in fact considered as an intimate gesture Miss Granger." He spoke quietly, knowing that apart from Hermione no one else would be open to any exclamations now. Maybe never.  
In the room, Lucius and Draco had undressed and were now almost violently spreading Harry's legs. Her eyes widened in disbelief, as she watched the two tall Malfoy's lower themselves in between her friend's legs and in the next moment, they simultaneously thrust forwards. Harry's back arched and on his face lay an expression of utmost bliss as his mouth moved in an inaudible moan. The two males on top of him started moving, but Hermione noticed that Harry continued to lay impassive and limp, only sometimes his hips seemed to twitch as if he wished to participate more in the intercourse, but she mused that it wasn't his place right now. She would have thought the fact sad, but the expression on Harry's face kept the thought away from her, there was no denying that he enjoyed what his mates were doing to him.  
Suddenly Harry's whole body twitched violently and his mouth opened in a silent exclamation. In the next moment Lucius and Draco Malfoy sped up their movements and Hermione's flush deepened to a dark lilac. She wanted to look away, she knew what was coming, but by now the magic was restraining her so strongly, that she couldn't have lifted a single finger.  
Harry was closing his eyes now, his lips moving in incoherent words, which she could still not hear, but she didn't need to, as Lucius' free hand rose to rub and tease her friend's pale nipples and Draco reached down; fortunately, that particular sight was blocked from Hermione's view.  
In the next moment Harry cried out, his eyes rolling into the back of his head and a blinding, golden light exploded from all three of them. Hermione had to close her eyes to shield them from the painful brightness, but as soon as she noticed the light growing weaker, she opened them again, only to come face to face with the most beautiful sight she had ever seen:

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

There, in the middle of the light lay Harry, his mates pressed tightly, almost desperately against him. The normally so cold-hearted Malfoy's had buried their faces into the smaller boy's neck, nuzzling it tenderly for a while, before they rolled off of Harry and cuddled together. Harry's eyes were already drooping, Hermione could see that, but Lucius and Draco began to softly comb through her friend's messy hair, and stroke his body lovingly.  
As she finally noticed that she could move again, she turned around with a soft smile on her lips; she was so happy that Harry had found such deep love, but her expression fell as she met the enraged face of her friend Ron, the murderous looks of Remus and Sirius, the tears in Mrs. Weasley's eyes and confusion in the other's faces. Only Fred and George were grinning like Cheshire cats, at least they would support Harry.


	38. Chapter 38: Facing The Music

****Chapter 38: Facing the Music****

 **HP**

Harry slowly rose from the peaceful, dreamless abyss. His body was warm and snuggled comfortably between two stronger ones which held him possessively in a tight embrace. Letting his eyes flutter open, he blinked against the bright sunlight that was blinding him. When his eyes had gotten used to the brightness he carefully lifted his head (so as to not disturb his mates) and looked down.  
Lucius had his arms curled around his upper body, while Draco's were holding onto his hips. A wide grin spread over his face as the memories of the past evening came back; they had done it, they had finally mated and now their souls would be connected for all eternity and even beyond Death. The bond in his mind had settled down and was now quietly humming, telling him that his mates felt as content as he himself right now. Sighing happily, he laid his head back down again; he was intending on going back to sleep for a bit longer, but his movements must have woken not only Lucius, but also Draco.  
Draco was the first to sleepily sit up and Harry could only gape. The blonde teen had always been taller and looked more adult than his fellow year mates, but the mating must have triggered a boost of development. He now looked more like a 20 year old, and even though he was still slightly smaller and more thin-shouldered than Lucius, his body had filled out even more.  
"Good morning," Draco smirked and raised a questioning eyebrow. Harry flushed as he realized that he had been caught gaping, but his embarrassment quickly disappeared when his second mate leaned closer and kissed his lips softly, but demandingly against his own. The kiss that followed was sweet and lingering and full of love, unlike the last that had driven his dominant the night before. When they broke the kiss, Harry felt even more flushed than before, but in a good way. A soft chuckle was heard from behind him and a kiss was pressed against his bare shoulder blade.  
"Morning Lucius," he greeted the older man and turned around to give him a kiss as well. The kiss was just as sweet as the last one, and as he and Lucius parted, he snuggled back in between his two blondes.  
"I am afraid, love," Draco mused in a drawling tone and with a look at the living room door, "We have no time to enjoy this morning."  
"Why not?" Harry asked with a scowl, unhappy with the thought of getting back to business so quickly after their mating, and besides, there was nothing they needed to do, at least not until the afternoon when the Weasley's would be arriving.  
"You might be right," Lucius who had turned his head as well, sighed and he finally followed his mates' gazes, only to see Hermione standing in the doorway looking very nervous and uncomfortable and flushed.  
"What is Mione doing here?" he asked stupidly until he realized that she had just seen him naked and cuddled up between Draco and Lucius. Strangely enough, he was not embarrassed about the fact that one of his best friends had seen him in such an intimate situation, but he was worried how she would react to the fact that he had been intimate with the two Malfoy's; they had been enemies for years, after all.  
"Harry, I believe you have subconsciously raised a barrier," Lucius said softly and pointed over to where Hermione still stood just behind the doorway as if she was waiting for something.  
"Oops…" He grinned sheepishly and looked around for his wand to undo the barrier. He found the Elder Wand rolled halfway beneath the Christmas tree and grabbed it, but before he could cast the finite, he was grabbed by Draco and pulled into his younger mate's lap. Draco wound his arm possessively around him and Lucius shifted a bit closer. Confused, Harry gave them a questioning look, but Lucius only replied: "Just to be safe." Shrugging, he cast the spell and the barrier fell.  
Hermione visibly hesitated for a moment, glancing from him to his mates and back again.  
"You can come in, we won't bite," he said and then had to giggle when he realized what he had just said and added, "At least we won't bite you."  
Next to him Lucius smirked rather wickedly and he slapped him lightly on his thigh, but at least his friend finally dared to step closer.  
"Um… I guess congratulations are in order…" she started but didn't get any further, because just at that moment Ron came around the corner, saw them, blushed and yelled, "They are awake!"  
"What?" answered the voice of his godfather, followed by the sound of a chair tumbling to the ground, and hasty footsteps. Harry winced; he had the feeling that the upcoming argument would not be pretty, but why were they here anyway? Shouldn't the Weasley's, Sirius and Remus only have arrived at around 3?  
But he had no time to think about it further, as Ron was making his way over to them, anger written all over his face. The redhead pulled his wand and Harry instinctively pushed back closer to Draco, who tightened his grip on him and started to growl threateningly, as did Lucius, but the man also stood up and summoned his wand wordlessly.  
"Don't play the protective lover, and… and… I saw what you did, so don't even try!" Ron roared and leaped at Lucius, but Hermione luckily reacted faster and grabbed him by his jumpers. Unfortunately, she was not quick enough to grab the large, black dog that suddenly appeared in the doorway and crossed the room with two large jumps.  
Harry closed his eyes, not wanting to witness his first mate getting hurt, but the sound that followed was a pain filled whimper and he quickly opened his eyes again. Lucius must have cast some sort of spell, because he stood with his wand outstretched and glaring at the black dog that was just getting to its feet again.  
Sirius transformed back into his human form, pulled his wand out as well, but just in time Remus appeared behind him, grabbed his wand with one hand and his lover's arm with another. The normally calm and good-natured werewolf looked nearly as furious as Sirius, but something, maybe his instincts, we're holding him back.  
"Mione, let go of me! They raped Harry! I have to…" Ron growled, but Hermione only snapped  
"Oh for Merlin's sake! How about you ask what happened first? To me it didn't look like rape at all!" Harry threw her a thankful look; at least one of the group members were using their brains.  
"What?" Ron shrieked. "How can you say that?"  
"Hermione is right, you should explain yourselves" Remus growled with a glare at Draco, who only glared back."  
"I suggest, you all put your wands away, sit down and wait for Harry, Lucius and Draco to get decent," an annoyed voice sounded from the door and Harry sighed in relief as he saw his father standing there. He gave him a small smile, before glancing back over at Remus, who stood there motionlessly.  
"Well, are we allowed to get dressed or would you prefer to just start the conversation? We surely won't mind," Draco drawled and rose. Harry flushed again at being carried like a small child, but he supposed that his dominants would not let go of him right now, not as long as Ron still had his wand raised.  
Harry could have snickered as suddenly Ron, Remus and Sirius grew aware of their state of undress and flushed a deep crimson. Well, he wouldn't feel pity for them; they deserved to feel at least ashamed for having disturbed what could have been a wonderful morning.  
When no one said a word, Lucius conjured their clothes which lay scattered on the floor and announced: "Let's get dressed then, Harry, Draco."  
Draco nodded and Harry fought the urge to lay his head against the blonde's shoulder as he was carried out. Just when they stepped onto the staircase, Sirius yelled after them: "Don't you dare get dressed in the same room as my godson! You rapists!"  
"Shut up mutt, that is not your decision to make," Harry heard his dad hiss, just when they stepped onto the first landing. He shook his head in exasperation, dreading the next half an hour or so. It would not be easy to convince his godfather that their intercourse had been in mutual agreement and even anticipated for weeks now.  
Lucius pushed the door to their room open and Harry watched as his older mate's silvery eyes took in the bedroom, he had already forgotten that the blonde had not yet been at Privet Drive since the renovation.  
"Nice," Lucius hummed while Harry was let down by Draco.  
"Your trunks should be somewhere…" He mused and searched for the two gigantic trunks that belonged to his mates and that no one could possibly miss; he found them just a second later. "There they are," he said and pointed over at them, before going to his much smaller trunk, which lay on the bed.  
He opened the lid and searched for a new pair of shorts, red tights and one of his Gryffindor- red Weasley -jumpers.  
"You are not honestly planning on wearing one of those ugly jumpers on Christmas?" Draco asked in a sneering tone, and as Harry turned his head, he saw that his second mate was already dressed in an elegant, gray pair of councils robes only a few steps away from him.  
Harry flushed as he saw how the previously comfortable fitting robes now stretched slightly over Draco's muscled chest and quickly turned around again. As much as he would like to take his time and explore the new body of his mate, they didn't have the time now; Sirius would surely come looking for them if they didn't reappear soon.  
"They are comfortable and it is tradition," he answered the blonde and quickly pulled the jumper over his head, probably missing a disgusted look from his younger dominant.  
"There is no use wasting your energy on this," Lucius drawled from where he still stood next to his trunk, tugging his button down shirt in. "I already tried to make our little submissive get rid of them, but he can be very stubborn."  
Harry heard Draco huff in reply but was too busy with pulling his tights up. Deciding that he would leave the boots for now, they wouldn't go outside after all and he wanted to be comfortable, he turned back to his two mates and announced "I am ready, let's face the music," and walked to the door, but before he could open it, he felt Lucius grab him around the waist and quickly stepped to the side, shaking his head.  
"If you carry me the whole time, Siri will never believe that you aren't forcing me into something," he said and bit down on his bottom lip; he hated denying his dominants anything, but it was of no use right now. Fortunately, Lucius understood and straightened again with a long and very annoyed sight.  
"But Draco and I will only hold back until we have talked to your godfather," the man sneered the last word and Draco nodded in affirmation.  
They finally walked back down again, well finally was maybe not the right word as they had only needed 5 minutes to get dressed. Harry entered the living room first and instantly noticed that Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie and the twins had joined the group that was now sitting scattered around on the many sofas in the room. Remus was still holding on to his godfather, who was silently scowling, Ron still looked furious, the twins had a wide grin on their faces, Bill and Charlie looked mostly curious to his relief, so did Arthur, but Molly had a mixture of pity and a protective gleam in her eyes that made him wince.  
When the others noticed them, surprise quickly covered the many expressions on the faces, but only for a split second. Harry quickly threw a look over his shoulders at his mates, who nodded at him, before pointing their heads over to the last free sofa. He felt the others stare as he sat down in the middle and waited for Lucius and Draco to sit down on each side of him. Sirius and Ron scowled, but he ignored them with a pointed look. When Draco placed an arm around his hip and drew him closer, the scowl on his friend and godfather's faces grew even deeper and he quickly cleared his throat.  
"I truly don't understand why I have to explain myself now. You all intruded in my home, even though you knew that I had a date and now I am suddenly in the wrong," he said, lifting his gaze and glaring at Sirius.  
"We are not accusing you of anything," his godfather hastily said and lifted a finger to point at his mates, "we are accusing them."  
Rolling his eyes inwardly at the animagus thick headedness, he huffed and said, "That is the same thing, we are mates and you all interrupted our mating."  
Ron spluttered at his words, while disbelief and shock flashed over most of the others faces, only Remus, Bill and Charlie looked thoughtful and his dad was, of course the calmest person. Ron's twin brothers of course only grinned wickedly and winked at him, giving him a bad feeling.  
"You can't mean that mate; you are talking about ferret face and… and ferret face senior!" Ron exclaimed, nearly jumping to his feet, but Hermione prevented it.  
Lucius and Draco meanwhile had started growling threateningly and Draco was even trying to pull him onto his lap in a burst of possessiveness, but he refused stubbornly.  
"Harry, if something happened to you yesterday, you can tell us, we will help you and not think any less of you," Molly suddenly said and Harry, who had been throwing a quick glare at Draco, quickly snapped his head up, ready to snap at her, but only until he saw the honest worry in her eyes. Sighing, he shook his head, snuggled deeper into Draco's embrace and stretched a hand out for Lucius, who scooted closer as well.  
"They didn't force me. Lucius and I have known that we are mates since the beginning of the summer holidays and I knew that Draco was my second dominant as soon as he opened his eyes after we brought him back from the dead," he said and for a moment the whole room disappeared as he lost himself in Draco's eyes, communicating all the love and happiness he felt for his second mate. Draco looked back with equal emotions swirling in his usually guarded eyes and his heart skipped a beat. A soft kiss was pressed to his neck and Lucius' scent washed over him. He shuddered, not in pleasure but in love and sighed happily and without knowing whom he was telling it to, he whispered "...I have never been happier and it's because of them."  
A growl suddenly pulled him from the beautiful moment, but it was followed by a yelp. Looking up, he saw Molly glaring at Sirius, who was rubbing his left shoulder, but after only a second she turned back around to face him and a teary expression entered her eyes.  
"What can we honestly say against true love?" Molly sighed and smiled at him with an expression his aunt Petunia had always worn when the couple in her drama-series had finally gotten each other; but Sirius, having finally stopped rubbing his bruised shoulder, only growled.  
"That these two truly love Harry they have yet to prove. I for one don't even believe that they are capable of such feelings."  
Rolling his eyes, Harry was about to tell Sirius that he couldn't know that, because the man had never seen him interact with his mates with the exception of last night, which truth to be told had not been a good situation for a first encounter, but Ginny was faster.  
"Sirius is right Harry. I mean, they are Malfoy's and you have to see that you are not meant to be with… another man… and it didn't look like lovemaking, either." To Harry's utmost horror his godfather nodded in agreement.  
"If they truly are mates," Arthur spoke up for the first time, "Should they not be able to prove it?"  
Sirius stopped nodding and instead turned his head questioningly to Remus, asking "Can't you smell anything, Moony?" Remus shook his head, but Harry could have told Sirius that as well.  
"No, Padfoot, there is no particular smell coming from them, or I would have picked up on it long ago."  
"Of course there is no smell coming from Harry, we are soulmates, it prevented our little submissive from losing his virginal scent," Lucius drawled, and Harry could hear that his older mate was clearly getting annoyed.  
Sirius meanwhile still looked confused, as if he wasn't sure to ask more or start growling again, but Hermione's eyes had widened in realization. "Harry… are you...a… a…?"  
Before his bushy haired friend could end her question, he nodded, affirming her suspicion.  
"What are they? Is there even something like a creature that keeps his… innocent scent?" His godfather asked, sounding frustrated and confused.  
Remus and Charlie nodded slowly, but it was his dad who finally spoke up as well.  
"Why don't you lift your glamour and tell them the story from the beginning?"  
Glancing first over to Lucius and then to Draco, Harry silently asked them for their agreement, but when they nodded, he stood up, pulled his pullover off, so that his friends and family would be able to see more clearly how he had changed; maybe it would help them to realize that he truly was not human anymore. Of course, only because his father was right about his proposal, didn't mean that he felt comfortable with the idea of showing everybody what he had become. He had gotten so used to wearing the glamours and he was afraid of his friends' reactions; he had after all, not only changed into a Veela or another similar harmless creature.  
His father gave him an encouraging nod, and he finally started to slowly undo the spells around his body, while simultaneously taking the bandage off that was covering his mating mark. With a gasp he noticed that the mark had changed overnight, it now looked just like the crest on the wand boxes he had created, an elegant **M** with a Merlin rising in the background. But his gasp was drowned by the shocked exclamations of the Weasley's, Hermione, and his family.  
"Oh Harry, you truly are a vampire…!" Hermione exclaimed while he felt the glamours of his mates drop behind him as well. Sirius was back at his feet, looking demandingly at the two blondes. "Who did this to you? Was it one of them, or both?"  
Finally having had enough with this accusation, Harry snapped "It was neither of them, it was Voldemort and if you would sit down again, I would explain how we three ended up as undead."  
For a long moment the stares stayed glued to him, tracing over his blue arteries, his inhumanly thin frame and the shadows beneath their eyes, but finally Remus, who looked stiffly at his mates, pulled Sirius back down and they all nodded simultaneously as if following a silent command.  
Sighing in relief that they had at least come so far, Harry turned back to the sofa and as Draco stretched his arms out this time, he allowed his younger mate to pull him into his lap.  
When he had settled down and was leaning comfortably against the strong chest and Lucius had grabbed his left hand again stroking it comfortingly, he finally started to explain.  
"I already told you that Lucius had followed me to Privet Drive during the Kings Cross attack, and it was true up to that point, but that was not all that had happened… He made a quick pause in which he looked at each of his listeners, before continuing. "I… didn't know that Voldemort had cursed his followers in case they were to betray him and Lucius didn't know what the curse would do, but when he promised to help me with my fight, he triggered it."  
Ginny scoffed, but Remus asked, "Why did he promise to help you?"  
Gulping, Harry looked down to his lap; he always hated talking about his weaknesses, but he still answered, knowing that his friends and family needed the information to understand him.  
"He… witnessed my nightmares… three times I think, and the last time he woke and comforted me…"  
Remus nodded, "you mentioned something like that before," the werewolf mused and motioned for him to continue.  
"Um… well…" he started again, "The curse forced Lucius to transform into the creature he hated the most, and because I was connected to him through a binding ritual, I transformed as well, it was sheer luck that we turned out to be soulmates…" he continued, but stopped to give his first mate a bright grin, saying "But luckily, I would say!"  
"Why luckily?" Ron scoffed and crossed his arms.  
"Because," Remus explained calmly, still looking somewhat stiff, "when vampires who are soulmates transform together, they will not need any other blood than that of their mate and are considered human by the law. They don't have to kill people to live."  
"What a relief!" Molly sighed and laid her right hand over her heart.  
"But ferret face wasn't there, so what is it with him?" Ron suddenly asked, sneering at the younger blonde.  
"He was still dead then and I only noticed that someone was missing when we returned to Hogwarts… luckily Merlin could provide us with a ritual to bring him back," he explained.  
"Harry is your soulmate and brought you back to this world and you still treated him like a prick?" Hermione suddenly interjected with an expression that rivalled their Head of House's most fierce glares, making Draco stiffening behind him. He quickly gave a soothing mewl and Draco relaxed slightly, before answering "I regret my action now as well, but there is more to Harry's and my past than you know."  
Hermione still looked sceptical, so Harry hastily told her "He apologized and we started anew." His friend still did not look very happy with that explanation but accepted it with a nod.  
"But that still doesn't explain why he is not killing us in our sleep," Charlie interjected with a frown.  
"We suspect that it has something to do with the fact that I was dead when they mated that I could still enter the bond," Draco explained smoothly. "Time stood still for me for a few weeks and when I entered this world again, it was as if the time in between had never happened, our mating mark even started to form, even though Harry and I had not mated until yesterday."  
"Could you show us your marks?" Remus asked with a pointed look at Sirius, who had crossed his arms stubbornly.  
"That should pose no problem," Lucius drawled and Harry quickly held his hand up when he saw his two mates doing the same from the corner of his eyes.  
"Well, that seems to make it clear," Bill mused and Harry remembered that the second eldest Weasley son was engaged to a part Veela, a creature as well and therefore probably knew quite a bit about mating marks.  
"It does," Arthur agreed and slowly Molly, Hermione, the twins, Bill, Charlie and Remus nodded; unfortunately, Ron and Sirius still looked anything but happy, so it didn't really surprise Harry when Sirius growled "But it still doesn't change the fact that these two have had sex with my underaged and only twelve year old godson."  
Harry winced as he felt two bodies stiffen, one behind him, and one to his left. He wanted to snap at his godfather, especially as for Lucius it had been difficult to accept the fact that he had mated with him while he still was so young, even though he never would grow older again; fortunately, his father saved him:  
"The mating of vampires is instinctive and Lucius still thought that Harry was at least 15 when they mated, and he and Draco have done nothing without Harry's consent. Even though they both have the right and the power to take Harry whenever they wish, they have not forced him into intercourse."  
"Mating is having sex!" Sirius snapped and Harry wanted to hide as he saw a furious fire enter his father's black eyes.  
"For them, it wasn't. This only shows that you have no idea. For vampires, the mating feels like a ritual, Harry couldn't even remember much besides feelings and sensations after he had bonded with Lucius!"  
"And how would you know that?" Sirius asked, scowling equally angrily back.  
"It is true, Siri," Harry stopped the upcoming argument, shutting the two men up successfully.  
"The question," Draco spoke up and tightened his arms around his middle, "should not be if we forced Harry into anything, but if you can accept Harry as what he is now and with who he chooses to spend his life with."  
Hermione was the first one to answer with a determined look in her eyes and her hand on her hips. "Of course he can still count on me. I knew all along that Harry is a submissive and I knew that he had two mates. I even believe that he loves you and you love him!"  
Harry could have kissed Hermione, he felt that relieved, but he refrained from doing so as neither Lucius, nor Draco would liked such a show of gratitude very much.  
"You knew? And you did nothing?" Ron interjected angrily, his face beet red.  
"Yes, and with good reason," Hermione shot back, but luckily Remus drew the attention to him, a small smile on his tired face: "It seems we have accused you wrongly, please accept my apology. And I am happy for you Harry, it is the greatest joy to find one's soulmate, and you have found two." Harry smiled back at him, relieved that he would not lose his honourable godfather, but as soon as Sirius spoke up, he stiffened again.  
Next to the werewolf, his godfather gave a long sigh. "I would never let you down, pup. I was stupid when you told me about Snape, but I will not be stupid a second time...but…" Sirius changed his voice to a growl and turned his ocean blue eyes to his mates, "...if you ever hurt him, I will cut your balls off!"  
"No need to overexert yourself," his father drawled from his place in the back of the room, "...I will be faster."  
Sirius actually gave his father a nod and Harry couldn't prevent a small smirk creeping onto his lips; it seemed as if the two men had something in common after all.  
"Oh man, you have made a substantial catch!" The twins broke the serious mood with bellowing laughter.  
"I mean… we know that your sugar daddies had to be rich, with the council robes and all…" Fred continued with a huge grin and George went on, "... but you had to pick the biggest fish in the ocean! And his heir!"  
Flushing, Harry tried not to squirm in Draco's lap with embarrassment; this was so mortifying and he could feel his mates giving him pointed looks! Across from him, Bill and Charlie were nodding with broad grins as well, only Ginny still looked anything but pleased.  
"You can't all believe those lies?" The girl asked. "Harry has to be under a spell, or he would never agree with those two! We have to check him over!"  
"Ginny," Arthur spoke slowly and pinched the bridge of his nose as if asking for patience. "Mating marks don't lie; they have to be mates or soulmates and as neither of them suffer from blood loss yet…"  
Harry only watched with a bad feeling, but said nothing as Ron's little sister stood up with a fiery glare. "Well, if none of you will do anything, I will!" She declared before throwing a warning look at his dominants, turning on her heels and stomping off.  
"Ginevra Weasley, you will leave Harry and his mates in peace!" Molly yelled after her, but Harry was quite sure that the girl was already too far away to hear anything her mother was saying.  
"Now, that this is settled," his father drawled, breaking the silence that had arisen, "I can finally take off my glamours as well." For the third time that morning a gasp went through the room, as Severus revealed his vampire form as well.  
"So… when you said that Professor Snape had forced his body to go through his inheritance for you…" Hermione mumbled, her eyes wide in awe, "you meant that he had let himself be turned into a vampire?"  
"Yes, Miss Granger, I have a lot to make up for and an eternal child deserves his eternal father, don't you agree?" His father questioned, shocking nearly everybody with his loving statement.  
"Well then, I will prepare breakfast, it is already late and Fleur will arrive around lunchtime," Molly announced and swooped off into the kitchen. The others nodded and Bill and Charlie stood up as well to help their mother. Sighing, Harry bent down to pick his jumper up that had fallen to the floor and by doing so, his eyes landed on Ron, who had been unusually quiet during the conversation, but with all the people asking him questions, he hadn't noticed it until now. Straightening again, he caught the eyes of his oldest friend and his heart sunk at the whirlwind of uncertainty and disappointment in them. Lucius softly gripped his hand and Draco nudged him encouragingly, and collecting all his Gryffindor bravery, he asked: "What is it, Ron? Are you not happy for me?"  
Ron's head snapped up and a look of surprise flashed through his friend's eyes as if he had not expected that he would actually address him.  
"...Harry… you are our hero… you just can't be…" Ron said, sounding confused.  
"I can't what? Be gay? But I thought that gay soulmates are accepted in the wizarding world?" He asked back, his face carefully expressionless.  
"They are… but you are not like that… you can't be…" Ron explained vaguely and Hermione huffed from where she sat in an armchair.  
"That is completely stupid, Ron! Being gay or not will not change anything about him, it will not make him weaker," She said with an exasperated roll of her eyes.  
"Of course it does, he is the submissive and submissive are always weaker!" Ron argued back.  
Harry, who had expected such a useless argument once Ron found out the truth about his mates, still found himself slowly getting very annoyed, it was different just imagining such a conversation to holding it, so he asked: "So, you only became friends with me because I am Harry Potter, the strong hero? I can tell you I am…"  
He was interrupted by his friend who hastily shook his red head: "Of course not, Harry, I had become friends with you because you are a great guy, but…"  
"Mr. Weasley, just to calm you down a bit," Lucius suddenly drawled to his left and leaned slightly forwards, the movement, as small as it was, somehow had the effect that everybody instantly fell silent. "Dumbledore measured Harry's magical power, and I can tell you that it exceeds Draco's and mine greatly. Being a submissive does not tell you anything about a person's strength; it tells you something about his or her character. Harry has far more power than any one of us, but he hates to use it, he hates violence and he has a craving for closeness and protection, maybe even because of his status as the saviour, but he is not weak by any stretch of the imagination."  
Flushing, Harry turned his head to hide in Draco's robes. Lucius was right about everything, but to hear his deepest desire lay out so openly in front of his friend was embarrassing, he wasn't sure if that would actually make him sound stronger.  
"But that still doesn't change the fact that he is with… with…" Ron started anew, and Draco ended his sentence with one of his famous sneers:"With two Malfoy's?"  
"Yes!" Ron exclaimed and when Harry looked up again, he saw that his friend had stubbornly crossed his arms. "You made his life miserable the last months! You had even betrayed him, even though you knew about your bond!"  
Wincing, Harry quickly grabbed Draco's hands which were balling into fists in front of his stomach, to give him something to hold onto.  
"I never betrayed him, even when I still didn't believe that we were soulmates, I wasn't able to!" Draco spat, surprising everybody. For a split second Harry wanted to ask what he meant with wasn't able to, but then thought better of it; he should rather wait until they were alone again and save his proud mate's pride.  
"Ron," Hermione spoke up again, this time with a pleading undertone in her voice. "Can't you just be happy for him? You were the one after all, who reminded Sirius that Harry deserves a family, and what is a family without a lover?"  
Harry's heart, which had lifted slightly when Ron had let go of the last issue sunk again when his friend only shook his head and a deep sadness settled over him.  
"I don't know, Mione, it's just… not right… I just can't believe that they mean what they say… that they are honest with him…" It felt as if he was stuck in slow motion when Ron turned and finally left the room as well, leaving a heavy silence behind.  
It was his father who broke it after a long moment: "Weasley's are always too hot headed," Severus sneered. "Fortunately they also possess the necessary loyalty and intelligence to come to their senses after a while."  
Those words actually took some weight from Harry's shoulders and he managed to smile at Hermione. "Dad is right, he will come around, and if not, he has four older brothers who will help him."  
Hermione smiled back at him, just when Molly called, "Breakfast is ready!"  
Standing up, Harry waited for his mates to do so as well, before joining Hermione and his father on their way into the kitchen.  
Ron was already there, sitting broodily in a corner and looking unhappily down at his still empty plate. Ginny was nowhere in sight, but Remus, Arthur, and the other Weasley boys gave him an encouraging wink as he entered. Even Sirius grinned at him, although it seemed a bit strained, but Harry was glad that the man was making an effort.  
Looking around, he saw that there were no free three seats in a row, but he spotted four seats opposite each other and went over, sitting down next to his godfather. Lucius took the seat across from him, while Severus and Draco slid elegantly into the seats to his left.  
Molly came over then with a pan full of bacon and scrambled eggs in her left, but hesitated when she saw him and the other three vampires.  
"It is a shame that you cannot eat any normal food, she sighed and started to pile a huge amount onto Sirius' plate, as if needing to make up for the loss of the other four.  
"No need to worry, Mrs. Weasley, Harry can bring us some blood," Lucius said politely, drawing Molly's attention back to them.  
"Just call me Molly, we are family now," she smiled and Harry was happy to see none of the horror on the faces of the two Malfoy's that they surely were feeling at the thought of belonging to the huge Weasley clan. Instead, they nodded and Harry, having not missed the indirect comment, jumped up and walked over to the counter, where some bottles of blood still stood. Sniffing at them, he decided that something light would be good for breakfast and chose the chicken blood. When he had filled four goblets, he pulled his wand out, flicked it once and levitated everything over to the table.  
"Harry, you did not just jump up and serve your mates wine like a house elf? What, are Blondie and Blondie too good to get their drinks themselves?" Sirius growled when he sat back down again. He saw three pairs of eyes roll exasperatedly, before Draco drawled in way of explanation, "Harry is our submissive."  
"And?" Sirius asked pointedly. "Does that make him to your slave?"  
Sometimes, Harry felt just like banging his head against the tabletop, why could his mates not just say something out straight for once? Hermione threw him a look that mirrored his feelings, but luckily Lucius lowered himself to elaborate: "What Draco means, is that submissives have certain needs, needs their dominants should take care of. You should know that, after all, you are mated to a submissive creature as well…"  
"What? We are not yet… Remi, is he right?" Sirius spluttered and turned with a flustered face to the werewolf who only shrugged helplessly.  
"He is right, we submissive have needs, but I am just glad that you have finally accepted me…"  
"What does that mean by that?" Sirius asked helplessly, and knowing what kind of answer his younger mate would give, Harry tried to stop Draco by thrusting a hand in front of his mouth, but too late: "Your little pet wolf means that you are a bad mate," Draco drawled with an evil smirk, but for once Sirius did not explode but paled instead.  
"Is he right, Moony?" His godfather asked and Harry decided that this was the right moment to finally interrupt and save his two godfathers from an argument.  
"Sirius, what Lucius, Draco, and Remus just wanted to explain, is that submissive's need their dominant's to stabilize each other, but it differs from person to persons and I think from species to species as well," he said, but regretted his words when Sirius asked: "And what do you need, cub?"  
Blushing, Harry quickly looked down at his goblet; he really didn't want to explain these kinds of things that were just too embarrassing. But by now not only Sirius was looking interestedly at him, as was Remus, Hermione, and all the others, even Ron was glancing at him from under his bangs. Sighing, he finally told them: "I mostly need small commands, small things that take some decision away from me, or I get stressed. It shows me that they are taking care of me…" seeing that the others still looked sceptical, he added: "Look, they really don't expect many things from me. As a submissive my instincts tell me to obey, so they could even command me to do really embarrassing things, like calling them Master or licking their shoes, but they don't do that."  
"And what kind of commands are they giving you?" Molly asked, her eyes once more narrowing.  
Shrugging, Harry told them: "Just small things, like you have already seen. Bring us some blood or get dressed, but it helps a lot."  
"Now that you are mentioning it…" George mused loudly and his brother took over, "You were very off in the summer holidays before Lucius joined us…"  
"Yes, that was because we had been apart for too long and the stress was getting to me… maybe it will get better when we have been mated longer…" Harry nodded and let his hand sneak over to Draco's knee, who took the opportunity to take the appendage into his.  
With a huff, Sirius warned his mates: "But if I ever catch you forcing him to do anything degrading or… or… other stuff, then Merlin help you!"  
"Let's eat now," Molly suddenly commanded, ending the conversation effectively.  
Harry sighed in relief and finally picked his goblet up, taking a sip. For a moment silence fell over the kitchen and Harry simply relished in the fact that he did not need to hide his relationship anymore. Slowly, a huge weight lifted from his shoulders and he felt like a suffering man who could finally breathe freely again, and he would not let this freedom be taken from him again, he wanted to finally be himself and live like he wanted to.  
His eyes landed on his hand that was still intertwined with Draco's, and following an impulse, he scooted closer with his chair. His younger mate instantly noticed what he wanted and pushed his chair back, before letting go of his hand, grabbing him under his arms and lifting him over. He ignored the odd looks he got and instead snuggled into his mate's embrace while giving his other mate across from him a happy smile. Lucius of course, didn't smile back, they were in public after all, but Harry could see his silver eyes softening the tiniest bit, just before the aristocrat leaned forwards to grab his goblet, that now stood too far away for Harry to reach it himself, and handing it over.  
"Thank you," he smiled and took the offered goblet.  
"I have to say, I am slowly starting to taste some differences," Draco mused behind him, sipping on his own drink.  
"Is it some kind of bird?" His younger mate asked after another sip and placed his goblet back down again.  
"Yeah, its chicken, I thought something light would be good as breakfast, Harry smiled and turned his head to give Draco a quick peck on the cheek.  
"So… um…" Hermione's voice stopped him from adding a second kiss to his second dominant's lips and he turned back around to face her.  
"So… er… when you told us that you were drinking some kind of juice, it was always….?" She questioned hesitatingly and with an expression on her face that told him that his brainy friend wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer, but was still too curious to simply not ask.  
"Yeah, it was always blood," he grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.  
"But why did you never tell us, pup?" Sirius asked and as Harry turned in his direction, he could see hurt in his godfather's eyes.  
Sighing, he took Draco's free hand, subconsciously playing with his mate's fingers as he answered: "I just… was so overwhelmed with everything and turning into a vampire is viewed as even worse than being bitten by a werewolf…"  
"But you don't attack people, so you had no need to worry?" Sirius frowned.  
"Yeah, but everybody would have asked me who my bloodmate was and I couldn't answer that, I didn't want to risk either of my mates…" he explained carefully, hoping that his godfather would understand.  
"But would you have told us about you and your mates soon if we had not found out?" The animagus questioned, still with the same look of hurt in his ocean blue eyes.  
"Um…" Harry started, but then broke off and quickly thought about how to formulate his words the best way. "I was planning on telling you this holiday, but I would have tested the waters first…" he finally said. Sirius nodded, seemingly accepting his answer.  
The rest of the breakfast went by in silence. Harry had the feeling that the others were not sure how to treat the Malfoy's now, but he simply relished in the silence and in the warm body behind him. When everyone was finished with his or her meal (or drink), Molly shooed them all out to prepare the dinner and gave them the order to get the living room ready for the evening dinner.  
Harry followed the others out and they all gathered near the Christmas tree.  
"I guess we will need a second table," Hermione mused and he nodded.  
Not only would Fleur and her family join them, but also Albus, Minerva, and Flitwick.  
"I think we should enlarge this room more," Lucius added and turned to Harry, adding: "It would be best if you do the spell, you are the house's owner."  
Nodding, Harry pulled his wand out and quickly searched his mind for the right spell. When he was sure that he remembered the right words, he lifted his wand and uttered the spell. Around him, the room enlarged, leaving the sofas standing in the middle of the room, but only when Lucius said, "that should be enough," did he stop.  
They all scattered and started to adjust the table-size, conjure chairs, and levitate plates, glasses, and cutlery over. It was quite some work, but Harry was just happy to be surrounded by all his favourite people. Ginny had left and Ron was somewhere working with a huge scowl on his face at the other side of the room, keeping his distance. But his dad and Sirius were both arranging plates next to him; he guessed that both wanted to keep an eye on him. Severus was probably worried because not everyone had reacted well to his many announcements earlier and just like his mates, he tended to worry too much, while Sirius most likely didn't trust the three dominants one bit.  
Speaking of his mates, they of course had refused to help, as Malfoy's still did not do physical labour, and were now lounging on one of the couches reading. However, Harry could always feel one of their gazes on him, which made his submissive side purr inwardly. He knew that many people would hate the level of protection his dominants bestowed on him, but he had always wanted someone who would care for him.  
As awkward as the general situation was right now, he was still relieved that he didn't have to hide anymore from the people he considered family.  
Following an impulse, he placed the cutlery he had been arranging to the side and walked over to his two mates. As if they had sensed him, their eyes lifted and his hips instantly began to move with the seductive swagger he knew the two blondes loved.  
He took the hand Draco was stretching out towards him and let himself be pulled into the blonde's lap, where he turned and lifted his legs so that they dangled over Lucius' left knee; he wanted to be in contact with both of them.  
"Hm…" Draco purred darkly and began to nuzzle his neck and inhale deeply. "You smell so good and were so delicious yesterday. How I could have resisted you for so many weeks, I don't know."  
Harry could only gasp in reply as a fang scratched the sensitive skin of his throat and move his head to the side to give Draco more access. Lucius took that as an invitation as well, leaned closer and in the next moment he could feel that wonderful sensation of claws slicing his neck open once again. It had been so long since the blonde had touched him like that, that he had almost forgotten how good it felt. Closing his eyes, he laid his head against his second mate's shoulder and let the purr that was rising resonate in his chest.  
"Our little submissive is a secret masochist," Draco chuckled.  
Harry, feeling the need to defend himself, opened one eye and gave his younger mate a barely half-hearted glare. "I am not masochistic, I only like your marks on my body," he huffed.  
"Good," Draco hummed and bit down on the spot his teeth had caressed before. Harry's back arched and he could feel himself hardening in his pants, however, their little interlude was rudely interrupted, when Sirius' voice was heard close to him.  
Reluctantly, he sat up a little, he should have known that the whole thing would not be as easy with Sirius; the man just couldn't trust Slytherins.  
"I just took a little break," he replied, even though he knew that it must have been clear what they had been doing. However, he wasn't in the mood for an argument right now.  
"You know, we could really use your help," Sirius told him and Harry knew that the man just wanted to get him away from his mates. He would have liked to just refuse, but unfortunately Sirius was right, there still was a lot to do. Therefore, he gave each of his dominants a quick peck on their cheeks, slid from Draco's lap and missing the contact with his mates as soon as it was gone.  
He had nearly reached the large dining table when he heard a gasp from behind him and a hand grabbing him forcefully by his shoulder.  
"Harry, what is that on your neck? Was it one of your mates? I knew they would only hurt you; they are Malfoy's after all! Sick, sadistic, egoistic…"  
The anger he had felt so many times during his and Lucius' stay at Grimmauld place rose inside of him again, only that it was ten times worse this time. Sirius now knew that he was mated to the two aristocrats and that they were soulmates and Dark Creatures. Slowly, he turned around, his fists balled to keep his anger inside, however, he couldn't do that anymore and it wasn't necessary anymore either, because the need to hide his relationship was gone.  
Before he knew what he was doing, he had slapped Sirius hand away. His vision was turning red and he could feel his fangs grow in his gums. "Shut it, Sirius! It's not your place to interfere in my mating-bond! You know nothing about Lucius and Draco and you have no idea what a creature needs or how the transformation has changed me! Do you really believe that I would let myself be treated like crap after I had finally gotten rid of the Dursley's? Or that my father would let them hurt me? I suggest you start reading up on vampires, and while you are at it, about werewolves as well!"  
Slowly, his vision returned to normal and his senses came back, however, it took him a while to notice that the room had gone strangely silent. Across from him, Sirius stood as stiff as a statue, the hand he had slapped away pressed against his chest as if it hurt. Realising what he had done, his legs began to shake, but the panic he had expected never came, a foreign feeling of being well within his rights protected his bad conscience from rising.  
"You truly have changed," Sirius mumbled and he could see sadness in his godfather's eyes.  
Lowering his gaze, Harry shook his head, saying "no, I haven't," before turning to the dining table and picking the cutlery back up again. Behind him, he could hear silent rustling as everybody else returned to their work, and his father sneered: "Give me your hand Black; I am sure Harry doesn't want you injured."  
His dad was probably right, however, right now his feelings were still far too confused for him to say what he wanted or not. Fortunately, no one asked him about the incident, and the next two hours were spent working silently. His mates were watching him the whole time and as his mind grew clearer again, he began to wonder why they hadn't interfered, because normally, Draco and Lucius were quick to come to his aid; so was his father, but he as well had only stood by and watched. When the living room was completely prepared, he felt unsure about what he should be doing next. His instincts told him to return to his dominants, but he also didn't want to have a fight with Sirius on Christmas Eve.  
In the end, he decided to search for his godfather and talk with him. As the man was nowhere in sight, he walked into the hallway and made his way up to the second floor, where he found his father just exiting the second door on the right.  
"Wonders never cease to occur when you're around, my little brat," Severus smirked at him, quietly enough that Sirius would not be able to hear them in his room. Not understanding what his dad meant, Harry gave him a confused look and waited for his father to elaborate. "Black just asked me if I had some books about vampires and if I would be willing to lend them to him." A quick pause arose before the man added: "You better go to him and reassure him that he has not lost you." the last words had been more of a sneer than anything else and as his dad brushed past him, Harry was sure to hear the words "stupid mutt!"  
Turning to the door, he knocked softly, before going in. Sirius was sitting on his bed, his right hand looking completely fine again; surely he must have taken some Skele-Gro, probably thanks to his father. His godfather gave him a lopsided grin as he entered and said: "Ten broken bones, you really have grown strong!"  
Flushing, Harry stepped fully into the room and closed the door behind him. He truly hadn't wanted to injure Sirius, he hadn't even used a lot of strength; at least he had thought so.  
"I am sorry for having injured you," he said and made his way over to the free chair that stood near the window.  
"But not for the rest?" Sirius questioned. For a moment, Harry wanted to nod, but then he thought that it would be better to be honest and shook his head. "No, Padfoot. We three are soulmates; if you hurt them you are hurting me as well.  
Sirius frowned for a long moment, but then sighed. "I didn't want to do that, interfere in your relationship, I mean… but when I saw you on their laps and they were practically devouring you, and you just looked so small and young and…" the animagus sighed again and then added: "I asked Snape for some literature, maybe it will help if I know some more about your kind."  
Relieved that his godfather wanted to make an effort, Harry nodded and said: "If you have any questions, I will answer them."  
Sirius just scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "I am not sure if I will ever be ready to ask you my questions personally. I will just stick to the books for now."  
Snorting, Harry shook his head, he couldn't believe that his godfather was behaving so prudish right now, but maybe it was just like with those parents who didn't want to know anything about the sex life of their children, even though they had been wild in their youth themselves.  
"You better go back downstairs pup, before your mates come up here to fetch you," Sirius told him with a wavering smirk.  
Nodding, Harry rose to his feet again and made his way over to the door. However, before he left, he turned around once more and asked: "Will your hand be okay?"  
"In about a day or two," Sirius reassured him and made a shooing gesture. Taking that as a hint that his godfather truly didn't wish to meet his mates right now, he finally left and returned downstairs. Lucius and Draco were still sitting on the sofa, while the others had apparently gone to their rooms to make themselves ready for Fleur's arrival. As the morning had been fairly chaotic, they all had decided to open the presents after lunch with the quarter-Veela.  
Glancing at the clock that hung above the fireplace, Harry noticed that he and his mates still had about half an hour before they needed to freshen up themselves, so he walked over to them and sat down between them.  
"Everything fine with your godfather?" Lucius asked and began to comb through his hair.  
"Yeah, he's just worried. He still sees me as that small kid he knew…" he sighed, leaning back against Draco, who just replied: "He has a point there, you are a small kid."  
Feeling hurt in his pride as a submissive, Harry glared at him and shot back: "I am not a child anymore, you should know that after what we did yesterday."  
"Let us not start to arguing about that annoying incident," Lucius advised them, before making a motion for Draco to scoot closer to the backrest. In the next moment, Harry found himself sandwiched between his tall mates and the remaining time until they needed to get up was spent cuddling on the sofa. It felt so good to lay down with his mates after their interrupted mating, that he nearly fell asleep between them.  
Unfortunately, just when his eyelids wanted to shut, he felt Lucius' body move away from him and he opened his eyes again.  
"We have to get ready," Draco said from behind him and sat up as well. Grumbling Harry pushed himself up a little. He really did not understand why his mates even wanted to make themselves ready, they always looked perfect anyway.  
Apparently noticing the mood he was in, Draco simply picked him up declaring: "You could use the chance to change into something less… red…"  
"I won't…" Harry begun in slight annoyance before his eyes fell on his trunk, and he remembered that there were still two different robes he had not yet tried on and which Oscar would have packed into his trunk.  
Draco gave him an odd look as he suddenly said: "Fine, but you have to put me down," and walked over to his trunk. Having fetched one outfit and a clean Weasley sweater, Harry disappeared into their bathroom. He felt a little underdressed when he stepped outside and saw Lucius and Draco pulling on finely patterned waistcoats which succeeded in looking even more expensive than the ones they normally wore.  
Draco was the first one to notice his changed outfit. Harry only needed to see the blonde wrinkle his nose in disgust to know what would come next.  
"Harry, are you actually going to wear that thing again?" the younger blonde asked, making his father turn around as well.  
"Harry, I agree with Draco. However, if you want to wear that, I won't oppose"  
"It's a Christmas tradition! I am going to wear it. Like it or not" Harry said, feeling comfortable in his skin. (And not wanting to disappoint Molly.)  
"Fleur will be here soon, we should go downstairs," Lucius said, and with a nod Harry followed his mates back into the living room. The Weasley clan, his father, and Hermione were all already gathered. Bill stood next to the fireplace, where his fiancée would soon be arriving. Harry was pushed more to the front as well by his mates, probably because he was the official host and there were surely a number of rituals for greeting guests, which he didn't know but was expected to perform. He had read a little about the etiquette in the book for house ladies, but as the book had not focused very on the topic in detail, he only knew that he needed to greet Fleur.  
He had just decided that he had better ask one of his mates what he needed to do exactly, when the hearth erupted with green flames and Fleur stepped out of it. She was not as graceful as Harry remembered her from his Fourth School Year, in fact, she seemed slightly paler and stumbled a little, but Bill was quickly at her side and helped her to regain her balance and her soft smile returned almost instantly on her face, In fact, Harry was quite sure that he wouldn't have noticed it if not for his heightened senses.  
Draco gave him a little shove and he quickly moved ahead to greet the quarter-Veela.  
"Hello Fleur, welcome to the Order's second Headquarter, it's great to see you again."  
Fleur turned to him and froze for a moment. Somehow, Harry knew that her Veela-senses had picked up something about him. Her nostrils widened a little as she breathed in deeply and her eyes flickered over to his mates. For a moment he was afraid that she would react badly to his transformation as Veela's were the essentially Light Creatures, whilst vampires were the complete opposite, but then her face softened and she bent down to him with that smile he had expected. "'allo 'Arry, may your union be blezzed," she whispered into his ear. Behind him, his mates were silently sighing and Sirius was snickering in amusement at his loose interpretation of the traditional greeting phrase, however, a strange scent was coming from her, which made Harry dizzy for a moment. It smelled so pure and sweet, that he felt like crying and was unable to reply anything. Then, suddenly, she had let go of him again and stepped away.  
However, the scent still lingered around him, and he only noticed, that everybody was sitting down, when Lucius called: "Are you coming, Harry?"  
Gathering himself, he quickly walked over to the free spot between Draco and the part-Veela and sat down. He was careful to not breathe, something that he didn't need to do anymore but sometimes did out of habit. He didn't wish to smell that scent again, it had made him so sad that it was still echoing in his chest.  
"It iz zo great to 'ave you in ze family," Fleur suddenly said, and he quickly turned to blink at her in confusion. "Welcome in the family?" He questioned, not knowing what she meant.  
"Yez, Luciuz and Draco are both couzinz of mine, I believe zree timez removed," she explained and added softly: "You have found good mates zere,"  
Blushing, Harry nodded. "I have. And I am really happy with them, although our start was a bit rough."  
Fleur simply chuckled and waved his statement away. "It iz alwayz like zat wiz zoulmatez. We Veelaz zay, ze soul is afraid to become complete."  
"So, are you and Bill soulmates?" he asked, he was curious to hear what another creature could tell about love and mating. He imagined that Fleur would probably be able to relate to some of his feelings better than his friends or even his mates, as she was a submissive as well. Of course, he could always have talked with Remus, but the man had never accepted his creature side.  
"Oh no, we are normal matez. It is a great gift to find one'z zoulmate and requirez much luck. But I still love Bill more zan amazing elz," she replied.  
They were interrupted when a plate of roasted meat landed in front of him. Looking up, Harry saw that innumerous amounts of pots with potatoes, vegetables, salad, sauce, and roast were placing themselves all over the huge table top. Mrs. Weasley reappeared from the kitchen and announced: "Merry Christmas to us all, and thank you Harry for your hospitality. And now, tuck in!"  
"Harry, go and fetch us some blood," Lucius ordered while the others were distracted with filling their plates. Harry was relieved that his mates had chosen that moment for their order and quickly got up to fulfil their wish. Once in the kitchen, he walked over to the basket he had brought from Hogwarts. One single bottle was still in there, it was a very special brew of the blood-based wine his father had created for his best friend and godson. What made it so special was the dragon blood that had been mixed with the wine.  
Gathering three glasses, he poured the dark red liquid into two of them, before going over to the counter where his blood mixed pumpkin juice was and filled the third glass with it. Lastly, he put everything on a tray and carried it back into the living room. It truly felt good to take care of his mates so openly, and glancing over at Fleur, who had stopped in the process of piling some potatoes onto Bill's plate, he could see in her eyes that she understood him fully.  
When he had arrived by his mates' side, he stepped between them and placed the wine glasses down carefully. His mates each gave him an appreciative nod, which made his heart flutter with joy, but as he wanted to turn and leave for his seat, he was stopped by two hands that grabbed his wrist. Confused, he watched as Draco took the tray where his pumpkin juice was still placed on from his hands and set it to the side. Next, his mates turned his wrists around, cut them with the sharp nail of their index fingers and picked their glasses up, before turning his wrists so, that a few drops of blood landed in the mixture.  
He shivered at the hungry looks they were giving him during the short procedure and their eyes did not leave his as they lowered their heads slightly to seal the thin wounds with their tongues. His skin tingled beneath their touch and he probably would have fainted if the moment had not merely been seconds long. The only thing that then made him return to his seat after that sensual interlude was the promise in his mates' normally cold eyes.  
The little scene had not gone unnoticed. Across from him, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were blushing slightly, as were Ron and Hermione across from him. However, he could not share their embarrassment that he and his mates had been discovered, which meant there was no reason to hide anymore and he just wasn't human. Trying to hide who he was, or had become, would only make his life miserable and probably end in disaster once he exploded, so they would just have to get used to it. The only thing that was worrying him right now was Remus silently growling at the other end of the table. This morning, the werewolf had seemed quite calm and had even held Sirius back from mindlessly attacking his mates outright, that was why he was now confused about the reaction. However, he decided not to dwell on it right now and instead sipped on his pumpkin juice while watching the others.  
His mates mostly conversed quietly with his dad, but exchanged a few polite words with Molly and Arthur as well. Molly especially seemed to be interested in how they had found out about their bond and how their relationship had started. It was clear that her romantic expectations got fulfilled, as she even sighed at the mentioning of his and Draco's fight, and said: "Well, there has to be a little drama. It makes everything all the sweeter in the end!"  
Hermione had listened closely as well with a look that rivalled Molly's, while Ron had tried to distract himself by trying to draw the twins into a conversation. Sirius meanwhile, seemed a little confused by Remus as well.  
Fleur and Bill had drifted off into their own world, silently flirting with one another. All in all, the dinner was a very pleasant affair, especially considering how the day had started.  
When finally nearly all the plates, bowls and dessert plates were empty, Molly shooed them over to the Christmas tree where Oscar had already arranged their presents. The tree was beautifully illuminated and Harry felt nervous like never before. He had made a real effort with his presents this year, and he was quite sure that Ron and Hermione would like theirs, but as he had never had to give something to somebody as filthy rich as his mates, he was a bit worried about their presents.  
Lucius and Draco had chosen a seat a bit to the side and further away from the Christmas tree, from where they would have a good view of the unwrapping. They had left a spot free between them where Harry settled down comfortably. As soon as he was seated, his mates scooted closer and each put a hand around his waist. Apparently, for them as well, the time spent apart during the elaborate dinner had been too long. He wriggled a little so that he sat even more firmly pressed between his two mates, before turning his gaze at Mrs. Weasley, who was about to announce the beginning of the unwrapping, when a polite cough interrupted her; it had come from Fleur.  
"Bill and I would like to announce zomezing," she said with slightly pink cheeks. Bill squeezed one of her hands reassuringly, and Harry frowned as another strong gust of that unbearably sweet scent wafted over to him. However, he suppressed the urge to react, not wanting to offend Fleur somehow.  
"It might be a little early, conzidering zat Bill and I are not yet married," Fleur continued and by now all eyes were upon her, however, it was Bill who continued: "Mum, Dad, I am sure we all know how fate works some times, so I hope that you will still be happy to hear that Fleur and I are expecting our first child!"  
A loud gasp came from somewhere; Molly, Harry assumed, however, it was the last thing he heard, as a loud roaring sound like the sound of waves breaking on the shore dampened his ears. His whole body grew rigid and cold and his heart clenched painfully. He had thought that he had accepted that he would never have a family of his own, but realizing now what the sweet smell he had smelled the whole time was, and that such a beautiful scent would never come from him because he would never be able to give his mates such a beautiful gift, made his whole world seem to crumble apart.  
The coldness inside him built up and he didn't even feel the warm hand that settled on his shoulder and the two worried voices that were trying to talk with him. Everything suddenly became too much and before he realized what he was doing, he had jumped up and was running out of the room and down a staircase, not even thinking about where he was fleeing to. He collapsed in front of the cold hearth in the kitchen and buried his face into his arms as tears started to spill over. He felt so unworthy all of the sudden, for he could not even fulfil the true duty of a submissive. Because of him, Lucius, Draco and he would never be a real family and his mates would never get an heir to their new line. His sobs increased even further as he realized what he had done to his dominants, especially to Draco. The blonde had told him over and over again that he didn't want Harry because he could not grant him heirs, and he, in his selfishness had ignored his second dominant's wishes and now it was too late for Draco who was indefinitely bound to him. What had he done?  
Suddenly two strong arms closed around him and he jolted a little as he was lifted up,  
"Hush Harry, what has you so upset?" His father's voice asked, but it didn't help him relax because he didn't want his father there right now, he didn't want to explain his sadness, for he doubted that Severus as a dominant would be able to understand it. His father sat down and he was cradled even closer against his dad's chest. For a moment, his father only combed through his messy hair, but Harry knew that the Potions Master would not be satisfied without an explanation, and he was right because his father spoke up again:  
"Harry, what happened? Was it the Dark Lord? If it was him you have to tell me, I know it is Christmas, but if he plans something we have to act."  
Harry quickly shook his head, relieved that his dad had not immediately guessed the real reason for his distress, however, when he didn't answer Severus started anew:  
"Was it so bad...?"  
The new flood of questions was interrupted by three hasty pairs of footsteps and in the next moment his father was dismissively brushed off:  
"Ah, Professor, I don't believe zat zis 'as anyzing to do wiz ze Dark Lord, and now please make some space," Fleur sat, and before he knew what was happening the part-Veela had sat down next to them, grabbed his hands, squeezing it reassuringly.  
"Ms. Delacour…" his father growled threateningly, but once again he didn't get far.  
"Zis is a womanz matter, zo please be at least quiet if you do not wish to leave," Fleur huffed and Harry could feel how she scooted even closer. He felt too perplexed to react in any way or form, but fortunately Fleur apparently did not expect any kind of reaction from him, because she soon continued.  
"Oh 'arry, I am zo zorry! It is because of Bill's and my revelation, iz it not? But you zuld not be zo zad, your matez love you, I can zee it in zere eyes, zey will not reproach you for not being able to carry ze children," Fleur told him in a soothing tone of voice. The Veela didn't even falter when his dad began to splutter behind him.  
"I am zure, if you truly wish for your own family zo much, you could ask them to adopt a child one day, zey love you so much, zey will not deny you."  
Sniffling, Harry sat up a little and looked over to the Veela. "But I feel so…"  
"No no no," Fleur interrupted him sharply. "You will not zay zat! You are not a bad submizive or unworthy because you cannot bear young. It is merely ze curse of your race, a horrible curse, but still nozing more."  
Apparently he had been silent for too long, for his father spoke up again: "Harry, Ms. Delacour is right, Draco and Lucius love you, no matter what, therefore it is ridiculous …"  
"Professor!" Fleur almost shrieked. "You will not finish zat zentance! Of course 'arry is upset! To bear children, that iz what makes us zubmissive and females special! Our dominants do not protect us so fiercely because we zerve them and cook and clean for zem! Zey do zo because zey know how easily our gift can be lost, it iz only natural for 'arry to feel bad right now!"  
"Harry," this time it was Mrs. Weasley, who had stood silently to the side until now, who addressed him. "Maybe, it is even for the best, Lucius and Draco are father and son, after all… if you would have children together, and they would be brothers or sisters and aunts, uncles and nieces and nephews at the same time…"  
Harry couldn't react, he did not know what to say, he didn't even know what to think anymore. He was sure that Fleur was right, his mates would probably not love him less because of his inability to give them children, but he still believed that they would be sad once they realized the extent of his disability fully. The coldness inside of him grew even chillier and he shivered violently. His father tightened his embrace around him, but it was of no use. It was as if his organs were freezing, especially his abdomen, and for the first time since his physical chance he felt truly like a dead person and he instinctively knew that he would never be able to completely let go of that topic. A second wave of biting coldness swept through him and he had to close his eyes for a moment. No, he couldn't let go, he didn't want to let go, he wanted to give his mates everything, without any exception.  
As his ears caught the sound of yet another pair of footsteps, he didn't have to look up to know that it was Hermione who kneeled down in front of him and placed her hands on his knees, instead, he gasped:  
"I don't want to settle for anything else! I don't want to adopt! I want to give them children myself!" Hermione's hands on his knees tightened and he could feel that she was shaking and as she spoke, her voice sounded teary as well. "Harry… do you remember when we talked on the way to Hogwarts? About miracles?" While his friend spoke, the coldness grew even further, threatening to overwhelm him. Still, he managed to nod and say: "I want it! I want it so much!" As he said those words, his magic seemed suddenly to gather in his stomach and explode there. The coldness vanished, chased away by a burning hotness. The sensation spread through his midsection, filling the cold emptiness he had felt there and even though it hurt, it was better than that other cold sensation, for it almost felt like hope.  
"Then don't give up yet," Hermione continued and he quickly focused his attention back on her. "I am sure, some day you will find a way. Your father is the greatest Potions Master alive and you are good friends with Dumbledore; I am sure, one day you will have your own family and everything will be right then," she said and as he looked up and into her eyes, Harry could only see a strong belief, and together with that sensation in his abdomen, that had lowered down to a pleasant, warm feeling, it managed to bring a small smile back onto his face.  
"You are right, I shouldn't give up so easily, I am Harry Potter after all," he agreed, feeling better after his friend's reassuring words. Fleur had meant it well as well, but no one was better in understanding him than Hermione.  
"Thank you," he added and gave Fleur and Molly a smile as well. Molly looked a bit put out by what Hermione had said, but she quickly gathered herself again and gave him a smile in return.  
"No need to zank us, 'arry, we feel wiz you," the Veela smiled and then made a gesture to the door. "Shall we return upstairz?"  
Grinning, he nodded and said: "Yes, we still have to unwrap presents, don't we?"  
"Well then," his father said and he was put back on the floor again. Hermione and Molly gave him a reassuring smile, and they all made their way back upstairs. As he entered the living room again, two blonde heads instantly snapped up, and despite the casual posture his mates had on the sofa, Harry could read the worry in their eyes.  
"What happened Harry? Are you feeling okay?" Lucius and Draco asked in stereo.  
"It was just a submissive-thing," his father answered, making it sound as if he was utterly disgusted, but when he nudged the Potions Master in his side with his elbow, his dad gave him one of his smirks and ruffled his hair affectionately. To his right, he could see Fleur silently telling Bill something and the redhead looked sad for a moment, but Molly chose that moment to clap her hands together for attention and asked: "Now, who get's to pick the first present?"  
Harry wasn't surprised when Ron instantly jumped up and called: "Me, me!"  
Next to him, Hermione sighed in exasperation. He shook his head in agreement, but there was a wide grin on his face as began making his way over to his mates, who casually had watched him from the corners of their eyes until now. To his surprise, Hermione followed him and chose an armchair nearby, so that they would still be able to talk, or maybe she just wanted to help him make his relationship with Lucius and Draco look livelier because Sirius was once again looking slightly sour. Ignoring his godfather, he sat down next to Draco so that he was as close to Hermione as he could get while sharing a couch with his mates and snuggled into his second mate's side before returning his attention to Ron, who indeed was now unwrapping his first gift, a wide, childish grin on his face. It turned out to be a package with a sweater, a knitted beanie, and scarf. Molly had apparently added some golden wool, which gave the dull maroon colour Ron had always hated a nice shimmer. Ron instantly pulled his old sweater off and exchanged it for the new one, showing it off proudly to his siblings.  
Next to him, Draco scoffed silently, but it was still loud enough for Harry to hear. He gave his younger mate poke in his side and threw him a disapproving glare, but Draco only sneered: "What? Only poor people give people something self-made!"  
He stiffened slightly but tried to remind himself that his presents, even though self-made, were quite unique, which still made them not particularly valuable. But Hermione, as well as McGonagall and Flitwick, had made it clear that he had created three very impressive magical artefacts. Still, he would warn his mates before they could open his gifts so that they would not be too disappointed.  
"Who is next?" Ron asked loudly, and his attention snapped back to the celebration around him.  
"Can I?" Ginny piped up, but Molly stopped her. "Now now, we are only guests here, I think it is time that our host gets his chance to open one of his presents." Ginny's face immediately lit up, making Harry cringe inwardly, he didn't even want to know what Ron's little sister had come up with in her love stricken craziness, and fortunately, his father had noticed it as well. He pulled his wand out and conjured a rather heavy looking package and let it drop into his lap. It was even heavier than it looked and apparently contained a whole collection of middle sized books and some larger ones.  
"It is nothing special, but I hope it will further our relationship," his father explained in a tight voice that made him look up at the dark man. Was Severus nervous for some reason? He could almost imagine it, but then again, he knew how dear he was to his father. After their clumsy beginning in Albus' office, his dad had proven it time and time again. So he gave him a wide smile and said: "I am sure I will like it," before he began to carefully open the simple, green wrapping paper. And he was sure that he would like it, and even if it would just be because he knew that his father had most likely spent many hours of thought into his gift and made an effort.  
He finally pushed the last layer to the side and his eyes fell onto what looked like old, worn down versions of his potions text books, some equally worn down notebooks and two more, smaller wrapped packages. Not really understanding why his father had given him these things, he picked one of the notebooks up, opened it on a random page and saw that it was covered in Severus' spidery handwriting. He had written down what seemed to be the name of a potion from one of the textbooks, and below were many notes, suggesting different ingredients or ways to prepare some more efficiently. And sure enough, as he opened the matching text book to the right chapters, he found short notes as well.  
"These are my old textbooks, with my personal alterations. In the notebooks you can look up how I worked the alternative ways of brewing out," his father began to explain, his voice still unusually tight and even gaining a nervous edge to it. "I know that you prefer less stressing activities in your free time, but I would be willing to work through these books with you, if you are interested, of course."  
Harry had to smile at those unusually clumsy words. Of course, Severus would never say it out loud, but by now he knew his dad well enough to understand that he wished to share his life's passion with him, and truth to be told, he was intrigued to get an insight into his father's genius mind, although he imagined that he would never fully understand all of his dad's theories.  
"I would like that!" he told Severus and leaned forward to hug him.  
"Then you should open this parcel next," his dad said as they were separated again, and picked the somewhat misshaped looking package of the two remaining up. As Harry pulled the paper off, a small vial with a light blue liquid rolled into his hands.  
"This will help your magical core to mature so that we do not need to work with First Year potions for the next few years and you may properly partake in my classes again," his dad explained without any prompting.  
"But then I have no reason to work with Draco in Potions anymore," he sighed sadly. His father merely shook his head. "Then you are lucky that I will pair the students whenever you will need a partner in class."  
Relieved, Harry pulled the stopper out of the vial and announced: "Then I will drink it!" however, his father stopped him and said: "You better drink that before going to sleep, it needs some time to take effect and it is not the most pleasant feeling, although, not unpleasant enough to wake you I would say."  
Placing the vial carefully to the side, Harry nodded and picked the last present up, it felt like a framed photo. Suddenly curious, he ripped the wrapping paper off with more vigour than he had done with the last packages and came face to face with two people, sleeping leaned against each other on one of those sofa-like garden swings. The garden in the background looked completely unfamiliar, but he easily recognized the lengthy, dark haired teen and the beautiful, red haired girl; it was his mother and father, captured by some muggle camera.  
"This picture was taken by your maternal grandmother in the summer before our seventh year. I was invited to a BBQ and it was on that evening that I decided I would ask her to go out with me when we returned to Hogwarts on our first Hogsmeade weekend."  
Gulping, Harry traced the sleeping figures of his parents and suddenly had to fight tears. This possibly was the only truly intimate picture of his parents. He had known that they must have loved each other a lot, but to see it so clearly made him sad for their fate.  
Someone in the room cleared their throat and the moment ended; he was glad for it. Squeezing his father's hand, he looked up again and saw that it had been Bill.  
"If no one minds, I would like to give Fleur my present now," the oldest Weasley-son said and rose when no one said anything against it. He walked over to the Christmas tree, bent down and picked a small, neatly wrapped box up, which he gave to his fiancé.  
Fleur took her time in opening her present, careful to not damage the golden paper. Harry watched, the scene making him smile as the Veela finally lifted two delicate, golden bracelets from a black jewellery-box.  
"Is zis, what I zink it is?" She breathed tears in her voice.  
Bill smiled softly at her. "Yes, it's a mother-bracelet."  
Having no idea what a mother-bracelet was, Harry leaned over to Hermione, who instantly explained: "It is a set of bracelets, one for the child and one for the mother. It will grow hot when the child is in danger. Bill must have saved money for quite some time; they are rare and expensive."  
When Bill had sat down again, Molly resolutely conjured three packages before one of her children could say anything, and to Harry's surprise, came over to them.  
"It isn't much," she addressed his two mates, who thankfully only looked politely neutral, "...and I am sure you can buy yourself finer materials, but I hope you will find a use for it anyway." She gave Lucius and Draco each a package and then turned to him, "Here Harry, this is for you."  
He of course already knew what would be inside and quickly thanked Molly, he loved her knitted sweaters. However, instead of opening it immediately, he turned to watch his dominants, who were just pulling two matching, silver scarves from their packages. They looked incredibly soft and the wool was shimmering like silk, Molly and Arthur must have spent quite a bit to afford the wool for those scarves; he certainly would make sure that they wore them.  
As if he had read his thoughts, Lucius leaned over and whispered: "You will make us wear it, am I correct?"  
Harry only nodded and to his surprise, his two mates merely sighed and wrapped the scarves around their necks.  
"Oh, I am so relieved that you like them," Molly beamed and bustled back to the small sofa which she shared with Arthur.  
When it was Hermione's turn she picked up the parcel he and his mate's had gotten for her, Harry inwardly crossed his fingers as she opened it.  
"What is that?" she asked confusedly as she examined the five golden coupons inside of it.  
Grinning, almost giddy with excitement, he announced: "I had the idea that we could all go on a double date, so Lucius and Draco bought those restaurant vouchers. The restaurant is supposed to be really good; we thought maybe you could take Ron along?"  
At his words Hermione flushed a violent shade of red and Ron began to splutter, but when their brainy friend turned to him with questioning eyes, the redhead blushed as well and gave a quick nod; apparently Ron was not as dense and uninterested as Hermione had guessed, Harry thought.  
Next Molly and Arthur exchanged their gifts and after that, to his ultimate horror, Ginny managed to pick her present for him up and came over with a very expectant expression and a strong blush high on her cheeks.  
"I hope you like it, Collin helped me with it," she told him and pressed what felt like another framed picture into his hands. He wished he could just reject the present, but that would be very impolite and probably lead to a huge argument, which he didn't want on Christmas. However, he wasn't really sure if accepting and opening the gift would not end in the same result.  
Throwing his two mates an apologetic look, he accepted the parcel and quickly pulled the paper off. It was indeed a photo, showing him and Ginny. They were sitting at the Gryffindor table and smiling at each other, or rather, Ginny was smiling with a dreamy expression, while his smile seemed slightly strained, but apparently Ginny had not noticed that. There was also a letter, which he ignored for the moment in favour of clearing his throat; Ginny was clearly expecting some kind of response.  
"Um… thank you… it's…. nice. But I think I will read your letter later in private if you don't mind?"  
The sun literally shone out of Ginny's face and he quickly suppressed a shiver. Fortunately, and to his immense surprise after their fight earlier, Ron apparently had noticed his predicament and chosen to come to his aid. The redhead pushed his sister to the side and held a middle sized colourful package out for him.  
"I… don't want to fight with you," he said a bit awkwardly, "especially not on Christmas and you are my best friend, even though you have a weird taste in… wo… er...men…" Ron declared and pushed the package into his hands. "It's from me and Fred and George… I know how much you like photos, but did not have enough money on my own, so I asked them…"  
"And now tell him what is in the package, so that the surprise will be completely spoiled!" One of the twins called, but Harry ignored them in favour of a relieved smile; he had been afraid that Ron would need much longer to come around.  
"Thank you," he added and began to unwrap the square box. For a moment he thought he was looking at a Muggle digital camera, but red letters pronounced: "Magic your camera to shoot pictures of your dearest," and "Only one flick of your wand and your photos are ready".  
"That's great!" He beamed and pulled the camera out.  
"We have already spelled it to take pictures of all people present right now and a few others, you just have to start it!" Fred and George called.  
Pressing the power button of the black device, Harry jolted when the camera shot into the air and began to hover over his head for a minute, before flying away in a zigzag motion like a snitch, probably getting to work.  
Giddy because of all the great gifts he had received so far, he spontaneously jumped to his feet and fetched the gifts for his father and mates. Only when he stood once again in front of them, the nervousness returned and he had to suppress the urge to chew on his bottom lip in nervousness. Instead, he forced himself to meet Draco and Lucius' eyes and told them: "I… made them myself… I hope you will still like them…"  
Something like guilt flashed through Draco's eyes, but it was gone too quickly for him to be sure and so he merely handed the wrapped wands over, his heart picking up its speed. To his father, he said: "I think you will like it." before falling silent and waiting awkwardly as the three opened their gifts.  
They revealed the silver boxes and examined them for a moment.  
"It is nice," Draco finally said, clearly not certain what he should do with the box. Lucius and Severus looked just as confused.  
Now feeling even more nervous, Harry told them: "You have to open them, the present is inside."  
They did as told and then froze. For a long moment, none of them said anything as they stared without any expression at the wands he had crafted. Just when Harry thought that his heart would beat out of his chest, Lucius hesitatingly questioned: "Is that, what I believe it is?"  
Feeling a blush rise, he shrugged. "I know you all have problems with your old wands… and I hope they will also help you to stay warm…"  
"This is…" Draco began in a hoarse tone of voice and Severus ended it by saying "Amazing!"  
Lucius was the first one who picked his new wand up and Harry almost jumped in surprise as the aristocrat gasped and his magic seemed to swirl for a moment around him, connecting with the wand, before settling down again.  
Draco and his father swiftly followed and he was happy to see that the other two wands connected just as well to their new owners.  
"For the first time now I feel embarrassed about my own present," Draco suddenly huffed and Lucius corrected "You mean, our present."  
"I am sure I will love whatever you have gotten me! I mean, nothing can be as horrible as the presents I got from my aunt and uncle," he hastily reassured his mates.  
"That is true," his father drawled, "but also no great feat. However, I have to agree that you mate's present will most likely be something overly exuberant and stupidly expensive."  
"I can assure you, my old friend, that we tried to think of Harry as we picked his present," Lucius drawled back in the same manner just as Draco pushed a gigantic and very plush feeling package into his arms.  
"Open it," his second dominate commanded with a sniff, clearly still not content with whatever was inside the golden paper.  
As his excitement had still not dimmed, Harry quickly (and as neatly as possible to not offend his mates), opened the package. First, he only recognized many bright coloured square pieces of some kind of fabric that seemed to form a beautiful pattern, but once the paper fell completely off and the present was fully revealed, he squealed in excitement. It was a gigantic blanket, large enough that they would all fit underneath it. The colourful pattern reminded him of the covers he had seen at Ikea, but much more elegant of course.  
Searching out the eyes of Draco, he saw that his second mate had turned an adorable shade of red and was avoiding eye contact; however, it wasn't necessary as he had received the message without a doubt.  
"Thank you!" he exclaimed and threw himself around the blonde's neck.  
"It was mainly father's idea," Draco huffed silently.  
Shaking his head, he replied: "That may be, but I know it was you who picked the pattern. It looks just like the one I liked so much at that Muggle store." The blonde flushed even more and he decided that it was time to thank Lucius as well. He hugged him just as fiercely and was rewarded with a small, happy smile that he saw so rarely in public.  
However, the moment was broken when someone cleared their throat and Harry blushed as he realized how much they had delayed the unwrapping. As some kind of apology, he walked once more over to the Christmas tree and fetched Ron and the twins' presents as well as the two for Molly and Arthur. He actually had no idea what his mates had gotten for Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, as they had not discussed it in detail and could only hope that Lucius and Draco had not gone too far and their present would not embarrass Ron's parents.  
"They are from the three of us," he explained as he handed the packages over with a smile and then stepped back to watch as Ron practically ripped the wrapping paper off, while Fred and George were rolling their eyes and looking over their younger brother's shoulders. However, all three of their faces light up together as their eyes fell onto the annual ticket for the British Quidditch Stadium.  
"Awesome!" Fred exclaimed and George added "Thanks, Harry, Lucius, Draco!" and Ron merely continued to stare with a transfixed gaze. Finally, the redhead breathed "And I was such a git this morning!" Laughter arose and once it had settled down, Molly and Arthur began to open their own gifts.  
Harry tried not to sigh in exasperation, as Arthur unfolded a very expensive looking suit. Molly opened a jewellery box and pulled out a simple gold necklace with an amber heart pendant and a matching pair of earrings. With two long strides, Arthur had suddenly gone over to his mates and shook their hands.  
"Thank you, your gift is much appreciated, especially now with one… or maybe two? weddings ahead. Lucius, Draco. I can call you by your first names as we are almost family now, aren't we?" Ron's father rambled over excitedly and to Harry's delight, when Draco opened his mouth to reply, he didn't look as if he was about to make any rude comments, which probably meant that his dominants had talked about the matter at some point or another.  
"Of course, Arthur. Neither father, nor I believe that we should hold onto any old grudges of which neither of our family remembers the reason for anymore. If for no other reason, we should get along for Harry's sake."  
"Indeed," Lucius agreed and shook Arthur's hand as well. By now Molly was standing only a few steps away, smiling brightly (and a bit wetly), if Harry's eyes didn't betray him. She already wore the new jewellery and it matched her rather natural style perfectly; his mates truly had done well.  
The rest of the unwrapping proceeded at a faster pace. He himself got a beautiful, red quill from Hermione that was made for left-handed people; apparently, his clever friend had overheard his father talking about his writing with Professor McGonagall and instantly acted on it. Sirius and Remus gave him a set of matching, but differently sized photo frames, and from Bill and Fleur he received a voucher for that store where he had bought his Halloween outfit.  
Afterwards, they all settled down comfortably and Molly produced a gigantic punch bowl from the kitchen, and even Harry was allowed to try the delicious drink as it would have no effect on him anyway. They chatted until late in the night and only when Ginny began to yawn around 2.20AM, did Molly interrupt the ongoing conversations.  
"Now, I think it is time to call it a night, we have children here, after all." To Harry's amusement she threw Ron and Ginny a look, but not him; apparently his mated status had changed her view of him already. After all, a mated creature was considered an adult and ready to manage his own household and such. Ron stuck his tongue out, but he only snickered in return, earning himself an exaggerated huff from said redhead. However, the moment was broken when Draco picked him up and carried him in the direction of the staircase. They halted in the doorway where he waved his friends a goodnight whilst ignoring Sirius and Ron's strained expressions, but fortunately both kept quiet.  
Up in their room, Lucius was already waiting, clad only in a pair of tight boxer briefs. The blonde had already put their new blanket on the bed and laid the old ones to the side. At their entrance, the blonde just disappeared into the bathroom. Draco followed his father after placing Harry onto their shared bed. Suppressing a yawn of his own, Harry slid from the bed and walked over to his trunk, where he stopped and stared helplessly down at his packed things. He had no idea what to wear for the night. Draco had made it perfectly clear that he liked his body and liked looking and touching it and they all were mated now, so there really was no need to feel shy. It wasn't actually shyness he felt at the thought of sleeping in the nude; it was more a feeling of being overwhelmed. In the last 30 hours he had finally fulfilled the bond with his two mates, had been discovered by his friends and family, had argued, fought, made up, celebrated the best Christmas of his life, had a mental breakdown and somewhat recovered. The warm feeling in his stomach was still there, reminding him of everything that had happened and it all felt too much.  
No, he wasn't feeling shy or afraid, but he felt as if he needed to get used to the new situation, as if he needed to calm down a little before evoking any desires in his dominants by awaiting them in the nude under their new cover. However, he did not own any shorts anymore, so, maybe his pyjama bottoms would do?  
His eyes drifted helplessly through the room and stopped abruptly as they landed on Draco, who was just stepping out of his own pants, chest already bare and now only clad in a pair of boxer briefs like his father.  
There was that back that had clearly not been as broad a day earlier, with those sleek seeker muscles moving subtly under the pale skin. And those legs, nearly as long as Lucius' and slightly slimmer, but just as strong looking and well defined, ending in two perfectly round mounts which he could only barely trace, hidden as they were beneath those white briefs.  
Gulping, he licked his lips, all thought of feeling unready for more physical interaction forgotten, or at least, almost. The same desire he had already experienced once with Lucius, back at Grimmauld Place, rose inside of him again; he wanted to touch, to feel, to trace. Explore the dips and curves of his second mate and feel the hardness of his body. But unlike Lucius had been back then, Draco was not asleep and neither had his second dominant given him permission to touch him whenever he wanted.  
However, before he could avert his eyes politely, Draco's head turned, as if he had sensed his stare. Their eyes met and Harry felt a blush rising all the way up to his hair, but Draco only lifted an eyebrow in an expression of confusion.  
"I think someone has noticed you, my son… and is getting bolder," Lucius hummed suggestively.  
"Is that so?" Draco drawled back, equally alluring. Harry could have melted into a puddle at those deep, vibrating voices.  
"Then why does our little submissive not come over if he misses us so much?" Draco turned his eyes back on him, but he wasn't able to form any coherent sentences anymore. Luckily he did not need to, as Lucius spoke up again.  
"You never gave him the permission to simply touch and kiss you whenever he wants and I also assume that our little submissive does not want to tempt you too much yet."  
A frown appeared on Draco's forehead, but it quickly smoothed over again and his younger mate began to make his way over to him, a seductive bounce to his hips, which made Harry actually lick his lips and immediately blush even more violently afterwards.  
"Of course you can touch me whenever you like and wherever you like, love," Draco purred, placing a warm hand on his cheek and tilting his head up, so that he had to look his mate in his ice-blue orbs.  
"Tell me, what is it that you want? Do you want me to cover your delicious body with kisses?" A shiver went down his spine at those words, but Harry shook his head.  
"Or…" Draco continued, taking a step back "...do you wish to explore my body?"  
His cheeks actually felt like they had exploded in flames, they were feeling that hot by now, but his reaction had been clear enough of an answer because Draco simply walked over to their bed, never breaking their eye contact, even as he lay down like a lazy cat that wanted to seduce his owner into petting it.  
"Come here," he commanded and those two words were enough to finally break the spell that had kept Harry in place until now.  
With three steps he had returned to the bed as well and was climbing up on it. His eyes were glued so fixedly onto Draco's broad chest that he barely noticed Lucius coming out of the bathroom and laying down behind him.  
Shakily, he lifted his right hand but did not yet dare touch. This was what he had dreamed about for the last few months. Not their mating, not some super special dates, but simply to touch Draco's body and get to know every curve.  
And oh, how could he have been blessed with another of those perfect creatures the Malfoy's were? But a single look instantly showed him that his mates were not identical. Most people would probably not notice, but Draco's small and perfect nipples were slightly darker than Lucius', there was a more noticeable dip that led down to his chest bone and the muscles were of a different nature; as if they had developed for a different purpose to his father's.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

Not able to hold himself back any longer, he finally let his hand sink down onto that perfectly sculpted abdomen; it was hard and firm like he had imagined, but covered by skin that was as soft as silk and not calloused by too many hours of hard labour outside in the garden like his own was.  
He let his hand wander upwards and over a nipple, making his dominant shiver. Delighted at the reaction, Harry leaned forwards and captured the nub between his lips, massaging it with his lips tasting Draco's skin at the same time.  
Draco actually drew in a sharp breath of air and shuddered even more violently; apparently his second dominant liked the sensation as much as he did. He let his tongue lap against the hardened tips and hummed in delight at the taste of Draco's skin, before letting it go again, but only to shift his attention to another body part, nuzzling his way up to the blondes carotid and inhaling the strong scent of Draco's delicious blood, he wanted to finally taste it, but not now when he was already so tired and would not be able to enjoy it fully.  
Therefore he left his second dominant's neck and wandered lower; much, much lower, past Draco's rosy nipples and even his belly button, stopping only when he had reached his mate's waistband. Draco's cock had felt so similar and so different to Lucius' yesterday and he wanted, no, needed to know if the only thing different about them was their magical signature that covered the thick shafts like a second layer of skin.  
Inhaling deeply, he nuzzled the length through the silken fabric, before pushing the briefs down carefully. His heart stuttered; Draco was just so beautiful, just like Lucius, and in this case it was meant literally, for their cocks truly looked alike.  
He nuzzled the shaft again, this time without fabric hindering the real contact and marvelled at the silken texture. His tongue came out and carefully tasted the musky smelling skin. It was so delicious.  
Too far gone to know what was proper and what might be going too far anymore, he began to devour the shaft, licking and caressing it with his tongue, tracing the shape of its head, tasting the bitter-sweet precum there and sliding back down to his mate's soft balls. However, he did not stay there for long, as the short taste of precum and the feeling of Draco's magic prickling on his tongue had just been too addictive. So he went down again and was soon bobbing his head up and down the impressive length, taking it all the way in down to his throat, afraid to miss anything.  
"Harry, stop… or I will… I will…"  
He barely noticed his mate's voice. He wanted to test Draco and that goal was the only remaining thing in his mind. So he let his tongue swirl around the head of his mate's cock again and gave him one last, strong suck and that was all it took for Draco to explode in his mouth. Draco shivered violently beneath him and his groan was like music to his ears. He milked the softening cock of its last droplets of cum, before slowly sitting up again.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

For a moment he stared at his panting dominant, but then his senses came back and heat exploded all over his face and neck. He suddenly felt very embarrassed and began to shift in the direction of the edge of the bed, but his mates noticed his movements and suddenly two sets of strong arms captured him, dragged him down and before he knew what was happening he was sandwiched between their warm bodies.  
"You will not get all shy on us now," Lucius admonished sternly. "How often do I have to tell you that we appreciate all type of attention from you? Does Draco look angry in any way? Or I? I think we both enjoyed your sudden burst of boldness very much!"  
Blushing, Harry buried his face into his pillow in a weak attempt to hide. However, something Lucius had said stuck in his mind and he carefully uncovered his face, asking: "You both liked it?"  
"Hmm," his older mate hummed. "It was quite the delectable sight."  
"Father is right," Draco agreed, he didn't sound breathy anymore. "You have just as much right to our bodies as we have to yours. And would you dislike it if we were to pleasure you?"  
Blushing again (really, it was becoming embarrassing) he cleared his throat awkwardly and sat up again. "Er… yes… but I really have to change into my pyjamas now…"  
"Oh no, you will not leave us now," Draco huffed and tightened his arms around him.  
"But I can't sleep in these expensive trousers," he tried to protest, however the answer he got was not what he had expected.  
"Then just get undressed," Draco replied slyly.  
"But then I will be naked!" He exclaimed in reply.  
To his left, Lucius propped himself up a little, looking down at him. "Harry, Draco and I are just as tired as you are and we all know that the first time we are intimate in such a way with each other should not happen while tired or in any haste."  
He hesitated only for a second, before he nodded, gave both of his mates a small smile and began to wriggle out of his sweater and pants. Once he was ready, he quickly pulled their new blanket up, before snuggling against Draco and tugging on Lucius' arm, who instantly followed him until they lay almost in the same position as they had last night beneath the Christmas tree.


	39. Chapter 39: A Terrible End

**Chapter 39: A Terrible End**

 **HP**

When he awoke the next morning, Harry didn't feel like getting up at all. The bed was warm and soft and he felt completely relaxed and content pressed up between his two dominants. However, he could smell the scent of bacon and eggs leaking through the gap between the door and floor, indicating that their guests were already awake.  
"Next Christmas will spend alone" Draco grumbled next to him, burying his face in his hair as if wanting to shield it from the smell that had apparently awoken him up.  
To his right, Lucius stirred as well, sounding equally enthusiastic as he said "Indeed," and propped himself up.  
Sighing, Harry wriggled out of Draco's grasp and sat up. "I guess we better get showered and dressed."  
"You two can shower first…" came the muffled reply from where Draco lay, almost completely buried under the blanket by now. Snorting, Harry leaned down to give him a quick peck on his cheek, before kissing Lucius as well and getting up to shower first.  
Entering the spacious new bathroom, he ignored the gigantic tub to his right and walked instead over to the shower stall. He truly would have liked to stay in bed with his dominants a little longer, but he knew that he would not get up for the rest of the day if he had stayed a minute longer, especially as naked as they all had been.  
So sighing again, he instead turned the hot water on and washed quickly, before getting out again. Lucius must have entered the bathroom while he had been showering, because the blonde now stood in front of their large mirror, looking comfortable in his skin while combing his long hair out, the scene had an element of something hilarious… and something enticing as well. However, as he knew that they had no time for anything this morning, he merely told him "The shower is free now," before leaving hastily.  
To his surprise, Draco had at least sat up. He was looking grumpy, but of course Malfoy's probably never looked grumpy and were surely not even able to make those expressions. Smiling to himself, he made his way past the bed intent on getting a fresh set of clothes; however, he did not make it far as a pale elegant hand stretched out, snapped his left wrist and pulled him onto the bed and flush against said blonde.  
"You don't plan on wearing that hideous sweater again?" Draco sneered, his hands sneaking around him to place themselves over his nipples, which quickly began to harden at the touch. Harry had suppressed a gasp but was unable to do the same with the delighted shiver that ran down his spine.  
"I really like to see you in those tight waistcoats, they flatter your figure more," Draco added, now in a purring tone of voice.  
Gasping, Harry tried to wriggle away, but the motion only made his backside rub against something very large, very hard and very hot. Closing his eyes tightly to ignore his own growing problem down below, he desperately tried to remind himself why they could not do this right now and doubled his efforts at getting free. With an exaggerated sigh, Draco finally let go of him, but not without giving his naked backside a harsh pinch. He quickly widened the distance between himself and his second dominant and hastily promised: "I… will wear my robes, I promise."  
"Fine, at least something good this morning," Draco drawled in reply, and Harry watched as he slid out of their bed and made his way over to the bathroom, his hips once again moving in that enticing manner that drew him in so much. "I will be ready in five minutes," his voice wafted out again and with a shiver, Harry quickly began to rummage through his trunk.  
To his delight, he found one of his favourite outfits, the dark lilac one with the golden pinstripes. It was a little difficult to get into the tight shorts, as he was still half hard, but he managed quickly enough and was soon completely dressed. However, Draco was apparently not finished yet, so he began to walk back over to the bed to sit down and wait when he noticed the neatly arranged presents on a sideboard at the other end of the room. His mind helpfully reminded him of the letter he had yet to read and even though he knew that it would change nothing, he knew that he would feel bad if he just ignored it. Therefore, he changed his direction, walked over to the chest of drawers and seared for the pink envelope. He found it lying next to Ginny's picture and picked it up.  
However, when he was just about to open the thing, a pale hand shot out from behind him and snatched the letter away.  
"Let's read that together, I think father and I have the right to know what ridiculous things the Weaslette is demanding now," Draco's voice sneered into his ears. Blushing, he turned around, the thought of Lucius and Draco reading what Ron's sister had written him not sitting right with him. Firstly, he already felt embarrassed with her attention, and secondly, even if he was annoyed of Ginny, he still didn't wish his two protective dominants start out on a revenge mission. Unfortunately, as soon as he had turned, he saw Lucius leaning against the bathroom door frame with crossed arms and waiting expectantly. He clearly had no choice here.  
"Fine, but you have to promise me that you will not immediately go after her once you have read the letter," he huffed.  
Lucius actually made a sound that could almost be mistaken for snorting (but of course that wasn't possible) and drawled: "Do not worry our little submissive, to wish to go after her, we would have to take her as a serious threat in the first place."  
"Or think that you actually are interested in her, but fortunately not even you can be that interested in the Weasley family," Draco added, unfolding the letter. A strong scent emitted from it, making Harry almost cringe.  
"What a disgusting perfume… clearly cheap" Lucius sneered and began to wave his hand in front of his nose in an offended manner.  
"My dear beloved Boy-Who-Lived," Draco started, imitating Ginny's high pitched voice  
"Since the first time we ever met, I knew we were destined to be together. Every time I look into your eyes I feel a thousand suns burning in my heart." With an exaggerated sigh, Draco began to put a hand on top of his heart.  
"I don't know what's been happening with your mind lately. Letting those stuck up Death Eaters hypnotize you. But don't worry! Our love is so great; it will surpass everything they have made you believe!" Lucius interrupted Draco with a loud laugh. While Harry only wished that the ground would open up beneath him.  
"I will break the spell they have put you under, but a look at the photo should be enough for you to remember our deep love again! Soon everything will be alright again and after you defeated You-Know-Who, we will finally be able to live the life we always dreamed about." This time, Harry started laughing. He could not understand what Ginny was thinking when she had decided to write such an embarrassing and cheesy letter." I don't care if you are poor or rich, I know we will be famous someday and everything will go as planned. I will be taking care of the children and you'll be a successful Auror. Always looking my best at your side, because you deserve a beautiful wife to support you."  
Finally, Draco said with a teasing tone "Love, your soon-to-be wife."  
Blushing all the way up to his roots, Harry cleared his throat. He needed a change of topic, quickly; this had been just too embarrassing! He couldn't even find the words to describe how cringy that had been.  
"Maybe we should go down now. Everyone must be waiting for us."  
"Afraid your godfather might get fantasies about what is keeping us so long?" Lucius purred but picked him up. Not in the mood to answer however, Harry simply leaned his head against his first mate's broad shoulder and hummed in appreciation at the close contact. His hum increased as Draco stepped closer, now clad in one of his now slightly too tight fitting button downs. His second mate raised an eyebrow and gave him a sly smirk, before answering nonchalantly "Shall we?"  
As he had expected, the Weasley's, Hermione, his father, godfather, and Remus were already up and about, but what he had not expected, was that it was already 2.30 PM. Bill and Fleur must have left the previous evening because they were the only ones not present. While he was still looking at the gathered people, his mates must have already spotted the three seats that had been left open for them and had gone over, sitting down as if they were taking their places at a king's banquettes able and not in his crowded kitchen.  
Smirking to himself, he also made his way over, but instead of sliding onto the chair between Lucius and Draco, he hopped onto the table, where he lazily sat down, his legs spread deliciously. A giddy feeling had overcome him all of the sudden. He was with his mates, they didn't need to hide their love or nature anymore and his magic was still shielding him against the coldness that had lingered there before.  
So spreading his legs even wider, putting his leg arteries on display, he playfully asked: "So, what would you like to eat this morning?" He wasn't quite sure if he managed the seductive purr that his mates managed so easily, but the hand that settled down high on his left thigh and the one sneaking into his short at his backside, was satisfying enough.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

His mates leaned in; Lucius began nibbling up his thigh, while Draco covered his neck with small bites. His skin began to tingle in those places and his pants tightened deliciously.  
"Hmm…" Lucius hummed, pricking his skin with one claw, before lifting his now bloodstained finger and asking "what are you offering us?"  
He was about to answer, when a particularly harsh nip sent shivers down his spine, making him gasp instead as Draco asked: "Blood from your neck? Your thighs? Or are you offering us even more luscious places?"  
He heard the sound of someone clearing their throat but ignored it. He didn't mind if there were watchers, no vampire would mind and at least they would not be able to doubt his willingness any longer. Therefore he only gasped: "My body is all yours." His back arched as suddenly his dominants stepped between his legs, opening his pants and with one single, fluid motion the fabric was pushed down his legs and he was exposed to his mates' hungry eyes. Those silver and blue orbs were blazing red and Draco was even licking his lips. In the next second his two blondes were moving so quickly, that he was sure that human eyes could not possibly have seen it and two pairs of fangs sank into his hot loins. His penis which had already been hard before began to pulse violently in anticipation, but neither of his mates made a move to help him out. As the sucking started, the feeling intensified and soon he could do nothing more than to wriggle, desperate to gain some friction.  
One pair of fangs slid out of him, making him whimper at the sudden loss.  
"Beg for it," Lucius purred and Draco hummed in agreement, sending vibrations all through his aching flesh.  
The order registered instantly in his mind, and without any trace of embarrassment he let out a mewling noise and began to plead.  
"Lucius, Draco, please touch me; make me feel good, my body is burning! Please, please!"  
He nearly started to sob when Draco pulled his fangs out as well.  
"But we are already touching you," his second mate purred, giving his thighs a harsh pinch.  
"No, not there… please…" He whined, but the only answer he got was two sadistic smirks.  
"I am afraid…" Lucius continued the teasing "we cannot read your mind little one. You will have to tell us exactly what you want from us."  
Suddenly a harsh voice interrupted them, Harry believed it could have been Molly, but in his current state of mind, he wasn't quite sure. "Lucius, Draco, Harry, that's enough! This is not behaviour suited for the kitchen!"  
He simply ignored it, just like his dominants did and instead fulfilled their wish. "Please, make me cum, don't let me go hard the whole day," he pleaded instinctively, somehow knowing that it was not his right to give his body pleasure anymore.  
"Look, father," Draco drawled, looking like a smug cat that had just gotten the canary "isn't our little submissive very well behaving? I think he has earned himself a little reward."  
"Indeed," Lucius agreed and to Harry's great relief they swooped in on him again. Their fangs pierced his skin a second time, while Lucius grasped his little cock simultaneously and Draco's soft thumb began to massage his puckered opening teasingly.  
He automatically began to move in synchronization with his dominants' motions to increase the incredible pleasure even further. Small whimpers and mewls escaped his mouth and he was sure that he was babbling things like "Yes" and "More", but under his mates' administration, it didn't take long until the magic inside his stomach began to swirl wildly and the muscles of his abdomen tightened.  
His sudden orgasm almost hit him like a tidal wave. He exploded all over his dominants' hands. When he was finally completely spent, his dominants pulled their fangs out, closed the wounds with soft strokes of their tongues that sent yet another wave of shivers through his sensitive skin as they slowly made their way down his body to lick clean of his semen, before dressing him again.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

It took him a minute to regain his senses and sit up, and as he did so he was sure that he had a stupid grin on his face.  
Sliding from the table, he threw his two blondes a satisfied smile and finally sat down, only to notice the strained atmosphere in the kitchen. Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George seemed very deeply emerged in a discussion of some sorts, their cheeks all more or less red as they were clearly avoiding looking in his direction. Molly was trying to eat her breakfast, looking very flustered, Arthur and Charlie were leaning over an article in the Daily Prophet, while his godfather was concentrating on preparing tea and Ginny had obviously left the room entirely, it didn't really come as a surprise. Only Lupin had clearly watched him and his mates, but his expression was unreadable. The werewolf frowned slightly and seemed unhappy, but not angry either. And lastly there was his father, who seemed as relaxed as usual, drinking tea and reading a very new looking potions book, but that hardly came as a surprise.  
"The next time is my turn to drink; the last time I got anything was from dad was just after your resurrection," he said casually, thinking that just starting a conversation to signify that they were done would be the best thing; his friends would need to get used to his new nature anyway.  
Draco wrinkled his brow, the only sign that his words had made him worry. "I should have known that you had not drunk anything since father told me that you even refused kissing him."  
Knowing his mate well enough by now to recognize a hidden apology, Harry gave him a soft smile and reached out to squeeze Draco's left hand.  
"It's okay and it's partly my fault anyway; I could have just asked, but I want it to be special when I taste you the first time."  
"You make drinking sound… like… you know what I mean," Ron's voice suddenly interrupted them and they turned their heads in unison. The redhead grew beet red as he apparently realized that he had spoken his thoughts aloud and he hastily stammered: "I mean… isn't it just eating for you?"  
"Not at all Weasley," Draco said and Harry was glad to see only the smallest hint of a sneer on his face. "His blood is a wizard's essence, something I know you and your family try to deny. We vampires can taste our mate's current feelings, even his very nature in his blood, so the act of drinking is indeed as intimate as a sexual act, even more so I would even say."  
Agreeing with his mate's explanation, Harry nodded and saw that Lucius was also inclining his head in agreement.  
His friend flushed and quickly turned back to his still untouched breakfast.  
Sirius chose that moment to return to the table as well. For a moment Harry thought his godfather wanted to say something, but the marauder only sat down and poured some fresh tea into his mug. None of the others said anything either, and slowly the mood in the kitchen returned to almost normal; not even Mrs. Weasley did more than flush as she appeared again and sat down next to her husband. She cleared her throat, apparently intending on starting a conversation.  
"So, my dear," she addressed Hermione, "when do your parents plan on arriving?"  
Hermione gave her a thankful smile. "In about an hour."  
"Well," Molly replied," I will have to prepare then; you lot better get out of here and relax a little."  
Looking around, his eyes fell onto the window that let the clear sunshine in.  
"Let's go outside, I'll get us a blanket."  
"Sitting on a blanket in the garden?" Draco sneered in reply, wrinkling his nose.  
"Yeah, why not?" He just replied, hopped from his chair with another smile.  
His second mate gave a long sigh, unfolded his legs and said: "I assume arguing will be of no use?"  
Before he could answer, Lucius placed one elegant hand on Draco's shoulder and drawled "Indeed, our little submissive is quite stubborn when he has his mind set on something. You better accept that it comes down to the fact that in the end you, just like myself, want to please him and simply enjoy whatever he has planned."  
Entering the living room, he simply took one of the blankets that lay on the sofa and entered the garden.  
Looking around, he found a beautiful, slightly shadowed spot beneath the huge apple tree and went over to spread the blanket and sit down. He would have liked to sit down in the sun, but they had never tested how strong his father's potion had been and shouldn't start to do so at Christmas. Sighing happily, he let his eyes wander over the glistening snow and the many plants winter had transformed into ice sculptures. It was a sight worthy of a fairytale and fit his mood perfectly because he truly felt as if he had awoken in a fairytale this morning. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders since he had been discovered by his friends and family, and even though the explanations had been rough it had been worth it.  
His ears picked up on a sound like something moving through the snow and he turned his head had to see his familiar arrive.  
 _"Hey Nagini, where were you yesterday?"_ he asked as the large reptile curled up next to him.  
 _"That doesn't matter little master. Was your mating successful? Will those blondes be able to give you young together? Is that the reason why you have chosen another?"_  
 _"No, they won't, but it's okay,"_ he answered and began to pet Nagini softly. However, curious as his familiar was, she immediately continued with her questions.  
 _"Why is it okay? Do you not want young?"_  
He hesitated a moment, not sure what he should answer. Of course, that his magic held the coldness that had filled him in the past at bay helped, but it still didn't mean that his wish had just disappeared. However, worrying the snake would not be of any use either, so he simply replied: _"Because that coldness has vanished."_  
 _"So you are in heat now? Are you feeling hot?"_  
Shaking his head, Harry wondered why his familiar was so keen on the topic of pregnancy. However, the snake seemed to have taken the shake of his head as an answer to her question, because she hissed irritably: _"I don't understand why you bother with two mates. They will only fight about who is allowed to mate with you more often."_  
 _"They won't. We can all mate together at the same time,"_ he told her, and lay back comfortably on the blanket. Wanting to change the topic, he asked Nagini: _"Where is Justitius?"_  
 _"In some tree,"_ was the helpful answer he got, however, before he could ask for more specific information, soft steps were heard and he didn't need Nagini's annoyed hiss to instantly recognize who was searching him out. However, with Nagini at his side, he felt confident enough to face Ginny and simply sat up.  
Ron's sister came to a halt directly in front of him and before he could say anything, she started talking.  
"Oh, Harry… I had hoped that my letter would be enough to break the spell those disgusting Malfoy's have put onto you! But don't worry… we still have another option"  
There was a dark, crazed expression in her eyes, which made him suddenly feel very weary and he quickly rose to his feet, as he suddenly felt worried. Nagini was hissing angrily beside him and if nothing else, this was a clear sign that he had better make his way back inside, quickly. He had no idea what Nagini had caught up on with her keen nose, but he was sure that he didn't want to find out. So taking a careful step back, he said as calmly as possible.  
"Ginny, I don't think that we should talk about this again. And anyway, we are getting visitors soon…"  
"No, talking will not be of any use," Ginny said in a strange, monotone voice that sounded so unlike herself, that he took another step backward, his mind already half set on just turning around and running. However, before he could make the decision an intense look entered Ginny's eyes, and before he could process what was happening, Ron's sister had produced a silver dagger from somewhere and cut the palm of his hand. She made a sudden movement, as if throwing a ball and he quickly raised his arms in a defensive gesture, but the hot liquid hit him anyway. For a second he felt relief to have avoided the attack, but when Ginny began to start a low chant, he realized with horror that it did not matter where the blood had hit him as long as it had.  
Before he could process another thought, a pain like a bomb exploding in his chest bloomed inside of him and he screamed as he collapsed. The pain seemed to spread for a moment through his whole body, before gathering in the middle of his chest. It gathered there like a spear that wanted to pierce him and in the next moment, it stabbed his core like a hot knife.  
The realization of what Ginny's spell was trying to do hit him like a flood wave and instinctively he retreated into his mind's cavern where a silver-gray and an ice-blue bond connected to the golden hue that symbolized his core. And now he could also see the ugly dark mass that was the spell Ginny had used, it flew in the direction of his core and in a desperate attempt to save his soul bond he pushed all his magic into his core to defend it.  
He was just in time because not even a second later, the spell or curse or whatever it was that tried to destroy his connection to his mate slammed into the barrier. With all his might he pushed against the barrier, but the Dark Magic was stronger than anything he had ever felt before, even the 'Imperio' he had defeated half a year ago. He pushed and pushed, but the spear was invading further and further. It tried to connect with him, force an unnatural bond that would never be able to even come close to that he shared with his two beloved mates and he doubled his efforts.  
He did not want Ginny in their relationship, he didn't love her and no forced bond would ever be able to do that. And Lucius and Draco were his, he would never share them with anyone, neither would he ever let anybody else other than his mates touch him.  
The spear had come to a halt, only a hair's breadth away from his core, stuck there, but he as well was equally stuck. He could feel the drain on his magic as he fought to keep the barrier stable, and he was afraid that he would not be able to do so for much longer.  
And then the Dark Magic shifted. From the corner of his eyes he saw the bonds that led to Draco and Lucius blacken and grow chipped, and that was his breaking point. Even though he was immersed in his mind, he could hear his angry roar. His magic suddenly exploded out of his core shredding the dark magic that had not only been trying to interfere in his mating bond, but also destroy it. Golden chains stretched out of his core, following the pathway the Dark Magic had taken only seconds before. He was so angry. Ginny had gone too far and he would make her pay dearly.  
Did she want to feel his love? She would get it, but it would never be the love for her she would be feeling. He could feel the chains connect with something, carrying his wish for revenge over to her. Suddenly he was not the one screaming anymore, but instead of guilt or panic, only a strong feeling of calm and righteousness filled him.  
He took his time turning around and inspecting his soulbond. Lucius and Draco were still connected to him and already he could see the damaged parts begin to heal. It would take a little while, but somehow he knew that there would be no lasting damage.  
Relieved about his mates, he finally let his eyes blink open and found himself in the midst of chaos.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **LM**

Lucius watched as Draco instantly rose as soon as their little submissive had disappeared from the kitchen. He could understand his son's eagerness; after all, the two had a lot to catch up on. However, before he could follow, Severus' voice held him back.  
"Lucius, Draco, we still need to continue with Harry's Occlumency lessons."  
Frowning he turned around. He knew that the lessons were more important than Christmas, but he wished that Harry could just for once enjoy something without being reminded of his many duties.  
"Could we not at least wait until the celebrations are over?" his son asked with a frown on his face.  
"We can do that, but wasting even more time would be foolish. We should not start underestimating the Dark Lord."  
"You are trying to teach Harry Occlumency?" the wolf perked up and they all nodded in unison.  
"Any success so far?"  
"No," Severus drawled, "but I will try out another concept when we practice again."  
Lupin nodded. "That might be good. Harry is a very visual person; I would guess the less abstract, the better."  
Lucius held back from raising an eyebrow as he saw his friend's dark frown. He knew Severus did his best at getting to know his son and they still had many years, decades and even centuries ahead together, but right now they were still at the very beginning.  
"I will search for a fitting concept, do not worry," Severus sneered, but he only earned himself a friendly smile from the werewolf and a cheeky:  
"I don't."  
"What's that anyway?" his submissive's stupid friend piped in, but fortunately Granger was already answering:  
"Its mind magic: To prevent someone from entering your mind."  
"You mean… like mind-reading?" The redhead exclaimed, his voice sounding unnecessarily panicked.  
"But if the git… er…. Professor Snape teaches Harry to block his mind, then that means he can do the mindreading thing, right?"  
Now the boy's panic did not sound so unreasonable anymore. Glancing over at Severus, he saw that his friend was making a disgusted face: "Believe me, Weasley; I do not make a habit out of reading the disgusting, adolescent fantasies my students decide to have in my classes instead of paying attention."  
That actually made the Granger-girl snort, but the redhead of course decided to reply something utterly inappropriate back: "But you take a thorough look around in your son's mind?"  
"Ronald Weasley!" the boy's mother screeched, but it was too late. His friend had risen to his impressive height and slammed his hands down onto the wooden tabletop.  
"Unfortunately I have to, in order to help my son survive the next year. So I advise you to keep your mouth shut for once in your life, or you will scrub cauldrons for the entire next… "  
A loud, pain filled scream suddenly made the glasses on the table rattle and everybody froze.  
"Was that…?" the mutt asked, but he had recognized the voice, so had his son and Severus.  
"Harry!" they gasped in unison as pain resonated in their chest, but neither of them paid it any mind and before the humans could react they were already rushing outside, but what they saw there, made them freeze again.  
Harry was convulsing on the ground, screaming as if his heart was being ripped from his chest. The Weasley-girl stood only a few feet away from him with one bloody hand raised in front of her, chanting something. The words did not need to register in his mind; he instinctively knew what the girl was trying to do. A blur of silver-blonde hair finally jolted him from his shocked stupor, just as the pain filled scream changed into an angry roar. He dashed after Draco, intending on ripping the girl's throat apart and pulling every limb from her body, but before he could reach his submissive's attacker, a spell struck him and he froze for the third time that morning.  
His eyes instantly flashed over to Draco, glad that there was more than one dominant in their mating bond, but a large, black shape, followed by the werewolf jumped past him and pinned his son down.  
Draco roared in fury, but the combined force of Sirius Black in his animagus form and the inhuman powers of Lupin were still too much for his son. Desperately, he tried to break the grip of the magic, which he faintly recognized as Severus', but it was of no use either. His friend had used a Dark Spell, but why the father of his little mate would do so he could not comprehend with his anger addled mind.  
"Now now, there is no need to react so violently Lucius, my boy. Look, Harry is managing the situation perfectly," the last voice he wished to hear in this situation suddenly was heard next to him, but once his brain had comprehended the word, his head snapped back up to Harry.  
Their submissive was still struggling, but something had changed. The black chains of magic that were connecting him to the girl were slowly turning golden. He had felt Harry's pure magic enough times to know what was happening; their little submissive was fighting the curse and pushing the Dark Magic back. Suddenly the golden light struck and now it was the Weasley girl who was screaming in agony.  
Harry slumped on the ground and for a moment Lucius was afraid that their mate had lost consciousness, but then green eyes fluttered open slowly.

°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°°ºooº°

 **HP**

It took Harry a moment to process the scene in front of him. There were his mates; Draco was being held down by a transformed Sirius and a panting Remus; his two godfathers probably had only succeeded because of Remus' enhanced werewolf strength and the fact that Draco's vampire powers had not yet fully kicked in. Draco's beautiful face was transformed into an angry snarl, teeth clearly elongated and visible.  
Only a step behind him stood Lucius, an equally furious expression on his face, but otherwise completely alright. His dad and Arthur were holding him in place with spells, Severus' clearly a dark one.  
And Ginny; Ginny was of course there as well, laying under the apple tree as if some force (probably his angry magic) had slammed her against it. She had curled in on herself, sobbing, crying and sniffling, but he felt no ounce of pity for her, not after what she had just tried.  
His eyes flickered back to Sirius, who was transforming back into his human form, which clearly made holding his second mate down even harder, but he was not inclined to help either.  
"Harry," his godfather panted "tell them to back off!" the animagus shouted somewhat breathily, but he only cocked his head, his instincts still raging in him and asked flatly: "Why?"  
"Because they want to kill her!" Sirius sounded incredulous.  
"And?" he huffed in return, his eyes already flickering back to his mates. He would tell them nothing, it was their right to take revenge because of the threat to their bond, and he would not take it away from them.  
"You can't actually…" his godfather began again, but couldn't finish his sentence as Draco chose that moment to struggle even more violently.  
"Harry!" Remus now pleaded, but it barely registered in his mind as it was still filled with the lingering remains of his rage.  
"She deserves…" he began, his hands balled into fists left and right from his body, when he was interrupted suddenly:  
"Harry my boy, do you wish the burden of having taken a life on your shoulders? I think you have punished Miss Weasley enough."  
His head snapped around, and he threw a glare at Dumbledore, who had apparently arrived a little earlier than planned. However, something shifted in the old man's twinkling blue orbs, grew hard and unyielding and he could see that Albus did not mean "don't kill her" but "death would be salvation in comparison to what you have already done to her".  
"Fine," he said and sounded much calmer, even to his own ears. He gave his tutor an evil smirk before he turned back to his mates. "Lucius, Draco, don't kill her," he began coldly. "It would be a waste of my punishment, or would you give her a quick death rather than emotional torture for the rest of her life?" His voice had dropped to a low growl at his last words, to make sure that only the two blondes would hear him. Their rage-filled eyes seemed to flicker, and the red colour retreated slightly.  
"You can let go of them now," he told his father, Sirius, and Remus. His two godfathers exchanged a doubtful look, but as Draco had grown calmer beneath them, they carefully let go of him and stood up, while his father and Arthur let go of their spells.  
Before the three humans could process it, his dominants stood protectively behind him, growling low in their throats.  
Draco pulled him protectively against his chest, while Lucius sneered: "We will not allow Miss Weasley to continue running around freely."  
Harry saw his godfather throwing a sneer at his older mate, but he felt strangely calm and detached from reality, so he didn't interfere.  
"Who are we? Harry told you to let her be!" the animagus snapped. "Ginny is his best friend's little sister, whatever she has tried she will…"  
Behind him, Draco's head suddenly snapped up and his low growl intensified. "Don't be stupid, he told us to not kill her, but we still have the right to demand punishment!"  
"And what kind of punishment do you and your father have in mind?" Sirius shot back somewhere between mockingly and angry, but before one of his dominants could respond, Remus had placed a calming hand on his godfather's shoulder and said:  
"Padfoot, they are right. Ginny has attacked Harry, their submissive; it's their right to demand some kind of redemption. Besides, she has gone too far, that was dark magic she used, and I can still smell the stench in the air."  
Sirius' eyes widened in horror and Harry guessed that his godfather, or maybe everyone, had not arrived in time to see the spell.  
"Are you sure, Remi?"  
"Yes," the werewolf replied confidently, however, Harry's attention was caught by a slight shifting of his father.  
"Lucius, Draco, I assume you already have agreed on a satisfactory punishment?" the Potions Master asked, returning the conversation back on track.  
Harry could feel his mates exchange a look, and only a second later Lucius declared: "St Mungo's Hospital, the Janus Thickey Ward," and Draco added, "Would that be right with you as well, Uncle Sev, Harry?"  
Across from him, his dad gave a curt nod without hesitation, but Harry took his time to think about it a little.  
The Janus Thickey Ward was the closed ward of St Mungo's, which meant that he would be safe from Ginny once she was taken there. Also, most people never left the ward ever again, which meant he would also be safe from any other attacks Ron's sister had planned in the future. But it would also mean that Ginny's chances of a normal life in their society were close to zero admittantly, however he didn't care much for that particular point, as long as his bond would be safe. Finally, he nodded, at which Albus turned to Molly and Arthur and asked:  
"Would you agree to this solution? I believe it is undeniable that Ginny has gone too far."  
Molly burst into pain filled sobs, but Arthur, as he placed an arm around his wife's shoulder, answered with a sigh: "I think it is a merciful solution, considering the punishment the law would dictate should Harry, Lucius or Draco decide to bring the matter in front of the Wizengamot."  
Harry had to glance over to where Ron and his brother's stood huddled together, but to his surprise they did not look at him accusingly, but merely sad and maybe a little bit angry, but that seemed to not be aimed at him. Hermione must have grabbed Ron's hand at some point because he couldn't imagine that Ron would have been brave enough to do so on his own. McGonagall was also standing there behind the group of redheads, but she did not appear as stern as she usually did.  
His silent observations were interrupted by Albus, who once again spoke up:  
"Very well, I will call for Shacklebolt and tell him to bring some healers," his voice sounded burdened, but resolute.  
Albus walked away, and for a moment Harry wondered what they would do now. Just wait? That seemed awfully anti-climatic for such an incident; however his father answered his question next by saying:  
"Let's get her inside," he sneered in clear disgust and as if that had been a command, everyone started moving suddenly. Arthur guided Molly inside, while Hermione did the same with Ron. The twins supported each other, his dad pulled Ginny up roughly by her blouse and he himself was picked up by Draco.  
"Next year," the blonde muttered again, "we will definitively be spending Yule alone."  
As they stepped back into number 4, the others had already seated themselves in the living room. Ginny had clearly collected herself, because she had stopped sobbing and was now glaring at everyone, from where she sat trapped between Severus and her father. Harry quickly turned his head away; he didn't want to draw her attention and listen to the many accusations she was sure to have about him. However, he didn't quite succeed as he was carried past her, he could feel her gaze following him, even though Draco then made sure to choose a seat out of Ginny's direct line of sight.  
A strange, uncomfortable silence settled over them then. Harry shifted a little in Draco's lap, who let him move without any fuss. He was glad for it because he felt as if he needed the comfort of both his dominants right now, which Draco had probably guessed. When he sat in a manner that allowed him to place his cheek against Lucius' shoulder, he settled down again with a strained sigh.  
Slowly his mind and body caught up with what had nearly happened, he had known it in some way already of course, but he had not quite processed it. However, now his hand began to shake slightly, a shiver ran down his spine and the need to call out for his mates grew stronger with every second. Unfortunately, there was no possibility of letting his instincts run free right now, so he only inhaled the strong scents of Lucius and Draco deeply and tried to pull himself together; at least until the Healers and Aurors had arrived and taken Ginny in.  
Still, his mates began to purr in a low, baritone tune that vibrated soothingly in their chests. It helped, at least for the time being, although the fact that both blondes were tense like bowstrings contradicted their effort slightly and he relaxed a little.  
A few minutes spent like that and Harry slowly managed to relax. The close proximity to his still purring mates, the drain on his magic; it slowly lulled him into a blissful state of obliviousness. Molly spoke up and he instantly jolted completely awake:  
"Oh Ginny, why did you do that? Why couldn't you accept Harry's choice? Then your father and I would still have a daughter right now!" Her words ended in a new burst of sobbing; but Lucius and Draco who had felt him jerk awake, only started to growl warningly and in annoyance. Remus quickly looked over at them. Harry noticed, but the werewolf said nothing, maybe his second godfather was more in touch with his instincts than he had always thought.  
"Mum! How can you say that? Can't you see what those ugly Death Eaters are doing to Harry?" Ginny suddenly exclaimed, stopping his train of thoughts.  
"Ginny," Arthur said and his voice sounded heavy with sadness "Draco and Lucius have changed sides and they have proven themselves more than once. You are hurt, an unrequited love is always painful, but you have to accept that Harry is not in danger."  
Ginny looked as if she wanted to protest, but to Harry's relief Remus cut her off: "Your father is right, and even if Harry were to try to break the bonds to his dominants, which he never will, he would still not choose you. Harry is a submissive; you would never be able to give him what he needs."  
Ginny merely crossed her arm defiantly. "Women can be dominant as well!" and Remus, clearly not in the mood to go into physical details about intercourse, glanced helplessly over at Arthur, who in returned glanced over at Harry.  
However, Harry was not in the mood to explain anything. First and foremost, he already had tried many times to talk sense into his best friends' little sister, and secondly, he needed the rest of his strength to be able to face the Aurors, when all he wanted was to lock himself in a room with his dominants and let himself be reassured of their safety.  
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, he wasn't quite sure, Draco spoke up for him:  
"Don't be stupid, Weaslette, you neither can dominate Harry physically nor could you ever protect him. And you certainly can't fuck him thoroughly."  
"Of course I could make love to him," Ginny blushed but countered fiercely.  
Harry wished the ground would open and swallow him whole, this was so embarrassing; not that he was particularly shy about sharing his sex life, but the way Ginny made it sound was just humiliating and the fact that Lucius actually snorted next to him didn't make anything better.  
"Miss Weasley," his first made drawled "our little submissive needs and wants to be taken and unless you have not hidden something about your anatomy from us, you will never tempt him, not that you ever would, even if you had the right body parts."  
"I could take a gender changing potion! Then you would never stand a chance against me!" Ginny sneered and Harry could feel Draco pinch the bridge of his nose in clear annoyance.  
"And now, we have entered the realm of ridiculousness," his second mate sneered back, but he could only agree wholeheartedly.  
Unfortunately, Ginny seemed to feel the necessity to defend her newest crazy idea.  
"I could!"  
"That," his father interrupted what would certainly have become some stupid speech like the one her Christmas letter had contained, "would be even more stupid than all the other things you have done so far."  
"And illegal," Arthur also added.  
Across from Harry, Ron, Fred and George and even Hermione looked as if they wanted to disappear as well, even McGonagall looked decidedly uncomfortable. Only Albus managed a neutral expression, but Harry guessed that the man must have heard many ridiculous stories in his long life.  
Suddenly the fireplace flared up, and he was instantly pulled closer to Draco's chest. But instead of red or white-robed figures stepping out of it, Hermione's parents came stumbling out and Draco relaxed slightly.  
Anna and Michael looked very dishevelled and a bit pale around their noses. It probably had been their first floo ride and they needed a moment to gather themselves and brush the soot up that clung to their closes.  
"Merry Chris…" Anna finally lifted her head, but the smile she had plastered there instantly fell. Michael, who must have noticed her abrupt stop, looked up as well and frowned.  
"Did something happen?" He asked.  
Hermione finally jolted from whatever trance she had been in, but before she was able to reach her parents, the fireplace flared again and the two Grangers nearly stumbled to the ground as Shacklebolt, another young, female Auror, and three Mediwitches slammed into them in quick succession.  
"My apologies Mr. and Mrs…" Shacklebolt began as he helped the two muggles to straighten again, but halted as he realized that he did not know their names.  
"Granger. Michael and Anna Granger, we are the parents of Hermione," Anna quickly introduced her husband and herself.  
"Ah yes, of course, the hair…" Shacklebolt muttered which actually made Hermione snicker despite the situation, before he stepped further into the room and searched for Dumbledore.  
"Albus," he greeted the old wizard and stepped towards him, which finally gave the other young Auror and the Mediwitches enough space to step away from the hearth.  
"I know you asked me to keep it down, but matter's like this have to be documented officially, at least, if it is truly a case for St. Mungo's…"  
Dumbledore nodded gravely. "I am afraid it is."  
"Well, who is the one who came to harm?" Shacklebolt questioned and looked over the gathered people. Harry saw his eyes lingering on him and his mates, as well as his father's changed appearance, but to his relief he did not comment.  
"Miss Weasley attacked our submissive; as such the three of us are the damaged party."  
Shacklebolt nodded and motioned for the young Auror to come over. "Mathilda, would you go with Mr. Potter into the kitchen and question him on the progression of events?"  
The witch's eyes widened to the size of saucers but she nodded quickly before clearing her throat and taking on a straighter posture.  
"Mr Potter, would you please follow me?" She asked politely in a slightly breathy voice.  
Harry was just about to tell her that there was no way that his dominants would let him leave alone, when Draco already rose with him still in his arms.  
"Excuse me, Mr. Mal…"  
"It is Lord Malfoy," Draco corrected with a sneer and hoisted him up more securely.  
"But I can't…" the poor girl began, but fortunately Shacklebolt came to her rescue.  
"It is okay Mathilda. They are non-humans; different laws apply to them in such situations."  
Draco, of course, didn't wait until the Auror had processed the new information and just carried him out of the living room and into the kitchen. He chose the chair that allowed them to watch the door, but instead of the Auror, Nagini slithered in next.  
 _"Can I eat the bitch?"_ his familiar asked sourly and curled around his chair.  
Shaking his head, he told her: " _No need… I already cursed her."_  
 _"You cursed her? But she is not screaming or bleeding from every pore of her body,"_ Nagini hissed in response. Cringing, Harry tried not to imagine what kind of curses she had witnessed in her time as Voldemort's pet. He did not have to try hard for long, as a scream suddenly made the glasses in the cupboard rattle.  
Snapping his head up, he saw the Auror standing stiffly in the doorway. Burying his face into Draco's shoulder, he mumbled: "Can you explain?" and the pitiful mewing that escaped his throat seemed enough to persuade his dominant.  
"Harry's familiar will not attack you. She is harmless as long as he does not command her otherwise."  
Harry honestly doubted that Draco's words had helped anything with calming the girl down, but he could hear shuffling footsteps and he looked up again. For a moment he simply watched as the auburn-haired Auror with the huge, horn-rimmed glasses sat down and sorted through a pile of papers, before pulling a rumpled quill out of a robe pocket.  
"Um… let's begin…" she finally addressed him. "My name is Mathilda… and you are Harry Potter… I suppose…"  
He could almost feel the raised-eyebrow-look Draco had to send her right now, but simply nodded without mentioning that she had forgotten to give him her last name.  
"Could you please tell me what exactly happened earlier?" she began the questioning.  
He fidgeted insecurely and glanced up at Draco from the corner of his eyes. He felt the events breaking his usual mental strength down more and more by the minute, and knowing that he had to do this did not help.  
"Tell her, Harry" Draco whispered commandingly and it was exactly what he needed to begin retelling what had transpired in the garden:  
"I had just gone outside with a blanket. Molly… um… Mrs. Weasley I mean, told us that she wanted to prepare for the Boxing Day Dinner and we should get out and I thought it would be nice to spend some time with Lucius and Draco in the garden."  
Mathilda's eyes widened again: "You wanted to sit in the garden in this weather?"  
"Well… we don't feel the cold anymore since our transformation…" he explained awkwardly.  
"Of course, you are…. what inheritance did you receive anyway?" she asked as she apparently remembered that she did not yet know what they were.  
"We are vampires, but you don't have to worry, we are bloodmates" he replied as calmly as possible, but the girl still paled.  
The Auror visibly forced herself to pull it together and after another moment continued to ask: "Do you remember what time it was?"  
"Well…" Harry mused and tried to remember the exact progress of the morning. "My mates fed from me in the kitchen… so it had to be around 3 PM, I think."  
"And what happened then?"  
"Nagini came over and we talked a little, but then Ginny showed up and started to tell me how sorry she was that she had not been able to free me from the Death Eaters and that her letter hadn't worked. I told her that I did not want to talk about this again because I had done so often enough already and she just doesn't want to accept that I am already happily mated."  
Mathilda had started to blush by now, but he ignored it and simply continued. "She suddenly agreed with me, but instead of just leaving, she suddenly cut the palm of her hand with a dagger and splashed me with her blood before starting to chant something. I cannot say what exactly she was chanting, because everything hurt suddenly. I fled into my mind's cave and saw that she was trying to destroy my soulbonds and replace it with a forced one between us. And then… I just flipped and reacted on instinct, I guess."  
The young witch needed a moment until she was able to speak again, she had gone back to being as pale as a ghost and her hands were shaking slightly. "And, can you tell me what you did to her in return? Not that it was not within your rights, but for protocol…" she queried.  
Nodding, Harry concentrated back on the thoughts and feelings he had experienced in that moment. "I believe I cursed her to feel the love I feel for my mates…"  
Mathilda shuddered visibly, but merely made some notes on the scroll in front of her.  
"And you, Lord Malfoy," she turned to Draco "can you confirm Harry's rendition of events?"  
"Well, I was still inside when the attack happened, but when father and I ran out after having heard him screaming, we found Harry and Ginny Weasley in the garden. A definite Dark Spell was connecting them, but as we rushed over it was turning golden and our mate stopped screaming."  
"Thank you, that will be all for the moment," the witch finally nodded and he was carried out by Draco again. As they reached the living room, Lucius was just sitting down again and Shacklebolt was stepping closer to the three healers.  
"The Auror behaved?" was Lucius' simple question as they joined him.  
"She did, although she was annoyingly inexperienced," Draco sneered as Harry scooted between his two mates.  
"Good. I do not feel like suing someone this Christmas," Lucius sneered.  
Blinking, Harry asked "Did you sue someone during Christmas before?" even though he could imagine his older mate doing something so cruel quite easily, and he would probably even have a plausible reason for having done so.  
"Of course I have. People do not expect such things during the holidays and often forget to react fast enough to prevent anything," the blonde huffed but fell silent when Shacklebolt stepped in front of everybody and cleared his throat.  
"We are done for now. As far as I understand, everybody involved agrees to an extrajudicial agreement?"  
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley nodded, as did Harry and his mates.  
"Then we will take Miss Weasley along and book her into St. Mungo's. Harry…"  
Having not expected to be addressed personally, Harry's jolted a little in surprise.  
"You and your mates will have to come to St. Mungo's tomorrow and check if her accommodations are to your satisfaction." With that, Shacklebolt turned on the spot and gave a few commands to his comrade, who in turn took his bag so that he was able to lead Ginny, who had been put into some sort of straightjacket for the trip, to the floo and activate it. He disappeared with her through the floo and as soon as they were gone Harry felt some muscles relax that he had not been aware had been tense until now.  
With a sigh and a whimper he leaned against his mates and closed his eyes. His fireplace flared four more times, but he did not give it any attention as his heart rate started slowing down again.  
Someone was asking Molly if she still wanted to hold the dinner; Remus, he believed and the Grangers offered to return to their own home, but the witch insisted that she needed the distraction and that it would be a waste of good food. However, as his mates did not move, neither did he. Instead, he let himself be lulled into a drowsy state that was not quite sleeping and listened to the quiet conversations that soon arose in the background.  
He could not have said how many minutes or hours had passed when he finally heard Lucius saying something and he was lifted off the couch. Only as he noticed that he was being carried up the stairs did he force his eyes open again.  
"Is the dinner over?" he asked, his voice still sounding drowsy.  
"It is not, but you need rest," Draco, who walked ahead of him, and Lucius answered; and he certainly would not argue the point.  
Once in their room, he was laid down on their bed. For a few seconds his mates disappeared out of his line of sights, but they soon joined him again, this time beautifully naked, and began to help him out of his clothes, or rather, undress him as by now his body refused to do anything.  
Hands began to slide under fabric, opening buttons and pulling socks, trousers, and his shirt off. When his clothes were discarded, Lucius and Draco joined him on their bed and wound themselves tightly around him. For a long time they simply lay like that, relishing in each other's presence, but soon his dominants began to stroke his body up and down, making sure that he was not injured.

 *******This is the Start of a mature scene...**

He responded with low keening noises and shudders as the searching caresses changed into pleasured touches. Soon he was unable to say who was kissing his throat and who was nibbling at his neck, neither could he tell if it was Lucius or Draco's cock rubbing rousingly against his smaller one and which of his mates created blissful friction between his arse cheeks.  
He came at the same time as his mates, the release taking all lingering remnants of stress from his system.

 **…..** **The End of the Mature Scene*******

Without even moving, he allowed his exhaustion to finally take over, aware with the knowledge that Lucius and Draco would not let anymore harm befall him.


	40. Chapter 40: Nursing a Headache

**Chapter 40: Nursing a Headache**

 **HP**

Harry awoke with a sigh. One of his mates was kissing and nibbling on his neck and throat. It felt so good and he was afraid that whoever it was would stop if he opened his eyes.

"Harry, wake up, we have to go to St. Mungo's and check if the Weaslette is suffering enough."  
And thus his bubble of heaven was destroyed. Groaning, he turned away from Draco and tried to pull the blanket over his head. He did not feel like going anywhere after what had happened yesterday, least of all to St. Mungo's.  
"Go away; I don't want to see her. She has annoyed me for months and it is still Christmas!" he whined and curled into a tight ball.

"Well, we have no choice and it is your own fault for not letting father and me kill her," Draco huffed in clear exaggeration, but his mate's words finally made him sit up. Glaring at the blonde, he said: "I don't want to be responsible for someone's death," he scowled, while his eyes already began to wander around and search for his other dominant. When he couldn't find him, he asked: "Where is Lucius?"

"In the shower of course," Draco huffed, as if he did not need the exact same ridiculous amount of time to get ready. At that moment however, the door to said bathroom opened and Lucius stepped out, perfectly styled as ever.

"I am already finished," he announced and finished tying his long hair back with one of his black ribbons.

With a smile, Harry climbed out of bed to give his first mate a good morning kiss. He always loved those first few moments at the beginning of each day when he awoke and realized that nothing had been a dream and he truly was blessed with two incredibly handsome, attractive, intelligent and kind hearted mates. Of course, not many would probably believe the last part, but he knew that it was true and that was enough for him.

"Good morning, little one," Lucius hummed and bent down to meet him halfway. Their lips met in a quick, tender brush that ended far too soon as always.  
When he stepped back to go and retrieve a clean outfit, he saw Draco watching him with a slight pout.  
"You do remember that you already kissed the whole expanse of my throat?" he teased but went over and gave him a chaste kiss as well.  
"I know," Draco hummed "but that doesn't mean that it will ever be enough."  
Draco let go of him again and he finally walked over to the cupboard, where Oscar, with the help of some space altering house elf-magic, had by now stored all their things.

"Would you like me to wear something specific today?" He asked his mates, who instantly answered in unison "The green one."  
Thinking that he should have expected the answer, he pulled a black waistcoat out, with black socks, a white button down, his green jacket and matching shorts and began to dress after a quick cleaning spell.

He had just slipped into his shorts and shirt and was now lacing his waistcoat, when there was a knock at their door. Thinking that no one probably besides his dad would dare to knock at their door in the morning, he called out "Come in!" Only, that it wasn't his dad who entered but a very stiff looking Sirius.

His godfather's eyes searched him out and widened slightly as they took in what he was doing. He gave the Marauder a sheepish grin and Sirius finally snapped out of his stupor and asked in a worried tone of voice:  
"Good morning pup; are you feeling better today?"

"Um… yeah, but I honestly don't want to see her today," he told him while tightening his waistcoat a little more and tying the laces. Sirius made a sympathetic face, but whatever he was about to say next was interrupted by Lucius, who by now looked quite annoyed at being disturbed while he was still getting ready for the day.  
"Could that not have waited until we were downstairs, Black?"

Sirius' face hardened again, but Harry could see that his godfather would not leave before he had told them what he had come for. "I just… wanted to apologize."  
Two single, blonde eyebrows rose and Harry quickly sent his mates a warning look before they could insult his godfather with some stupid comment.

"I didn't realize what Ginny had tried doing yesterday, and even though I would still wish for two more loving mates for my godson, I appreciate that you both tried to help him yesterday. So: Thank you."

Lucius and Draco both gave a curt nod in acknowledgement.  
"Of course, he is our mate," Draco replied and Sirius stiffened again. Sighing, Harry pulled his jacket on. He knew what his godfather had hoped to hear, but Malfoy's did not openly speak about the love they held for their mates, lovers or family. In fact, he believed that there was a higher chance of Sirius finding his deeply buried Slytherin side and suddenly understanding his mates, than that he would hear a love confession anytime soon, but it was not his place to interfere.

Sirius then also gave a stiff nod and left them alone once again.

"Do you wish to go down to the kitchen first or floo directly to St Mungo's?" Lucius asked once the door had fallen close, clearly intent on ignoring their strange, early morning visit.

Sighing, Harry shrugged. Going into the kitchen would mean meeting up with Molly and Arthur, which he did not really feel ready for, but if he did not go, he would worry his friends and probably his father as well, even though the Potions Master would act as if nothing had been bothering him once he was back. Furthermore, he had not yet talked with the Weasley's about the incident.

"I think we should go down first. I need to talk to Molly and Arthur and… everybody else," he sighed and pulled his high-heeled boots on.  
"Harry, you don't need to talk to them," Draco told him with a serious expression. "What she did was wrong; her parents are not at fault, but neither are you."  
Shaking his head, he tried to find the words to explain why he wanted to go downstairs. It did not have so much to do with Ginny as with her family, the people who had taken him in a few weeks each year in the Summer Holidays and always considered him a part of their family.  
"I just… want to know if it will be different with them now," he tried to explain and stood up.  
"Then go ahead with Draco. I will call for one of our House Elves to get the Courting Cloak. You cannot go with us to St Mungo's without a proper disguise," Lucius agreed and he was picked up by Draco.

They left their room and made their way downstairs. The kitchen was unusually quiet, but he guessed that it was to be expected. As he was carried in, he saw that the Weasley's had all gathered in one corner, while his godfather, Remus, his dad, Anna, Michael and even Hermione sat in another. However, one seat next to Molly and Arthur was still free, and as they spotted him, they waved him over.

His heart began to race; somehow this felt even more serious than facing the Auror yesterday, but he did his best to ignore his rising nervousness and let nothing show.  
"Can you let me down Draco?" he asked and gave his mate a quick peck on the cheek, who frowned but fortunately, put him down without a lot of fuss.  
The few steps to the empty chair seemed endless, and he did not know how to greet them this morning.

"Harry, please sit down for a moment," Arthur said, and relieved that he did not need to speak up first, he quickly did so. However, his mood dropped again when he was finally able to see the faces of Ron, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie; they all looked as if they had not gotten a single minute of sleep.

Lucius and Draco were a reassuring presence, standing tall and strong just behind him. There was a moment of strained silence, before Arthur spoke up again. "Harry, we need… we want to apologize."

Confused, Harry blinked at Arthur. He had been the one who had cursed the man's daughter with a horrible, one sided bond (not that he regretted it after what Ginny had been doing, but still) and his mates were responsible for sending her to St. Mungo and Arthur was apologizing? However, before he could find his voice again, the man went on:

"What she did… what she tried to do was horrible. Not once in my life have I witnessed such a heinous crime… to try to break a soulbond… it is the most precious gift magic can bestow on a wizard…" Arthur sighed and shook his head; it seemed as if the man truly had no words to describe how horrible he felt.

Harry couldn't blame him, he would have felt the same if one of his relatives or friends had tried such a thing, but he also couldn't blame his best friend's father or any other family member besides Ginny.

"It's okay…" he began quietly. Arthur's head snapped up, however, behind him his mates started to growl silently and he quickly corrected himself. "I mean, it is not okay what Ginny did, but you and your family are not at fault. True, we all knew that her 'crush' had gotten slightly out of hand, but who would have thought…" he broke off, unable to put what had happened the day before into words. So he continued from another point: "You are family to me. Ron is like a brother to me, so are the twins and everybody else… well not you… you are kinda too old to be my brother…" he broke off again as he realized he was rambling and blushed violently (not that the Weasley's could see it).

Arthur gave him a warm smile. Suddenly all five Weasley boys stood up, came over and enveloped him in their arms. He could feel them tremble and hear some stray sobs. He returned the embrace, not knowing whom exactly he was hugging. He could feel a pang of annoyance through his soulbond, but he ignored his dominants for a moment longer.

"You truly are too good for this world," Charlie said from somewhere above him. He shook his head, unable to get a word out. He felt so relieved that they had cleared up the fears that had build up between them, but at the same time, he felt so sad for all of them; it must feel as if they had just lost a sibling, and in a way they had.

However, he soon realized that he was overstraining his mates' control; after all, their mating had only been two days ago, and he slowly pulled back saying:  
"I have to go now… we will see you later." George, who was the one holding him, let go of him and wiped some tears from his cheeks, nodding. They all gave him an encouraging smile, and as soon as he stepped away from the group, he was pulled between his mates.

He took the Courting Cloak from Lucius and pulled it over. Once again it was a strange feeling to have a veil fall down in front of his eyes. Even as a submissive, this garment just felt too feminine for his taste, but he could understand why he needed to wear it.

"So, how do we get to St. Mungo's?" He asked, turning to his mate.  
"Unfortunately, we will have to floo to Hogwarts and from there to the hospital," Lucius sniffed as if speaking of a great inconvenience, but for Harry it sounded kind of logical, considering the Blood Wards that Privet Drive was placed was under. Therefore he just nodded and watched as, once again, one of his mates (this time Lucius) went ahead to check their destination or whatever their dominant instincts told them to do to safeguard him.

He took some of the Floo Powder and waved at the Weasley's as Fred and George chimed teasingly: "Good luck!", before tossing it into the flames and calling "Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts".

The ride was as dizzying as ever, but Lucius caught him safely.  
"One day you will have to practice how to travel via floo correctly. It cannot continue like this for your entire life," he said and dusted him off with a spell.  
"Yeah," Harry grinned sheepishly "That would be an awful long time."

Realizing suddenly how strangely silent in the office it was, he looked around and noticed that for once Albus was not sitting behind his desk. Well, he supposed, the man probably had enough friends and acquaintances who would want to invite him over the holidays as well. Just then moment the fireplace flared up again and Draco stepped out of the hearth.

"Let's not linger, I want to get this visit over with," Lucius announced and accio'ed the Headmaster's jar of floo powder.  
"Certainly, father," Draco agreed. "Hopefully it will be the last time, in a very long time, that we have to deal with the Weaslette," he added with a sneer.

For a split second, Harry wanted to protest against the impolite nickname, but then he realized that he could not do that after what Ginny had done. His mates had every reason to dislike her and voice that openly, and truth to be told, he didn't want to protect her anymore either.

"Be glad that you did not have to watch her try to seduce our little submissive during the summer. I could have ripped off her head on more than one occasion," Lucius replied as smoothly as if he was talking about the weather, before finally taking some floo powder and saying clearly "Janus Thickey Ward, St. Mungo's."

"We can floo directly into the ward?" Harry wondered aloud and turned to his second dominant.  
"It is only possible for the Janus Thickey Ward. As there are many long-term patients, visitors can directly floo in," Draco explained and gestured with an elegant motion of his hand for Harry to finally get going. Guessing that he had better follow his dominant's order before Lucius could get nervous at the other end; he quickly did as told and landed in the arms of his first mate only a second later.

"Finally! What in Salazar's name took you that long," the blonde scowled down at him and he suppressed the urge to roll his eyes in favor for examining his surroundings. They had arrived in a small room with only one fireplace. Against the wall across stood an old-fashioned, but comfy looking sofa and a small round side table with a pitcher of magically cooled water and a couple of glasses next to it. He also found a middle sized plant in one corner. Clearly, this room was meant for guests to wait comfortably in case the person they wanted to visit was busy with an examination.

"Are you coming Harry?" Draco's voice pulled him out of his observations and as he turned his head he saw that his two mates had already reached the single door that was leading outside.

Once he had left the receiving room, he found himself in a ward that looked as homey as it probably could. The wide corridor and doors and the name plates next to each room made it clear that this still was a hospital, but the floor was covered with a soft, blue carpet. A few Medi-Witches bustled busily past them and Harry noticed that his mates were slowly getting annoyed.

"What kind of service is this supposed…" Lucius muttered under his breath, but before he could remind his mate that this was not a shop where they could expect someone at their beck and call as soon as they entered, a cheerful voice called out to them.

"Hello sirs, can I help you somehow?" Harry turned around and saw that a young girl, of maybe 15 years of age had stepped up to them, a patch on her robe announcing her as 'Trainee Dubois'. However, despite her words, her big brown doe eyes were singularly attached to Draco. Instantly, annoyance bubbled up inside of him, but he tried his best to ignore it, telling himself that not all girls were as crazy as Ginny.

"We have an appointment with Head Healer Walsh concerning the accommodation of… Ms Weasley." Harry could hear how much effort it cost Draco to not call Ginny 'Weaslette' in front of the trainee.

"Oh, I will show you to her," the girls smiled brightly and then swiftly continued, unknowingly causing the annoyance in Harry's chest to grow stronger.  
"By the way, my name is Dominique Dubois, but you can just call me Dominique."  
When Draco didn't response (to Harry's great joy) Dominique added after a few seconds "And yours?"

"I am Lord Malfoy, the Second Lord to the Most Noble and Ancient House of Malfoy and One of the Three Original Magical Council Families of Albion," Draco responded, sounding smooth as ever. However, Harry wondered if his second dominant was trying to scare the girl away by mentioning his overly long title (which in fact wasn't even nearly as long as his own) or just wished to make clear their unfamiliarity and distance. Whatever his plan had been, he didn't succeed as Dominique's smile merely grew wider. "The Malfoy's were a French family originally, right? ...Their youngest heir's name is Draco. So that has to be you. Nice to meet you Draco! Will you be visiting regularly from now on? My internship lasts for two more months; maybe we will see each other more often from now on?"

By now Harry was gritting his teeth and praying to his ancestor Merlin that they would reach the Healer's office soon. Next to him, Lucius merely looked slightly amused; he could see it in the man's eyes. It made his mood drop further, but all he could do was glare at his mates from under his cloak. He couldn't even make a comment as it would risk his disguise as a woman.

"Are you and your family still visiting France regularly?" Dominique asked as they went further down the endless seeming corridor.  
"Occasionally. We have a Holiday Manor in Bordeaux," Draco answered politely.  
"That is awesome; my family only lives half an hour carriage ride away from Bordeaux. It's beautiful, isn't it? And the wine of course. My grandfather owns a press house. You can visit me next time you are in France and I will invite you to a nice French wine tasting session."

A silent growl finally slipped his throat and it was enough to make his first dominant realize that he was truly getting agitated.  
"I fear, Ms Dubois we will not be able to visit France this year as I am rather busy with a courtship and it would be impolite for Draco to leave at such a crucial time," he interrupted the endless speech of the girl and placed an arm around him. It fortunately calmed him down and reassured him somewhat.

The face of the trainee fell and a triumphant feeling overcame Harry, however, it only lasted for a few moments, as in the next instant Dominique's face brightened again and she exclaimed: "Well, that's a pity but not all that bad, after all, I am planning on transferring to Hogwarts for my last two school years to enter the Special Healing Class of Madame Pomfrey. I have a special talent for healing."

"What a nice coincidence," Lucius hummed falsely and bent down so that he could whisper into Harry's ear. "Don't worry, she is no competition, and besides, we are mated and no one, especially not a little girl, can break such a bond."

He nodded, knowing that his mate was right, unfortunately jealousy was not a rational emotion and as he had already realized earlier that morning, their bond was just too fresh to be able to withstand against such a possible threat with cool composure.

Fortunately, before he could lose his control and do something immensely stupid after all, they finally arrived at the office of Head Healer Walsh.

"There we are," Dominique announced and Harry let out a sigh of relief. She knocked at the door and a voice sounding like a friendly, old grandmother wafted out to them.  
"Come in."

Dominique opened the door and held it open for them, before announcing "The Malfoy's are here for their appointment, Head Healer Walsh."

The woman that turned to them looked slightly familiar to Harry; she must have been one of the Healers that had come over to Grimmauld Place the day before, however, back then Harry had not given her any attention. However, now he did so. Head Healer Walsh was indeed a nice grandmother; at least with her short, silver curls, bright blue eyes and rosy cheeks she looked like one. Also, she looked as if she could have been Albus' twin-sister, her eyes were sparkling just as merrily and she certainly looked old enough as well.

His opinion of her was elevated even higher as she nodded with a friendly smile and said: "Thank you Ms Dubois. You can leave now and take a break."

It finally wiped the exuberant expression from the trainee's face. "But…" she tried, but the Head Healer shook her head. "No buts. As a trainee you are not bound to nearly as strong an Oath of Secrecy as the other Healers from this ward, therefore I cannot allow you to stay."

Dominique let her head hang, but nodded and finally left.

"My apologies. Please take a seat," Head Healer Walsh said and conjured three elegant and comfortable looking chairs.

"Thank you, Madame," Lucius replied, but Walsh merely waved him off before saying: "First, before we continue with the reason you are here, I would like to resolve some question concerning my own person. As you are certainly aware of, St Mungo's in general is not known for his high status of patients and client secrecy."

"Are you trying to tell us that it may become an issue?" Draco asked, his eyes gaining a sharp gleam.  
"Not in the slightest," Head Healer Walsh was quick to calm his second mate down and Harry was relieved for that. This visit was already bothersome enough.  
"I am trying to explain to you that confidentiality will not be an issue. You must know, while I am not an official Order Member, I am a very old acquaintance of Albus'. In fact, we are cousins twice removed. While this is not a close connection, we went to Hogwarts at the same time and always had a good relationship."

His two mates nodded.

"While I have specialized in Mental and Psychological Issues some decades ago, I was also still trained as a regular Healer, therefore I have taken care of more than one Order Member, and until now, nothing has ever leaked to the Daily Prophet. That said; while in this office, you can take that nice cloak off Mr. Potter. Don't worry, Albus let me in on your special relationship to the Malfoy's. Congratulations on finding your soulmates. Not many people are that fortunate and even less at such a young age," Head Healer Walsh smiled at him kindly and after a short glance over to his dominants, who both nodded, he pulled the hood down.

A small smile stretched his lips. "Thank you," he said.

"It is reassuring to know that Professor Dumbledore has such a good connection in St. Mungo's," Lucius noted and Harry could hear his relief hidden in his voice.

"It is," the Head Healer agreed, before finally getting to the point for which they had come.  
"Now about Ms Ginevra Weasley. The final tests still have to be conducted, but I feel at this point, we can safely assume that Ms Weasley is suffering from an Obsessive Love Disorder."

"And Obsessive Love… Disorder?" Harry repeated. He had never heard of such a syndrome, but the word disorder told him that it had to be serious.  
"Unfortunately yes. This kind of disorder usually precedes stalking behavior," Head Healer Walsh said gravely. Fortunately you have not been in a dependant relationship with Ms Weasley, or the situation could have grown even uglier. That of course does not mean that her actions have not been horrible; in fact, it is one of the most startling cases I have witnessed in my many years as a Healer."

A short, heavy silence descended upon them. Harry felt as if he should break it somehow, but truth to be told he was far too shocked and his thoughts just kept swirling and swirling in circles.

What did Head Healer Walsh mean by "it could have grown even uglier"? What did she mean with a 'dependant relationship' anyway? If possible, this conversation made him even more nervous instead of calming him down. He wanted to scoot closer to his dominants, but sitting in the middle between them, he couldn't decide to which one. A small whimper left his throat and his two dominants reacted instantly. Lucius lifted him from his chair and onto his lap, while Draco scooted over to his recently vacated chair and made a reassuring sound.

"Would you please elaborate on the condition you mentioned, Head Healer Walsh?" Lucius picked up the conversation while starting to stroke soothing circles over his back.

"Of course," the Healer said and opened a file in front of her, probably Ginny's. "As I said, Obsessive Love is a Disorder and therefore classified as a mental illness. Usually this disorder is found in relationships where one party is 'dependent' on the other, and in the course of the illness, the obsessed person uses this dependence of the other to control his or her object of obsession."

"What do the control symptoms the obsessed person exhibit usually look like?" Draco interrupted the old Healer, who turned her attention on him. "Control of money and food is the most common form of control found in this circumstance, but as I said, it was luckily not the case, as Mr. Potter was not dependent on Ms Weasley. However, another thing that is quite usual for this condition, is the close contact you had with Ginevra," Walsh explained and turned back to him.

"But I never had close contact to Ginny", he protested, not wanting his mates to come to false ideas about his relationship to his best friend's little sister. He had never fancied her or even found enough common ground to build a strong friendship.

"I am sure you feel that this is true from your point of view," Head Healer Walsh nodded and his two mates began to growl sub vocally.  
"I am not accusing him of lying. As I said, from his point of view, it is correct; however the perceived realities of different people tend to differ," the old witch quickly smoothed the situation over and Draco and Lucius fell silent with two stern but accepting nods.

The Healer cleared her throat and continued to explain: "Mr. Potter has been a regular visitor in the Weasley's home due to his friendship with Ms Weasley's older brother Ronald. Furthermore, they live in the same house at Hogwarts. Therefore, they have seen each other very often. And there the perspectives start to differ. While Mr. Potter has most likely never seen Ginevra as more than his friend's sister, and may not even have always been aware of their proximity, those circumstances gave Ms Weasley the perfect base to build her obsession on."

Harry frowned. He still didn't really understand how this disorder had come to pass, but he didn't need to ask, as Head Healer Walsh must have seen his expression and explained further:

"It of course starts with falling in love, but due to your close proximity, Ms Weasley had the opportunity to watch you a lot. A lot more than is considered healthy. Hearing a lot or talking a lot about the person also is a common point of beginning. The next step is usually, that the patience begins to read into small gestures, even those considered as common politeness; like smiling at them, thanking them, listening to them. They start to fantasize and at one point their fantasies become real and they begin to believe that they have a real claim on the person they have chosen. That is usually the point where control comes in, but I suppose one can say that the bond she tried to force on Mr. Potter could be considered as such."

"And what do you plan on doing to resolve this situation?" Draco asked, crossing his arms. Harry knew that he most likely still wanted to kill Ginny (and so did Lucius), or at least put her into Azkaban, but he stood by his decision; he wouldn't do that to the rest of the Weasley's.

"The therapy will concentrate on making her realize that Harry is his own, independent person. In other words, that he does not belong to her. As wizards and witches we of course have more tools than Muggles to treat her, however, depending on the degree of obsession, it may take a while. Subconscious Occlumency shields to defend one's obsessions are quite common unfortunately, and simply breaking those would lead to irreversible brain damage," Walsh explained, before adding "It might also be beneficial to include Mr. Potter in the therapy at one point, however, this will not be the case for quite some time."

At this, Harry could practically feel his mates' expressions darken. "And why should he do that? Ms Ginevra Weasley has so far been nothing more than a risk to his health and to our mating bond," Lucius actually sneered.

"A controlled confrontation at the end of Ms. Weasley's therapy will help us determine if she can be released, be that back home or into a long term supervised facility I cannot yet say. However, sometimes patients manage to keep their true feelings hidden well enough so that even we professionals can overlook certain things. But so far a confrontation has always produced acceptable results. You and your son will of course be allowed to accompany him."

Not sure how to feel about the prospect of facing Ginny again one day, Harry looked down and to his relief, all Lucius said was "We will discuss it when the time comes."

"That is all I ask," Head Healer Walsh smiled, closed Ginny's folder and said: "Now I will call my great-grandson. He is the second Healer taking care of Ginevra, as I am far too often out of office as the Head Healer to maintain a steady therapy schedule. He has taken an oath of secrecy; however, he is not aware of the connection between you, Mr. Potter and Albus. I felt it was not my place to share that information with him."

"That is appreciated," Lucius confirmed with an inclination of his head and the old Healer called for a House Elf.

"Please get my great-grandson for me," she ordered in a friendly tone and the elf disappeared with a bow.

Lucius nudged him to return to his own chair, apparently wishing to keep their relationship secret from as many people as possible, at least until Voldemort was defeated and the threat contained. He didn't really feel like moving and he was sure his first dominant didn't feel like letting him go either, but he did so anyway, and as soon as he had scooted back over, a knock sounded. A tall man, maybe in his mid to late twenties with hazelnut brown hair and bright, sky blue eyes entered.

"Good morning, my name is Healer Eric Walsh," he introduced himself as he offered his hand to each one of them. Then he turned to Harry and addressed him directly: "I am here to show you Ms Weasley's accommodations, if you would follow me?" he questioned, but looked a bit irritated when Harry stood up and his mates did so as well. However, he did not ask any questions. Either he was too polite, or his great-grandmother had warned him about not being too nosy.

"I will send you a report on Ms Weasley's progress every two months," the Head Healer promised, before he was lead out of the office.

"I have to say that it did not come as a surprise that Ms. Weasley was admitted," the young Healer continued to speak as they walked back up the corridor. "Not that I had foreseen it to be Ms Weasley, but considering the bustle the Daily Prophet keeps making, an obsessed fan girl was practically overdue." he laughed lightly. "Not that I blame them with the magical skills you have shown in the last years and those looks," Eric Walsh continued and winked at him.

Harry, too confused over the Healer's words, did not register his mate's silent warning growls and asked: "Looks?" after all, he kind of was right about the fuss the Daily Prophet had been making about him recently.

"Of course. A nicely Quidditch-trained body and those green eyes could bewitch even a straight wizard," the Healer winked again and Harry, finally realizing what was going on, flushed a bright red (at least in vampire terms) and slowed down a little until he was walking between his two dominants again. "... and you certainly keep their hopes up by still having no girlfriend at your age. I, as a psychologist, of course wonder if there might be a reason behind it all."

"I do believe Mr. Potter's inclination and private matters are of no concern of yours, Healer Walsh," Lucius interrupted the man smoothly, but with a warning undertone in his voice.  
"Maybe, maybe not," the Healer just replied with a grin. "If his preference is the reason behind his being single for so long, he might need some help to come to terms with it. After all, as far as I know, Mr. Potter had not been raised in the wizarding world."

"And you would of course offer your expertise as a psychologist to help him?" Draco openly sneered, but Walsh was unfazed.  
"Why not? I at least have already taken an Oath of Secrecy and I am closer to Harry's age than my great-grandmother. I can call you Harry, right?"

"You can certainly not," Lucius answered for him and he was kind of glad that he could stay out of the argument; he didn't feel like joining in. Ever since his turning into a submissive vampire, he had grown more and more comfortable with his mates taking care of such unpleasant things. It was enough for him that he had to lead the Order and still defeat Voldemort. That already ruffled his submissive instincts quite enough.

"Of course my great-grandmother would be perfectly professional about the topic, like most magical people are, but it still might be an awkward conversation considering the age gap; besides, it often helps to get some advice from someone who has already gone through the process of admitting his true preferences to himself and his friends and family. So, don't hesitate to make an appointment with me, Harry," the wizard simply went on, making his mate grind his teeth in the background, which in return made him realize that he needed to try and stop the Healer's advances.

So he awkwardly cleared his throat and said: "If… I ever feel the need, I will remember."  
"Oh, don't put it like that. People rarely feel the need to talk about things they perceive as uncomfortable," Eric Walsh scolded him lightly.

"But I am comfortable," he said, more firmly now, realizing that otherwise he would never get rid of the Healer. "And when I find a suitable partner, I will have no problem to have an honest relationship without hiding it."

"Oh?" Walsh asked, sounding intrigued. "And what do you imagine your special someone to look like?"

Now it was his turn to grind his teeth; the man was persistent and clearly couldn't take a hint, to his relief Draco interfered before he could say something which would certainly come out rude at that point.

"Not so eager, Healer, or one could get the idea that there is a reason why you are considered knowledgeable in the field of Obsessive Love Disorder," his younger mate sneered, before adding for good measure: "Besides, Harry already has a contract set for him."

Walsh merely waved the comment off. "Contracts become more and more outdated, especially for someone from such a liberated family like the Potters. Besides, only because parents have decided on a match, doesn't mean that he or she is the perfect partner. But fortunately those contracts are not written in stone and can be broken easily enough."

"Is this Ms Weasley's room?" Lucius ended the tiresome conversation as they had stopped in front of a door already a minute ago. Healer Eric Walsh seemed to come out of a trance, because he blinked a few times and needed to look around to orientate himself, before he nodded.

"Yes, she will get a nameplate tomorrow at the latest. Ginevra should be in her first counseling session right now, therefore you can examine her room without any disturbance." He opened the door and held it open, so Harry quickly stepped into the room before the man could pick up their previous conversation.

The bedroom was certainly not very big, but Ginny wouldn't have to share it with someone and it was spacious enough, at least in his opinion, but then again, he had been used to a cupboard.

There was a single bed, a wardrobe, a small desk, a two-seater and an armchair next to a small coffee table in one corner. The floor was covered with the same blue carpet as the hallway had been, and an additional door most likely led to a small bathroom. If he hadn't known better, Harry would have thought that it was a hotel room. Not one of those overly expensive hotels, but one of those small and neat guest houses nice old couples were in charge of.

He could also see that some of the Weasley's must have visited already, because the blanket was covered by Ginny's favorite Holyhead Harpies cover and Stella the pygmy puff was sleeping silently on the pillow. He was also relieved that he saw some bars in front of the window. At least Ginny wouldn't be able to sneak out while alone in her room and doing so through the main entrance would be much more difficult.

He felt kind of bad thinking these things, after all he knew how awful it felt to have bars in front of your window, but he pushed that thought to the side, reminding himself of the promise he had made to himself and Lucius when they had gotten together; to be more selfish and start protecting his interests. And in the end, if Ginny had not tried to cast the horrible binding spell onto him, she wouldn't be in this situation, so it wasn't really his fault.

"As you can see," the Healer spoke up "we allow our patients as much comfort as possible. In contrast to Muggle hospitals, personal blankets and such things are no problem as we can simply sterilize them with a spell."

At that moment the door opened suddenly and a voice called out excitedly: "Harry!"

His eyes widened and he spun around, hoping that he was imagining things.

"I knew you would get me out of here! Do you know what they are saying? That I have done a terrible thing to you by trying to save you!" Her happy face changed into a pouting expression while he was still trying to get the fact straight that Ginny had somehow come back, even though she was not supposed to do so for a while yet.  
"But what did you do this morning? I could feel you being unfaithful! Are you still together with those slimy snakes even after all the many warnings I gave you?"

He opened his mouth to reply, something along the line that yes, he was still happily together with his mates and no, it was none of her bloody business, when Ginny continued already, giving him no chance.

"I see I have to tell you about the pros a relationship with 'me' would have and the cons a relationship with that 'scum' has again." She sighed theatrically.  
"Ginny, that won't be necessary. I will not change... he began, and he could hear the annoyance clear in his voice, but she just interrupted him.

"Firstly, I could give you children. I know you always wanted them to continue your family name…"  
He inwardly frowned. While continuing the Potter name would certainly been a nice side-effect of having children that surely was not the main reason why he had always wished for a big family. He just enjoyed the hustle and bustle of a big family, the fact that someone would always be there to laugh with him and share their days with him. That he would finally have someone that unconditionally loved him and to which he could give his unconditional love in return. The latter part he of course already had with his mates, or at least they were quickly getting there. Right now their mating bond was still very fresh and they needed to build up trust that could only come with many shared years and experiences. But they would get there, he was sure.

"And not only that, Ron would finally become your brother, just like all my other siblings. You would finally have the big family you always dreamed about. And let us be honest; Snape cannot truly be a proper father, even if he somehow managed to adopt you. As for Sirius, he is far too immature, besides he is only one man and that is not a family…"

"Ron and your siblings are already my brothers. They know that and they don't need a legal document as proof. And stop bad-mouthing Snape. He has done a lot for the Light. Just as much as Dumbledore, maybe even more!" He snapped, getting more and more annoyed by the second, but Ginny only laughed lightly.

"You cannot really mean that. I know you are usually far too polite to outright say what you are thinking, but with me you can be honest, love. That is what a fiancé is there for!"

Growling started in the background again, and he knew that they needed to get out of this room and as far away from Ginny and every other person that was stretching the capacity of their young bond. So he turned around, but before he could even take a single step, Ginny had grabbed his arm and was clinging to him, leaning her cheek against his shoulder and told him:

"Besides, with me you can actually show yourself in the public. Everybody in Hogwarts thinks that I am beautiful with my long red hair and feminine curves; there is no better candidate for the Boy-Who-Lived' wife. Plus, your fans will never accept a man at your side."

Suddenly he was grabbed by his upper arm and he was pulled away from Ginny. The slowly familiar growing scent that wafted over him in a wave told him that it had been Draco who had saved him from her clutches. But, Ginny made a motion as if to yank him back once more; fortunately however, Lucius was faster.

Sighing in relief he burrowed his face into Draco's shoulder and breathed in deeply. His mate's scent calmed him down, and even more so, the arm that was pulling him closer.  
"Are you alright, Harry?" Draco asked and combed his messy fringe out of his face so that he could his eyes. He nodded wanting to reassure his mate, but maybe it was his instincts that made him spin around and shake his head.

"Actually no, I am not. We were not supposed to meet Ginny, but because of that Dominique girl and later you, Healer Walsh," he added pointedly, glaring at the man "we lost far too much time and this is what came from it!"

"I am sure Lucius would have no problem to file a complaint at the board of St. Mungo's if you would like." Draco purred into his ear, making him shiver and his mind go into a blissful state of nothingness where all he could think was "My dominant will take care everything." Only when Draco nudged him did he realize that he had been asked a question. Looking up, he saw that Walsh had turned awfully pale. Sighing, he shook his head; he couldn't bring himself to sue somebody over the holidays. Besides, the man wasn't at fault for the delay by the trainee-girl. "I… I am sure this won't happen again."

Healer Walsh nodded quickly and Lucius sneered at the man.  
"We will show ourselves out," he said, before opening the door and holding it open. "Harry, Draco," he prompted them and Harry reluctantly let go of his second mate, before pulling the hood of his courting cloak back up and leaving the room.

Before the door closed behind them, he could hear Ginny asking: "Harry, where are you going?" but he ignored her and just followed his first mate's lead.

This time, as they walked through the corridor, no one stopped them. Or maybe he just didn't notice, because he was so concentrated on just leaving that he didn't hear any possible attempt to lure them into another conversation. Instead, he had fixed his eyes on Lucius who was walking in front of him.

It felt like no time had passed at all as he stepped into the receiving room and watched his first mate disappear into the floo network.

He stumbled out into the living room of Privet Drive only a minute or two later, as neither of them felt like lingering in Dumbledore's empty office. But the scene he had stumbled into, was nothing he had expected and, truth to be told, nothing he would have wished for, even though it was kind of funny to watch.

There were five people sitting in the living room and they were gathered so obviously casually, that he just knew they had been waiting for him. Or maybe it was just the people that had gathered, because normally no force in hell could make his father and godfather share a room civilly. Severus was sitting in one of the man's armchairs, a heavy Potions book open on his lap. Sirius was sitting further to the side, perpetually staring, despite the fact that Remus was sighing and rolling his eyes in exasperation. To his left sat Hermione, with a book in hand as well and next to her Ron, with the newest edition of Quidditch Monthly.

"Harry!" Hermione was the first to jump up. She clearly tried to sound cheerful, but he could hear the worry in her voice and the other's obvious glances only confirmed that they all had been worrying. "How did it go?" she added.

"It was…" he began, but then didn't know how to answer. He didn't feel like re-telling all the annoying things that had happened. All he wanted was to go up to their room with his mates and curl up with them. Luckily Draco stepped in.  
"Your sister is clearly not yet cured, Weasel," his second mate sneered, before pushing him pointedly into the direction of the staircase. "If you would all excuse us. Harry is quite tired after his… 'trip'."

His father swiftly stood up, as did Sirius, but a warning look from the man and Remus' strong grip on his arm held him back.

They journeyed silently up to the room he shared with his two mates, Lucius and Draco on both of his sides and his father a reassuring shadow in the background. As soon as they had all stepped into their personal space, Harry grabbed the hands of his mates and dragged them over to the bed, earning himself a slightly amused look and a raised eyebrow.

He climbed onto the bed, tugging at their arms lightly, but of course he didn't actually need to drop further hints; his dominants had long since understood what he wanted, or rather needed. He lay down, placing his head into Lucius' lap and Draco curled around his back, while his father conjured a black leather armchair.

"Now, what happened at St Mungo's?" he asked once he had seated himself.

"An annoying trainee was flirting with my mate," he huffed and sniffed a little exaggeratedly. He knew he was behaving childishly, but he was still annoyed.  
"A Healer flirted with our submissive," Draco put in, and his father lifted a single questioning eyebrow.  
"Is that all?"

"Actually no," Lucius apparently decided to fill in his old friend as clearly neither Harry, nor Draco, were in the mood to do so. "Due to those… 'delays'… we were still in Ms Weasley's room when she returned. And as Draco put it so eloquently earlier, she is certainly not yet cured."

His father's expression darkened and then he sighed. "I suspected something like this would happen."  
"Why?" Harry asked. He actually had hoped that the visit would have gone smoother. After all; at a hospital professionals were supposed to be employed and the Healers in charge were even acquaintances of Albus.

"Because," His father began, giving him that look that told him he was thinking Harry was quite stupid right now, "Neither of you are currently able to announce your engagement officially. Add to that that you are all highly desirable bachelors from old, rich and powerful families, and it could not have gone differently." Severus turned his eyes onto his mates and added coldly: "I hope you have at least tried to make it clear that you were not interested in any advances?"

"Of course I did," Draco sneered back. "but you know how Halfbloods or Muggleborn usually are; they lack the proper refinements to recognize polite and less polite hints."

Harry rolled his eyes, but said nothing. He was starting to accept that there were things he would never be able to change about his mates and as long as they were not too rude, he wouldn't bother. At least not right now.

"Unfortunately," his father nodded and stood up, banishing his chair. "I will leave you then. And try to relax, Harry," he said, but his narrowed eyes were fixed on his two dominants, as if making clear that he expected them to help him relax.

"Come cuddle?" He asked, as soon as the bedroom door had closed once more. Lucius gave him an amused look and asked: "Are we not cuddling already?" but scooted down and drew him against his strong chest. Soon he was sandwiched between his two dominants and could literally feel the tension leaving his body as he breathed in their unique, masculine scents.

Neither of them said a word and Harry closed his eyes. But instead of sleeping, his thoughts wandered back to the horrible morning he had been through. Actually, not everything had been horrible. Lucius and Draco had both been there from him, protecting him and their bond as much as was possible in their current situation. He was sure that they would have been more explicit if they didn't need to hide their relationship right now.

Oh, and how good it had felt as Draco had possessively pulled him away from Ginny and against his body. Or as he had watched Lucius grab Ginny; the man's arm muscles tensing beneath his fine dress shirt. He had only been able to see it because of his enhanced Vampire eyes, but it had certainly been a view worth looking at. He must have hurt Ron's sister at least a little, maybe even left a bruise, but surprisingly he didn't really care. He was clearly changing. Whether it was due to his changed nature, the support his mates giving him the strength to be more honest about his wishes and feelings or a mixture of both, he couldn't say.

His thoughts blanked for a second as Draco pressed a kiss onto his neck, making a shiver run down his spine. Draco… his second mate was actually different to what he had expected. Not in a bad way, but what did surprise him was Draco's constant watching and observing; he had noticed it especially during their visit to St Mungo's, but also before that on occasions since their mating.

First he had wondered about this behavior, but today, he believed, he had figured out what this change from an arrogant prat to a silent observer was about. Harry believed that Draco was trying to find his place in their mating bond. It seemed as if he wanted to find out as much as possible about him. He knew that Draco had suffered from the fact that he had shared more time with Lucius and that his father knew more about him.

He knew both of his mates wanted to be good dominants. Not only because their instincts told them to, but also, deep down, they were family people. Men who cared deeply about the people they loved and for that, one needed to know a lot about their beloved one.

Or was he being too arrogant by thinking that Draco did all that to become a good dominant for him? He pushed that thought to the side again. That was exactly the frame of mind that would get him into trouble with his dominants, or at least Lucius. After all, their relationship had started with his wish to change his life; the way he had been suppressed in so many small and bigger things and his promise to stand up and fight for his feelings, wishes and needs.

No, it wasn't arrogant to think that Draco would make the effort for him. After all, he would do the same. They were soulmates. A soul, divided into three bodies. There would never be anything or anyone more important to them than each other. Well, maybe he would exclude his father from this truth.

Turning around, so that he could press his cheek against Draco's chest, he let all of his muscles relax and finally allowed his mind and body to drift off and just enjoy this peaceful moment. Even though it was still early in the day, it had already taken out all of his energy and he just wanted to relax; just like his father had ordered.

 _ **Hello, I am finally back!**_

 _ **I am really sorry it took me so long, but studies kept me busy, and after writing over 500k words, I was just at a point where I needed a break from this fiction. Now however, I am writing again and plan to post every first friday of each month.**_

 _ **Also, I would like to tell you that I have started a Facebook account (link in my Author BIO), where you will find little teasers and about six groups dealing with various fanfictions I am planning to start posting in the not-so-far future. There you will have the chance to just make comments and write down wishes or suggestions.**_

 _ **These stories will not only take place in the Harry Potter Universe. I have started a Hobbit/ Harry Potter Crossover, A Black Butler/ Harry Potter Crossover, am planing a Naruto fanfiction and finally Harry Potter/ Iron Man Crossover. There will also be some information on the Harry x Snape Romance I have started writing.**_

 _ **So please take a look :-)**_

 _ **Your JunjouSlashGirl**_


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